IPL 2013 Match 16 RCB V CSK

Chennai Super Kings 166 for 6 (Jadeja 38*, Rampaul 3-31) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 165 for 6 (De Villiers 64, Kohli 58) by four wickets
The last time Royal Challengers Bangalore went to Chennai, Virat Kohli lost a won match when he bowled one over. The captain this time, Kohli lost a won game by handing over the ball to RP Singh, who conceded 16 in the last over, including a huge no-ball, which was caught at third man and would have won them the match had RP not overstepped.

 Laughing all the way to the win was Ravindra Jadeja, who mixed educated edges and meaty blows superbly to take Chennai home with 38 off 20.

After Ravi Rampaul and R Vinay Kumar removed the openers to reduce Chennai Super Kings to 10 for 2 in four overs, it was all uphill for the home side. Suresh Raina and S Badrinath rebuilt but when they fell Chennai still needed 88 off 46. Vinay brought it to 65 off 30 with only six in the 15th over. Dhoni and Jadeja kept on hitting the odd boundary, one of them right out of the stadium, but the asking rate kept going up.

 

With 29 required off the last two overs, Rampaul seemed to have sealed the deal with the wickets of Dhoni - for 33 off 23 - and Bravo - for 8 off 3 - in the 19th over. However, Kohli had a situation on his hands. Vinay had bowled out, and he had to choose between Christian and RP because the left-arm spinners would have turned or angled the ball into Jadeja's natural swing. Christian had gone for just 13 in two overs, but has had a forgettable record in the last overs, one of them when Kohli's captain MS Dhoni hit the bowler a massive straight six to steal one in the last over in Adelaide.

So RP it was, and RP it was who bowled two length balls at the top of the over.

 

Jadeja edged the first over short third man, but absolutely smoked the next one over long-on. The pressure was squarely on Bangalore now. Wearing the orange cap, reclaimed through an anchoring fifty earlier in the innings, he misfielded the fourth ball at long-on, allowing the second. He had done so earlier too.

 

Chris Moris, who had taken three wickets including the big one of Chris Gayle and two during the slog to keep Bangalore down to 165, accepted that couple and followed it with a single to make it two required off the last ball. Surreal scenes followed. RP bowled a bouncer, Jadeja ramped it straight to third man, Kohli thought he could yet end up on the right side of it until he saw the outstretched arm of the umpire and the celebrating Jadeja, who seems to be unable to do any wrong this season even if he tries.

 

Replays showed this wasn't just any ordinary no-ball, RP had overstepped by a foot. Kohli backed RP in the public, but there might be words spoken behind closed doors. Bangalore will also look at the last over when they batted, when Arun Karthik kept heaving and wasting deliveries as opposed to bringing to strike AB de Villiers, who scored a manic 64 off 32, full of sweeps against fast bowlers.

IPL 2013 Match 15: Pune v Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians 183 for 3 (Rohit Sharma 62*, Tendulkar 44, Karthik 41) beat Pune Warriors 142 for 8 (Johnson 3-33) by 41 runs

Even as Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar take their time to bed in as an opening combination, Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik carried Mumbai Indians to their third win in four games and the top of the table.
 

Tendulkar finally arrived, in particular with four consecutive boundaries off Ashok Dinda, but the openers fell in quick succession, and it needed a flourish of 65 runs in the last four overs for Mumbai to feel comfortable with the target. Dinda was the victim again as he equalled the most expensive IPL figures by going for 63 runs in his four overs. Mitchell Johnson, then, did the exact opposite by swinging his way through the Pune Warriors top order, which all but sealed the win.

 

With a mix of swagger and desperation, Tendulkar finally got going with his 44 off 29, but Ponting continued to struggle and finished with yet another effort at under a run a ball, taking his tournament tally to 48 at an average of 12 and a strike rate of 73. Around him, though, Tendulkar caused mayhem, especially with Dinda, one of the five bowlers used in the first five overs.

 

Left-arm spin, though, worked for Pune: Aaron Finch began the innings with a three-run over, and Yuvraj Singh got Ponting first ball when introduced in the eighth over. Finch accounted for Tendulkar, who holed out at long-on, in the next over, and Mumbai were 60 for 2 in the ninth. They now needed a bit of rebuilding, which Karthik and Rohit did, but without sacrificing the scoring rate.

Karthik equalled the highest run-getter of the tournament with a pulled four off Yuvraj in the 12th over, and then claimed the orange cap with an inside-out four next ball. However, just when the two looked set for the final flourish with a 55-run stand, Karthik fell to the first ball after the second timeout. Mitchell Marsh, introduced just then, came up with the perfect offcutter first up.

 

Rohit, just 15 off 16 then, was ready to strike, and Kieron Pollard was the perfect foil. It was Dinda who let them off the hook decisively with a gentle length ball in the 17th over. Rohit smacked it over long-off, and the flood gates opened. The next one was a slower no-ball, and it sailed over long-on. In the next over, Marsh got the treatment: a four and a six from Pollard, followed by a four and a six from Rohit.

 

Angelo Mathews bowled a fine 19th over, for just nine runs, but handed the ball over to Dinda for the 20th, and Rohit feasted with yet another brace of sixes. The first of those brought up his fifty; in all he looted 47 off the last 15 balls he played. Still, on a flat pitch with short boundaries, this was not a safe total. Mumbai could do with a bit of Johnson.

 

And Johnson it was then with a fast, full, spearing delivery to knock Finch's middle stump back first ball. In his next over, he demolished Robin Uthappa's off stump. In between the two events, Uthappa had run Ross Taylor out. At 13 for 3 in the third over, there was too much left for the rest to do.

IPL 2013 Match 14: Delhi Daredevils v Sunrisers

Sunrisers Hyderabad 115 for 7 (Sangakkara 28, Mishra 16*) beat Delhi Daredevils 114 for 8 (Jadhav 30*, Steyn 2-11) by three wickets 


Delhi Daredevils fought in the field after a meek showing with the bat, but Sunrisers Hyderabad prevailed in a low-scorer at the Feroz Shah Kotla, as Dale Steyn hit the winning runs with four balls to spare, after having been the Daredevils' chief antagonist during their innings. The hosts' spinners brought their side into the game by making regular breakthroughs in a tight middle spell, but in the end Daredevils' 114 proved to be too few, despite the pitch having slowed considerably since their time in the middle.

Steyn's outstanding opening spell was the catalyst for Daredevils' collapse, even if Ishant Sharma finished with more wickets from the early overs. Steyn cramped David Warner for space with three fast, swinging, good length balls in the first over, before Warner attempted to break the shackles by going over mid-on, only to mistime the ball and offer a simple catch to the fielder there. While Steyn proved difficult to get away at one end, Mahela Jayawardene and Virender Sehwag targeted Sharma's overs in order to establish some impetus, and they perished in consecutive balls in the fifth over, both attempting expansive strokes.

 

The three big, early wickets worked to slow Daredevils' progress, and the middle order batted tentatively, though often not safely. When Johan Botha cut one straight to point at the end of the 9th over, Daredevils were crawling at less than five an over, and they could not surge far beyond five an over at any stage in their innings.

 

Amit Mishra bowled his four overs for 15 runs and took one wicket, and Thisara Perera broke the longest partnership of the innings - a 30-run stand between Irfan Pathan and Kedar Jadhav - before it could do his side much harm, but it was Steyn who returned to sting Daredevils at the death, and he finished with deserved figures of 2 for 11 from his full quota.

 

Sunrisers had a solid enough base at the top of the chase, and the 44-run second-wicket stand between Parthiv Patel proved invaluable, given the wobble that followed. Reasoning that only an aggressive approach would see him defend such a paltry score, Jayawardene maintained a slip throughout the innings, and brought men into the circles in the middle overs to cut off the singles as well as function as catching fielders. The ploy worked through the middle overs, as they claimed four wickets for 25 runs, in 40 deliveries.

 

Parthiv first offered a simple leading edge to bowler Shahbaz Nadeem, misjudging one that stopped on the pitch, before Sangakkara, who had played some sublime strokes in the early overs, edged to slip attempting a late cut. Cameron White then charged Nadeem in the 14th over, and missed the ball by a distance, to find himself stumped, before Hanuma Vihari stroked Morne Morkel to mid-off, attempting to clear the tight infield.

 

But their total was so low, Sunrisers only needed busy mini-partnerships to near it, and they kept their heads above water with runs that came in spurts. Ashish Reddy hit 16 from 9, and Mishra remained unbeaten on 16, to guide the chase home, with three wickets remaining.

Delhi Daredevils captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and opted to bat first at the Feroz Shah Kotla, as Virender Sehwag came into the side, who are still searching for their first win after three early losses. Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Kumar Sangakkara suggested he might also have batted first, but expected the surface to remain good throughout the 40 overs. Sunrisers won two of their first three matches. 

Unmukt Chand missed out after three failures, as Daredevils made room for Sehwag's entry. Sehwag had missed the first three matches through injury. Jeevan Mendis also found himself on the sidelines as Johan Botha returned to the team, while fast bowler Siddarth Kaul came into the side for Ashish Nehra.

 

The visitors went with the same four overseas players as they did in their loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday, but they dropped all rounder Biplab Samantray in favour of the seamer Anand Rajan.

 

Delhi Daredevils: 1. Virender Sehwag, 2. David Warner, 3. Mahela Jayawardene (c), 4. Manprit Juneja, 5. Johan Botha, 6. Irfan Pathan, 7. Kedar Jadhav (wk), 8. Shahbaz Nadeem, 9. Morne Morkel, 10. Siddarth Kaul, 11. Umesh yadav

 

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1. Akshath Reddy, 2. Parthiv Patel (wk), 3. Kumar Sangakkara (c), 4. Cameron White, 5. Thisara Perera, 6. Hanuma Vihari, 7. Ashish Reddy, 8. Amit Misthra, 9. Dale Steyn, 10. Ishant Sharma, 11. Anand Rajan

IPL 2013 Match 13: Pune Warriors v RR

Pune Warriors 148 for 3 (Finch 64, Faulkner 2-17) beat Rajasthan Royals 145 for 5 (Dravid 54, Rahul Sharma 2-16) by seven wickets

When Pune Warriors stumbled to 99 for 9 after choosing to bat against Kings XI Punjab and crashed to their 11th successive defeat, their captain Angelo Mathews said his batsmen needed to sort their "intent and attitude" towards the first six overs. Warriors had made 24 for 2 in the first six overs that evening. Four days later, Robin Uthappa and Aaron Finch blasted them to 64 for 1 in the same period, and Warriors made short work of the target of 146 set by Rajasthan Royals to break the longest losing streak in the IPL.

Finch was playing only because Marlon Samuels was injured, and his arrival heralded a complete change in the way Warriors approached the Powerplay. Instead of starting overcautious and getting tied down, they started aggressively and never looked back on a slowish pitch.

 

Royals captain Rahul Dravid gambled with India Under-19 left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh for a couple of overs at the start, ahead of James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper and Siddharth Trivedi. Harmeet was making his Twenty20 debut, and while his first over went for just six, the next one was taken for 17. There was no gamble with giving Sreesanth two overs from the other end. And while the first went for just seven, the second was shredded for 21.

 

Uthappa did most of that damage, pulling successive long-hops from Harmeet for six and also lifting Sreesanth over long-on and deep square leg for two more sixes. Warriors catapulted to 51 for 0 in four overs, the frenetic start all but ending Royals' hopes. Though Uthappa went for 32 off 16 deliveries to a brilliant one-handed take by Dravid in an opening partnership of 58 in 4.5 overs, Finch kept going and going.

 

He'd already lofted Harmeet and Sreesanth for a couple of straight sixes and went on punishing slight width either side of the wicket, swinging Cooper over deep square leg to reach his fifty off 36 balls. Yuvraj Singh returned after missing the previous game with an injury to finish the chase in the 19th over with a huge six over deep midwicket off Sreesanth.

 

It wasn't that Royals had ended short of expectations in setting the target. Rahane said during the innings break they had aimed for anything between 140 and 150. Kusal Perera had gone first ball of the match to a Bhuvneshwar Kumar inswinger, but Dravid and Rahane had set the platform with a second-wicket stand of 81 off 67.

 

Dravid was in superb touch on his way to 54 off 48, timing several pleasing drives through the off side. Rahane rotated the strike well, but both batsmen fell to sharp catches off the spinners as Royals lost their way in the middle of the innings. Rahul Sharma was especially difficult to get away with his full and quick legbreaks. Royals did scrap some runs towards the end, but the way Uthappa and Finch batted, Warriors' losing streak had no chance of getting extended.

IPL 2013 Match 12: RCB v KKR

Royal Challengers Bangalore 158 for 2 (Gayle 85*, Kohli 35) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 154 for 8 (Gambhir 59, RP 3-27) by eight wickets
Chris Gayle took centre stage once again for Royal Challengers Bangalore, after a rare-slip up in their previous game. He consigned a quiet start to a chase of 155 to a distant memory with another calm demolition job of an opposition team, backed up by his captain Virat Kohli, as Kolkata Knight Riders suffered their second defeat in a row following a promising start to their new season as defending champions.
 

Gautam Gambhir guided the Knight Riders batting, happy at being asked to bat during the toss, but the total his side managed proved below-par on an excellent track for batting. The Royal Challengers seamers bowled impressively to restrict partnerships after they had begun encouragingly, and struck in the late overs to stifle an attempted surge. It kept Knight Riders down to a chaseable score, and Gayle made it look worse than it was.

 

Gambhir was at ease piercing the gaps through the in-field, dispatching Moises Henriques, who opened the bowling, through the leg side and RP Singh past point and extra cover. Muttiah Muralitharan was driven through off, smacked over mid-on, and slog-swept, all this during a half-century stand with Jacques Kallis that promised to take Knight Riders beyond what they eventually got. Kallis sliced Vinay Kumar to deep point, but the promotion of Yusuf Pathan to No.4 triggered an acceleration.

 

Yusuf struck his first three balls, all from Vinay, for boundaries to different parts of the ground, before whipping Jaidev Unadkat for six over midwicket. But Royal Challengers pulled things back, breaking the stand when Yusuf holed out to long-on off a slower delivery from Henriques. Gambhir and Tiwary put together a spirited partnership of their own, but the pair, together with Eoin Morgan, fell in a space of two overs at the death. RP leaked a few fours, but picked up three wickets and ran out Ryan McLaren in his final spell. The last four overs, which began with seven wickets in hand, yielded just 31 runs.

 

Knight Riders would have expected a closer contest, having limited the hosts to 21 for 1 in the first five overs of the chase. But both Gayle and Kohli compensated for their early restraint. They targeted McLaren - who was replacing Brett Lee - first, Kohli whipping him for two fours through the leg side and Gayle swinging him for two massive sixes near cow corner. Kohli cashed in on anything bowled too straight, dismissing Pradeep Sangwan for two consecutive sixes.

 

The occasional relief for Knight Riders came through Sunil Narine's miserly spell and when Sangwan managed to york Gayle, though not well enough to beat his defense, but there was a generous supply of length balls against a batsman well set and in the groove to finish things off quickly. Gayle picked out the deep midwicket area, sending Sangwan again, and L Balaji, over the ropes before reserving the same treatment for Kallis twice in an over.

 

Changes of pace, cutters, and variations in length were all futile against Gayle, who was the architect of another dominating Royal Challengers performance. Just how will bowling attacks find a way through that formidable trio of Gayle, Kohli, and AB de Villiers?

IPL 2013 Match 11: CSK v Kings XI Punjab

Chennai Super Kings 139 for 0 (M Hussey 86*, Vijay 50*) beat Kings XI Punjab 138 (D Hussey 41, Bravo 3-27) by ten wickets
The abbreviated nature of Twenty20 is supposed to bridge the gulf in quality between sides, but there was no hiding the vast difference between the weakest batting line-up in the tournament, and perhaps the strongest one. After being sent in, Kings XI Punjab lost all ten wickets; Chennai Super Kings chased down 139 without losing any in an embarrassingly one-sided contest in Mohali.

Australia's Shaun Marsh, still nursing an injury and not expected in India at least for a few more days, can't come soon enough to shore up a batting unit seriously lacking quality. With no renowned Indian batsman in the line-up, the star turn is provided by the ageing Adam Gilchrist and the 35-year-old David Hussey.

 

Not much can be expected from Gilchrist five years after his international retirement, and one year after he said he had played his last match of competitive cricket. As in the first game of the season, Gilchrist played a few vintage shots that had fans reminiscing about his free-swinging batting, but again he perished cheaply, picking out Michael Hussey at a deepish leg gully in the third over.

 

With Mandeep Singh holing out to square leg, and Manan Vohra heaving a half-tracker from Ravindra Jadeja to the man at deep midwicket, David Hussey needed to put in a big performance. He began well, with a series of eye-catching off-side boundaries, and with the help of some butter-fingered fielding from M Vijay and a cameo from Gurkeerat Singh, Kings XI moved along to a reasonably decent position of 106 for 1 after 14 overs.

 

That's when it all went wrong for Kings XI. R Ashwin's carrom ball had Hussey slicing a catch to long-off, and an over later Gurkeerat top-edged a sweep to Dirk Nannes at short fine leg. Kings XI's batting not only lacked in firepower, it lacked in depth as well. Azhar Mahmood is a position too high at No. 6, and the No. 7 R Sathish, primarily in the team as a batsman, has never scored a Twenty20 half-century. The long tail was ruthlessly exposed by Super Kings, as the lower-order perished in a series of big hits that weren't big enough. The final seven wickets went down for 32 runs.

 

For Super Kings, a team overflowing with batting riches, 139 was never going to be too much of a challenge, on a surface that was true and with a fast outfield to help. Kings XI were also hurt by a dicey third-umpire decision to rule Michael Hussey not-out though there wasn't much evidence to show he had made his ground. In the next five minutes, Piyush Chawla put down a return chance and Adam Gilchrist fluffed a stumping opportunity in the same over. Hussey and M Vijay were in no hurry early on, taking their time to blunt the Kings XI bowling, before finishing off the match with a series of huge hits.

 

It was an absolute hammering for Kings XI, and particularly humiliating as it was their first home game of the season, and one from which Gilchrist had hoped to "send the crowd home happy".

IPL 2013 Match 9: RCB v Sunrisers Hydreabad

Virat Kohli's unbeaten 93 was his personal best in the IPL and also made him the leading run-getter in IPL 2013

Royal Challengers Bangalore 162 for 3 (Kohli 93*, Agarwal 29) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 161 for 6 (White 52, Perera 40) by seven wickets

Virat Kolhi's imperious 93 not out from 47 balls helped Royal Challengers Bangalore avenge their Super-Over loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad and delivered the team's second win in three matches.

 

Chris Gayle could manage nothing but a start, as Royal Challengers chased the opposition's 161 for 6, but Kohli was fluent almost from the outset and, despite his hyper-aggression, rarely played a false stroke throughout his innings.

 

The Sunrisers' total had largely been set up by Cameron White and Thisara Perera, who helped overcome their team's slow start, but Royal Challengers finished the match at a gallop with seven wickets in hand and 14 balls to spare.

 

Kohli came to the crease at 39 for 1 in the sixth over, and began his rampage in earnest when AB de Villiers joined him after Gayle's dismissal.

 

The pair struck 49 together from 34 balls, setting their side well on course for a win - although de Villiers made only 15 of those runs. On 37 from 22 at the time, Kohli found yet another gear and, by the end of the match, Moises Henriques, who came in to bat after de Villiers, had contributed only seven runs to an unbroken 65-run fourth-wicket partnership that secured the result. Fittingly, the winning runs came off Kohli's bat as he hit a square-drive off an Ishant Sharma delivery in the 18th over.

 

Kohli hit four sixes and 11 fours in his innings, getting off the mark with a four off the first ball he faced as he leaned back to punch Thisara Perara powerfully through the covers.

 

The boundaries flowed all around the ground, as the delicate cuts off the spinners were counterbalanced by arrogant drives off the faster bowlers. With 45 needed off the last five overs, Sunrisers may have felt they still had a chance in the match, but Kohli launched Amit Mishra for consecutive straight sixes early in the next over, in which he eventually plundered 21. He hit five more fours in the next two overs to close the match.

 

White and Perera came together for Sunrisers, after their side had ambled through the Powerplay overs, and traveled at barely a run-a-ball in the first half of their innings. Neither batsman risked adventure early in their innings, but quickly began pushing the scoring rate along after the 14th over. White began the charge in the 15th over with a pull off Jaydev Unadkat, before Perera clubbed the bowler over the long-on fence, with a shot that was effectively a two-handed tennis forehand. Unadkat conceded 14 runs in that over. 

 

By the 17th over, the pair had added another 37 runs as they exploited the length deliveries that the Royal Challengers bowlers offered them. White hit three sixes and three fours in his 52 from 34 balls, while Perera struck four sixes and a four in his 24-ball 40.

 

Both men perished searching for boundaries, but they had put on 80 together, leaving their side within touching distance of a competitive 160. A good final over from RP Singh, who took 3 wickets for 27, ensured Sunrisers did not get much more than that.

IPL 2013 Match 10: Mumbai Indians v DD

Mumbai Indians 209 for 5 (Karthik 86, Rohit 74*) beat Delhi Daredevils 165 for 9 (Warner 61, Juneja 49) by 44 runs
Dinesh Karthik's explosive innings blindsided Delhi Daredevils and turned Mumbai Indians' horrific start into the first 200-plus total of the season, one large enough to secure a 44-run win in their first home game. Rohit Sharma gave Karthik support at the start of their 132-run partnership, before turning it on himself at the end to help his team secure their second victory in three games.

Mumbai had lost their openers in the first nine balls of the innings - Ricky Ponting caught by Mahela Jayawardene for a duck, Sachin Tendulkar run out by Jayawardene for one - but Karthik played like a batsman who has had solid scores in his first two games of the season.

After seeing out three overs quietly, Karthik took 15 runs off an Ashish Nehra over.

 

He dominated the third-wicket partnership with Rohit, reaching 50 off 29 balls. Rohit was on 12 at the time. Mumbai reached 80 for 2 in 10 overs, and made it to the 100 mark in 12 overs.

 

Karthik went ballistic after reaching his fifty. He raced to 86 off 48 balls, taking his last 36 runs off 19 balls. He pulled the ball with glee, and his on-side play was entertaining. Karthik was perhaps the least likely among the Mumbai top four to get the orange cap, but he is now the first this season.

 

Rohit batted at the right pace, letting Karthik take more strike during their stand. Later he played second fiddle to Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu, who blasted two fours and two sixes in his eight-ball 24. Rayudu helped Mumbai take 22 runs off the penultimate over from Irfan Pathan, who had begun the evening with a maiden over, and Rohit's final-over treatment of Nehra - 20 runs - took his team to 209 for 5.

 

Mumbai got off to a stunning start when they began defence of their 209 runs. Off the first ball of the innings, Ponting dived quite a distance to his right at cover to take a stunning catch to dismiss Unmukt Chand. It was the opener's second first-ball duck in the tournament, but it was also the most unlikely bowler-fielder combination. The bowler was Harbhajan Singh, who had a history of run-ins with Ponting, but now they were hugging in joy.

 

David Warner hit boundaries with regularity at the other end, swiftly moving to 50 off 34 balls, but frequent wickets didn't allow Daredevils to settle into a rhythm. Warner fell for 61 off 37 deliveries, and Manprit Juneja's 49 was the only other sizeable score. Rishi Dhawan's direct hit from midwicket to run out Juneja was the final act in Mumbai's impressive fielding performance.

Toss Mumbai Indians chose to bat v Delhi Daredevils

Mumbai Indians captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and decided to bat first against Delhi Daredevils in Mumbai. Ponting rated the wicket as a good one for batsmen and he will be keen on giving his team a solid start with Sachin Tendulkar.

 

The home side have brought in Rishi Dhawan to replace Dwayne Smith but it will be the inclusion of Lasith Malinga which will make a huge difference to their bowling attack. The Sri Lankan fast bowler has replaced Munaf Patel.

 

Daredevils also have their lead fast bowler back - Morne Morkel - who has come in place of Andre Russell while Jeevan Mendis and Kedar Jadhav have been included in place of Johan Botha and Naman Ojha.

 

It's likely to be a battle between Daredevils' pace attack and Mumbai's big-hitting batting line-up which includes not just Ponting and Tendulkar, but a host of other talented batsmen.

 

Mumbai Indians: Ricky Ponting (c), Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Rishi Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Johnson, Pragyan Ojha, Lasith Malinga.

 

Delhi Daredevils: Mahela Jayawardene (c), David Warner, Unmukt Chand, Kedar Jhadav (wk), Manprit Juneja, Morne Morkel, Jeevan Mendis, Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Umesh Yadav.

IPL 2013 Match 8 Rajasthan Royals v KKR

Rajasthan Royals 144 for 6 (Hodge 46*, Narine 2-28) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 125 (Morgan 51, Trivedi 3-23, Cooper 3-15) by 19 runs

	Siddharth Trivedi was Man of the Match for his 3 for 23 © BCCI

A brace of double-wicket overs from fast bowlers, Rahul Shukla and Siddharth Trivedi, was the decisive blow that secured a second consecutive victory for Rajasthan Royals this season. They did not pick a spinner on a fast and bouncy pitch in their first home game at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium and the strategy worked; all five quicks took wickets and were able to prevent a dogged Eoin Morgan from single-handedly dragging Kolkata Knight Riders to the target.

Knight Riders had also read the pitch right, replacing the slower seamer L Balaji with Shami Ahmed, and Sunil Narine was their sole spinner. Narine, however, went for 18 in his third over - his most expensive in the IPL - as Royals managed to accumulate 144, because of a steady innings from Brad Hodge and a cameo from Dishant Yagnik. Their fast bowlers then vindicated their selections, dismissing Knight Riders in 19 overs.

Sreesanth opened the Royals' defence with a 14-run over but that did not set the tone. Shaun Tait hustled batsmen with speeds that touched 150 kph, and the less-heralded seamers did the damage. Shukla bustled in, bowling in the early 140 kph-range, and had immediate impact, demolishing Manvinder Bisla's stumps and drawing an edge from Jacques Kallis off successive deliveries in the third over.

In the seventh over Rahul Dravid brought on his fifth seamer, Trivedi, who trapped Manoj Tiwary lbw with his first ball, and then had Gautam Gambhir caught behind with his fifth. Knight Riders were floundering at 43 for 4. When Kevon Cooper drew another edge, this time from the potentially dangerous Yusuf Pathan, only Morgan remained in Royals' way.

Morgan was in the way for a while, transforming his innings that began scratchily into a threatening one with precise shots through the infield and over the boundary. His pick-up loft over long leg against Tait was the highlight and he kept the asking-rate under control. What he couldn't control, however, was the tendency of his partners to play rash shots - like Brett Lee did. At the start of the penultimate over, Knight Riders needed 23 off 12 but only had two wickets left. Morgan was bowled by Cooper first ball, and that was that.

The Royals innings had also suffered from the fall of regular wickets but they had Ajinkya Rahane anchoring the start and Brad Hodge staying until the finish to provide them with a competitive total. They recovered from the failure of Shane Watson, who was playing his first game of the season, and the fall of Dravid and Stuart Binny, who had played valuable innings in the victory against Delhi Daredevils.

Narine then derailed the innings in the 16th over, having Rahane caught behind and Cooper stumped. At 114 for 5 at the start of the 19th over, Royals needed something special and Hodge and Yagnik provided it. They attacked Narine for 18 runs, and then Hodge ensured 12 more came off the final over, as he finished on 46 to give his fast bowlers enough to defend.

IPL Table

Very early but here is the table

IPL 2013 Match 7: Sunrisers Hyderabad v RCB

RCB 130/8 (20/20 ov)

Sunrisers Hyderabad 130/7 (20.0/20 ov)

Sunrisers Hyderabad 20/0 (1 over)
Royal Challengers Bangalore 15/0 (1 over)

SH win on the super over


Sunrisers Hyderabad rode on the power of Dale Steyn's experience to pick up their second consecutive win, this one over Royal Challengers Bangalore, after the game had gone into Twenty20 cricket's sudden death - the Super Over. Steyn had to defend 20 runs, thanks to Cameron White's two blazing hits off Vinay Kumar, and came out on top as Royal Challengers fell five runs short.

The teams had fought tooth and nail throughout the forty overs in front of a noisy crowd in Hyderabad. Defending seven, Vinay bowled an impressive 20th over for the second game in a row - conceding only six - but could not repeat the performance in the tiebreaker. He was Virat Kohli's go-to man after he had defended 10 runs off the last over against Mumbai Indians.

 

The seesaw battle began with Sunrisers staying on top as they restricted the strong Royal Challengers' batting line-up to 130 for 8 in 20 overs. What would have happened to the Royal Challengers' innings without Kohli and Moises Henriques was hard to say. The pair contributed 90 to the total.

 

After Chris Gayle fell dramatically to part-timer Hanuma Vihari's first ball in IPL cricket, and Tillakaratne Dilshan was bowled by Ishant Sharma, Kohli had to resurrect the innings. Karun Nair helped him a little by adding 20 for the third wicket, before Kohli and Henriques put on 43 for the fourth. Kohli then fell to a return catch by Ashish Reddy in the 14th over; he had struck the only six of the innings in his 44-ball 46.

 

Henriques' 44 came off 40 balls with five boundaries, and his innings held it together for Royal Challengers towards the finish. He was the seventh batsman out, at the start of the final over bowled by Ishant, who finished with 3 for 27. It was a performance in contrast to the night Dale Steyn had, having finished with 1 for 37 in four overs.

 

The Sunrisers' chase was held together by newcomer Vihari's unbeaten 44 off 46 balls but he never took the game away from Royal Challengers. He would have expected someone like his captain Kumar Sangakkara to take the lead but the Sri Lankan batsman made just 16. The game boiled down to such a finish because of a 23-run stand for the seventh wicket between Vihari and Ashish Reddy.

 

When Reddy joined Vihari in the 17th over, Sunrisers needed 30 off 23 balls. Vinay, who had just heroically run out Amit Mishra, was smashed for 14 in the 18th over, with Reddy slamming a straight six and a slog-swept four. Murali Kartik had to keep Royal Challengers in the game and he gave away seven runs in the penultimate over before Vinay forced the tie.

 

White and Thisara Perera were Sunrisers' choice for the Super Over, and they outdid Royal Challengers' Gayle and Kohli.

Toss Royal Challengers Bangalore chose to bat v Hyderabad Sunrisers

Royal Challengers Bangalore's captain Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat against Hyderabad Sunrisers. While the home captain Kumar Sangakkara wasn't keen on commenting about the pitch, Kohli was confident the track would be easy for the batsman.

The home side have left out DB Ravi Teja to include Ankit Sharma. They defeated Pune Warriors in their first IPL game, defending a low total on Friday and will look to take momentum from it.

Royal Challengers have swapped Australia allrounders - bringing in Moises Henriques in place of Daniel Christian. Chris Gayle has sufficiently recovered from the leg injury he had suffered in the last game, and will be involved in an intriguing battle with Dale Steyn, the best fast bowler in the world.

The players were saved from the Hyderabad heat of 37 degree Celsius as the temperature dropped considerably in the evening at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal.

 

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Akshath Reddy, Parthiv Patel, Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Cameron White, Thisara Perera, Hanuma Vihari, Ashish Reddy, Amit Mishra, Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma, Ankit Sharma

 

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Moises Henriques, Karun Nair, Arun Karthik (wk), Vinay Kumar, Murali Kartik, Jaydev Unadkat, Muttiah Muralitharan

IPL 2013 Match 6: Pune v Kings XI Punjab

Pune Warriors 99/9 20/20 ovs
Kings XI Punjab 100/2 12.2 ovs/20 ovs

Kings XI Punjab win by 8 wickets

Kings XI Punjab's accurate seam bowling was complemented by an all-round fielding display as they raced to an eight-wicket win over Pune Warriors in Pune. It was the first time Punjab had begun an IPL season with a victory and they took just 12.2 overs to chase the target and hand the home side their second successive loss.

Two run-outs and Gurkeerat Singh's spectacular catch were the highlights as Kings XI took control of the game from the first over. The four-man seam attack hardly gave the Warriors batsman a chance on a pitch that perhaps misled them into batting first.

 

Manish Pandey's hesitant prod started Warriors' slide and they struggled in the Powerplay overs. T Suman, who replaced the injured Yuvraj Singh, added 20 for the second wicket with Robin Uthappa, but both fell trying to push the run-rate. Suman skied Azhar Mahmood while Uthappa's charge to the legspinner Piyush Chawla was poorly judged.

 

Mandeep Singh then ran out Marlon Samuels with a terrific throw running in from the deep midwicket boundary, and Chawla later ran out Rahul Sharma with a direct hit from long-off, off the last ball of the innings.

 

Parvinder Awana was a force among the quicks. After a good first over he bowled the best ball of the game, which took Angelo Mathews' outside edge. Warriors were 38 for 5 at the end of the 10th over, and the game had slipped away from them.

 

Kings XI's accurate bowling made the difference, but the first-match energy from the fielders left Warriors batsman stranded at either end for long patches. The highlight in the field came in the 14th over, via a jaw-dropping catch. Ross Taylor's trademark pull towards long leg was intercepted by Gurkeerat, who dived full length to his right and caught the ball after it had passed him and held on to it after crashing to earth.

 

Had Mitchell Marsh and Abhishek Nayar not added 25 for the seventh wicket, Warriors would have had to defend fewer than the 99 they got in the end.

 

Kings XI captain Adam Gilchrist took fourteen runs off the first over of the chase. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was hit for two straight fours and a flicked six, but Gilchrist fell soon after to a catch at deep square-leg.

 

Then it was the turn of little known Manan Vohra to make a spectacle of his IPL debut. The No. 3 batsman smashed four out of five fours in the fourth over bowled by Ashok Dinda. There were nice shots on the offside before the youngster brought out a swivel-pull to finish the over. He then drilled Mathews to the straight boundary to make it five fours in as many balls.

 

Warriors were poor in the field too. Dinda dropped Mandeep Singh at mid-on before Taylor dropped Vohra at slip. Mandeep and Vohra added 58 for the second wicket with the debutant making 43 off 28 balls.

Toss Pune Warriors choose to bat v Kings XI Punjab

Pune Warriors captain Angelo Mathews won the toss and decided to bat against Kings XI Punjab, who were playing their first game of IPL 2013. He expected a score of around 150 to be competitive on a pitch that could slow down later in the game.

 

Warriors were without Yuvraj Singh, who is out with a back injury. He was replaced by batsman T Suman. Yuvraj's absence increased the pressure on Warriors, who lost their opening game of the season to Sunrisers Hyderabad.

 

Kings XI included Ryan Harris, David Hussey, Azhar Mahmood and their captain Adam Gilchrist as the overseas players. Manan Vohra, the former India Under-19 batsman, made his IPL debut. It was a bright and sunny day at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in Pune and the weather was expected to remain the same throughout the game.

 

Pune Warriors: 1 Robin Uthappa (wk), 2 Manish Pandey, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 T Suman, 5 Ross Taylor, 6 Abhishek Nayar, 7 Angelo Mathews (capt), 8 Mitchell Marsh, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Rahul Sharma, 11 Ashok Dinda.

 

Kings XI Punjab: 1 Adam Gilchrist (capt & wk), 2 Mandeep Singh, 3 David Hussey, 4 Azhar Mahmood, 5 Gurkeerat Singh, 6 Manan Vohra, 7 R Sathish, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Parvinder Awana, 10 Praveen Kumar, 11 Ryan Harris.

IPL 2013 Match 5: CSK v MI

Mumbai Indians 148 for 6 (Pollard 57*) beat Chennai Super Kings 139 for 9 (Dhoni 51) by nine runs


Not many sides win a Twenty20 game from 83 for 6 in the first innings. Not many sides have Kieron Pollard, who once again showed how much damage he can cause if he gets some time in the middle. On a pitch where both line-ups crumbled, barring both No. 6 batsmen, Pollard was the difference, although MS Dhoni almost stole the match from Mumbai Indians' grasp with an ever more outrageous counter-attack.  Fittingly, with Chennai Super Kings needing 12 off six, Pollard intercepted what looked set to be another Dhoni six on the deep midwicket boundary, sealing the game for his side with an acrobatic catch.

Pollard had breathed life into a stalled Mumbai Indians innings, which had gone nowhere after Sachin Tendulkar had fallen leg-before to Dirk Nannes in the opening over for a golden duck. Ricky Ponting and Rohit Sharma soon followed Tendulkar. Although Dinesh Karthik looked in fine touch, when he departed for 37, Mumbai Indians were 59 for 4 in the ninth over and the Super Kings seamers were on top.

 

Pollard batted quite sensibly, willing to go without scoring for several deliveries, knowing that when he wanted, he could always collect six with his power and reach. Half of the 38 deliveries he faced were dots, but he also biffed five sixes. Even when he went for the big strikes, he wasn't taking risk. He would just lean forward to length or full deliveries and lift them over long-on.

From 83 for 6, to add 65 in eight overs, with Harbhajan Singh for company, was quite an achievement. Harbhajan's contribution, a run a ball 21, was crucial. Carefree swiping was put away and the strike was turned over. When it wasn't, to Pollard's disappointment in the final over, Harbhajan himself found the boundary. Pollard cracked Dwayne Bravo's final ball of the innings over long-on to ensure there would at least be a contest in the game.

There almost wasn't one, though, as the Super Kings batsmen played a series of poor shots to leave their side gasping at 66 for 5. M Vijay walked too far across to be bowled, Michael Hussey missed a slog to be bowled, Bravo drove loosely, and S Badrinath went too far back when he should have been forward.

Dhoni walked in, and the match started to turn. An upper cut appeared, a whiplash drive, a calm pull. Soon the long-on and deep midwicket boundary was being peppered with monster sixes, even as batsmen kept arriving and departing at the other end. Pollard took the most punishment, five of Dhoni's eight boundaries coming off him. 
 

Forty needed off 18. Dhoni lashed 17 off a Pollard over. 23 needed off 12. Dhoni found the stands at deep midwicket again, this time off Mitchell Johnson. Both Pollard and Johnson sprayed a couple of wides each, such was the impact of Dhoni's assault.

First ball of Munaf Patel's final over, Dhoni went for six more, targetting deep midwicket again, but this time, the towering figure of Pollard stood in the way, and made one final, decisive impact.



Ricky Ponting decided to bat in Chennai, expecting the pitch to slow further as the game progressed. MS Dhoni's mind was on the dew, as he said he would have bowled first.

 

Mumbai Indians brought in an additional spinner in Pragyan Ojha, who replaced Jasprit Bumrah. Jacob Oram made way for Dwayne Smith, the other three overseas players being Ponting, Mitchell Johnson and Kieron Pollard.

 

Chennai Super Kings' overseas choices were Michael Hussey, Dwayne Bravo, Dirk Nannes and Ben Laughlin.

 

Chennai Super Kings: M Vijay, Michael Hussey, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, R Ashwin, Dirk Nannes, Ben Laughlin, Ankit Rajpoot

 

Mumbai Indians: Ricky Ponting (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha

IPL 2013 Match 4: RR v DD

RR 165/7 20/20 ovs
DD 160/6 20/20 ovs

Rajasthan Royals win by 5 runs

An electric late rally in the field, completed by a stoic over of pinpoint yorkers from Kevon Cooper, saw Rajasthan Royals begin their IPL campaign with thrilling 5-run win over Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Daredevils were hurtling towards their target after 17 overs, with only 22 runs to get and a flourishing David Warner at the crease. But Cooper ignited his side with a five-run over in the 18th that ended with a wicket, before a direct hit from acting captain Brad Hodge at cover dismissed Warner in the penultimate, to give his side hope of a still-unlikely win.
 

Nine runs were required off Cooper's final over, but the bowler delivered six yorkers, two of which dismissed panicking Daredevils batsmen, and provided the IPL's first week with its second nail-biting result. Johan Botha was out lbw, attempting a reverse paddle with seven required from four, before Andre Russell also fell trying to hit the ball fine with six needed from two, only this time Cooper cleaned him up. New man Naman Ojha had to hit a six off the last ball for Daredevils to salvage victory, but could not connect with a wide yorker, sparking ecstatic celebrations from the Royals. 
 

Daredevils' death-over meltdown almost mirrored Royals' returns from the same period of their innings, after the visitors had managed just six runs from their last two overs, and lost four wickets. Royals had arrived in the 18th over at 159 for 3, and were eyeing an 180-plus total that seemed par on a good batting surface. They however lost four batsmen in six balls, including Rahul Dravid, whose immaculately paced 65 off 51 held the team's innings together.

 

Dravid had arrived at Kusal Perera's demise in the third over, and aside from a controlled edge to the third man fence first ball, was largely content to collect singles to begin with, despite the fielding restrictions. When the bowlers erred, as Andre Russell did when he served up a wide delivery in the sixth over, Dravid's placement and timing ensured the desired boundary was achieved.

 

He was dropped twice in the 12th over, when he began to introduce more aggression to his innings, but he was undeterred, and having made only 22 from his first 26 deliveries, he quickly achieved a more laudable strike rate through the middle overs.

 

For Daredevils, Warner was also relatively reticent to begin with, allowing opening partner Unmukt Chand to provide the early innings impetus, and striking at no better than a run a ball until the tenth over of the innings.

 

When he eventually exploded in earnest, with two fours off Rahul Shukla's 13th over, Daredevils appeared to be executing a measured chase.

 

Warner was dropped early in his innings, and had one more reprieve just after hitting fifty, as he continued to maul some indifferent Royals bowling through the middle overs. Just before Daredevils hit their wall, Warner launched Siddharth Trivedi's 17th over for 13. After Warner's demise however, none of the Daredevils batsmen seemed capable of finding the boundary, and Royals achieved revenge for the mighty close defeat they had suffered last year, in the same fixture.

 

Rajasthan Royals captain Rahul Dravid won the toss and chose to bat on a Feroz Shah Kotla track expected to be full of runs, against Delhi Daredevils. Daredevils captain Mahela Jayawardene said he would have also chosen to bat first, but expected the pitch to remain suited for batting throughout the match.
 

The hosts were still without Virender Sehwag, who is out through back spasms, and Unmukt Chand will likely open the innings alongside David Warner. Andre Russell, Johan Botha and Jayawardene himself were the other three overseas players for Daredevils.

 

Kusal Perera, the 22-year-old wicketkeeper batsman from Sri Lanka, was making his IPL debut for Royals, while Brad Hodge also strengthened the batting. The West Indies pair, legspinner Samuel Badree and medium-paceer Kevon Cooper, were the other foreign players.

 

The ground was bathed in sunshine at the toss, and conditions were expected to remain fine for the match. Daredevils lost the tournament opener at Eden Gardens, while Royals were playing their first game of the season.

 

Delhi Daredevils: 1 Unmukt Chand, 2 David Warner, 3 Mahela Jayawardene (capt), 4. Naman Ojha (wk), 5 Andre Russell, 6 Johan Botha, 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Manprit Juneja, 9 Ashish Nehra, 10 Shahbaz Nadeem, 11 Umesh Yadav

 

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Rahul Dravid (capt), 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Brad Hodge, 4 Kusal Perera (wk), 5 Stuart Binny, 6 Ashok Menaria, 7 Kevon Cooper, 8 Sidharth Trivedi, 9 Samuel Badree, 10 S Sreesanth, 11 Rahul Shukla

IPL 2013: Match 3: SH v PWI

Sunrisers Hyderabad 126 for 6 (Perera 30) beat Pune Warriors 104 (Steyn 3-11, Mishra 3-19) by 22 runs Sunrisers Hyderabad made a winning debut in the IPL as they defended a low score at their home ground on a slow, difficult pitch. Thisara Perera, Sunrisers' $675,000 acquisition, did not begin too badly for his new franchise, top-scoring with a quick 30, taking the first two Pune Warriors wickets and causing a run-out. Amit Mishra wasn't too far behind, his legbreaks leaving Warriors confounded on a helpful surface. Dale Steyn left the Warriors top order dazed with his outswingers and returned to blow away the lower order with three wickets in four balls. Not many would have given Sunrisers a chance when they almost sleepwalked their way to 126 after being put in, barring a brief effort to break free from Perera. Deccan Chargers, the franchise Sunrisers replaced, had an atrocious record at this ground, and Sunrisers appeared set to extend that in front of a lukewarm turnout. But they came out a different unit with the ball. Steyn, charged up as almost always, beat the Warriors openers repeatedly with quick outswingers. Ishant Sharma was accurate and testing, as he often is when he does not have to lead an attack. The wickets came Perera's way, though.   After running him fine for a boundary, Robin Uthappa tried repeating the stroke and went caught behind. Marlon Samuels gave the lone slip catching practice in Perera's next over, Kumar Sangakkara deserving credit for sticking with the fielder and the bowler.   Warriors' batting line-up stretched way down to No. 8 Mitchell Marsh, but it was to come unstuck as Mishra brought out his control and variations. Yuvraj Singh, on IPL comeback, walked down, and was easily beaten and stumped. Manish Pandey's struggle to put bat to ball ended with a mishit slog off Mishra, as the asking-rate started mounting.   Almost everything clicked for Sangakkara on the field. He needed young Ashish Reddy to bowl a decent 17th over, and the bowler responded by uprooting Ross Taylor's leg stump with a full delivery.   With 33 needed off three overs, Perera was to make another important contribution. Angelo Mathews, who came in at No. 7, smashed a full toss straight back at Perera, who stuck out his right hand, and the dangerous Marsh was caught short of his crease at the non-striker's end.   Warriors' lower order panicked against Steyn, trying to attack the fast bowler while their captain looked on helplessly from the other end, ruing the fact that his team left as many as seven deliveries unused. Sunrisers used up their quota when they batted, but weren't able to find any momentum. The top four got only starts, and it was down to Perera to breathe some life into a suffocating innings.   He began with consecutive fours off Rahul Sharma and slogged Marlon Samuels' darts for two more boundaries before mishitting an Ashok Dinda full toss in the 18th over. Perera's fall meant Sunrisers weren't able to finish well with the bat, but they were far more determined with the ball.     Pune Warriors won the toss and elected to field

Kumar Sangakkara spun the coin, Angelo Mathews called correctly, and asked his senior Sri Lanka team-mate to bat in the new franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad's debut IPL game. Mathews felt dew could be a factor later in the evening, while Sangakkara said he would have batted anyway. Sunrisers' forerunner, Deccan Chargers, had an exceedingly poor record at their home ground in Hyderabad, and local fans would hope for a bright beginning from the new franchise. Both Chargers and Pune Warriors brought up the rear in the previous IPL, and both sets of fans would be hoping for a much better season this time.   Sangakkara chose Sri Lanka allrounder and high-profile acquisition Thisara Perera right away, Dale Steyn and Cameron White taking their places as the other overseas players in the XI. Mathews went in with Ross Taylor, Mitchell Marsh and Marlon Samuels, with big signing Ajantha Mendis left out.   Warriors' Yuvraj Singh also returned to IPL auction after missing the previous season due to his cancer treatment. Along with Sunrisers, Under-19 World Cup winner Hanuma Vihari also made his IPL debut.   Sunrisers Hyderabad: Akshath Reddy, Parthiv Patel (wk), Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Cameron White, Hanuma Vihari, Thisara Perera, DB Ravi Teja, Amit Mishra, Ashish Reddy, Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma   Pune Warriors: Robin Uthappa (wk), Manish Pandey, Ross Taylor, Yuvraj Singh, Marlon Samuels, Angelo Mathews (capt), Mitchell Marsh, Abhishek Nayar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Rahul Sharma

IPL 2013: Match 2 RCB v MI

RCB 156/5 (20/20 ov) MI 154/5 (20/20 ov) RCB win by 2 runs A nerveless final over from Vinay Kumar saw Royal Challengers Bangalore earn a dramatic two-run victory over Mumbai Indians at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, in the second match of IPL 2013. Mumbai arrived in the 20th over only three wickets down, and needing 10 runs for victory, but a double-strike from Kumar, early in the over, brought two new batsmen to the crease, and mounted substantial pressure on the visitors. Kieron Pollard got on strike for the first time, with eight runs needed and only two balls remaining and though he struck his first ball for a four, which would have been a six, but for one inch, he could only dig out the perfect yorker Kumar delivered on the last ball as far as long-on. Royal Challengers' victory had been set up earlier in the match by a Chris Gayle IPL classic. His unbeaten 92 from 58 balls helped his side overcome a pedestrian start, and launched them to 156 for 5. After Gayle, the next highest Royal Challengers score was 24, from Virat Kohli.   Gayle's lone hand began with uncharacteristic reticence, as the Mumbai seam bowlers, led by Mitchell Johnson, found bounce and movement on the grassy Chinnaswamy Stadium surface that had compelled Ricky Ponting to bowl first. The six Powerplay overs saw the fall of two batsmen and yielded only 31 runs, with Gayle having made four of those, from 10 deliveries. In fact it was not until the ninth over that Gayle showed any aggressive intent, when he clipped Jasprit Bumrah through the leg side, before clearing his leg and drilling a full delivery into the sightscreen, next ball.   He rarely eased up thereafter though, hitting 11 fours and five sixes in his innings, as his teammates continued to flounder around him. Pollard came in for conspicuous punishment in the 11th over, disappearing for 15, never to see the bowling crease again, while Munaf Patel's final over went for 16.   Mumbai's reply was promising at the outset, as Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting - opening together for the first time - hit 50 runs together in just over seven overs. But despite that solid foundation, Mumbai's top order was unable to lower the asking rate for much of their innings. Mumbai had Pollard padded up in the dugout, and while Dinesh Karthik, Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu allowed the pressure to escalate through a meandering approach during the middle overs, Pollard was not promoted up the order to induce the dash Mumbai required to win the match.   Karthik finally hit out in the 17th over, hitting three consecutive sixes and a four, to plunder 24 runs off Daniel Christian. Although that mini-surge and the ten-run over that followed tipped the match in favour of the visitors, who needed 17 from 12 balls, a terrific penultimate over from Jaydev Unadkat conceded only seven runs, yielding the floor to a thrilling finish. Mumbai Indians captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and asked Royal Challengers Bangalore to bat on a Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch expected to offer something to the seam bowlers. Royal Challengers captain Virat Kohli said he would have also bowled first, in the second match of IPL 2013. Mumbai have picked two overseas allrounders in their XI, to complete what Ponting believed was a balanced side. Kieron Pollard and Jacob Oram will occupy two of the four foreign slots, with Mitchell Johnson and Ponting himself taking the other two. Lasith Malinga was ruled out of this match due to injury. Muttiah Muralitharan, Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Daniel Christian will be Royal Challengers' overseas players. Conditions are expected to remain fine for the evening, with temperatures around 34 degrees. Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1. Chris Gayle, 2. Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3. Virat Kohli (c), 4. Mayank Agarwal, 5. Daniel Christian, 6. Karun Nair, 7. Arun Karthik (wk), 8. Vinay Kumar, 9. Murali Kartik, 10. Jaidev Unadkat, 11. Muttiah Muralitharan   Mumbai Indians: 1. Ricky Ponting (c), 2. Sachin Tendulkar, 3. Dinesh Karthik (wk), 4. Rohit Sharma, 5. Ambati Rayudu, 6. Kieron Pollard, 7. Jaspreet Gumrah, 8. Mitchell Johnson, 9. Harbhajan Singh, 10. Jacob Oram, 11. Munaf Patel

IPL 2013: Match 1: KKR v DD

DD 128 20 overs
KKR 129/4 18.4 ovs

Kolkata Knight Riders win by 6 wickets with 8 balls remaining
In 2008, Brendon McCullum had set the inaugural edition of the IPL alight with a whirlwind century that stands out for its audacity after more than 300 games in the tournament over five years. Not many will remember the exploits of his team in the opening game of IPL 2013 five years from now, but Kolkata Knight Riders' performance was a dominating one for the conditions they played in as defending champions. On a slow Eden Gardens track that didn't always cater to power-play, Sunil Narine and Rajat Bhatia restricted the Delhi Daredevils batsmen and captain Gautam Gambhir anchored the bulk of the chase. 
 

Mahela Jayawardene, the Daredevils captain, got what he wanted at the toss when Gambhir elected to bowl, but it Knight Riders snatched the initiative as early as the first ball. Unmukt Chand, a rising star in Indian cricket and fresh from back-to-back tons in India's domestic T20 tournament, was beaten by a lovely outswinger from Brett Lee that knocked out off stump. The sight was a delight to a capacity crowd and there were more such instances of batsmen proving clueless against a bowler in a format that's usually one-way traffic, the other way around.

 

Narine had played a pivotal role in Knight Riders' victorious season in 2012, and his variations were just as confounding for the batsmen. David Warner was baffled by a sharp offspinner that he edged to slip, West Indies team-mate Andre Russell was caught napping against a doosra, and Irfan Pathan holed out playing a flighted delivery in the hands of long-off.

 

Jayawardene, however, looked in control, adapting expertly to the approach the pitch demanded, restraining himself from playing expansive shots to rely on touch-play, all the while remaining fluent at one end. Lee was upper-cut over slips, Bhatia and L Balaji were steered through the off side before Lee returned for a final spell to be pulled for six, though, again, with more politeness than venom. Jayawardene helped stretch the score to 128 with a late surge, but Bhatia and Balaji, who bowled eight overs together, conceded 43 and picked up two wickets, had played an excellent containing role with their medium-pace and unsettling cutters before that.

 

A sense of urgency was more evident in Gambhir's start to the chase, as he stepped out to smack Irfan for a four and a six in the third over, the latter clearing long-on. He then targeted Umesh Yadav for two consecutive fours, while Jacques Kallis at the other end was finding the boundary with lesser effort, timing the ball gloriously, a punch down the ground off Ashish Nehra standing out. The pair added 47 in less than six overs, and Gambhir ensured a steady run-flow after losing his partner. The singles came easily with Manoj Tiwary, and the boundaries pierced by late-cuts through gaps on the off side.

 

Gambhir and Tiwary fell in quick succession, but Knight Riders were in control of the chase when they needed 29 off 30 with six wickets in hand. Eoin Morgan and Yusuf Pathan saw to it that the task was completed without any fuss, some quick running and a straight six off Russell relieving any pressure in a low-key beginning to a long IPL season.

57

The number of runs scored by ten Delhi batsmen. Jayawardene made 66

 

The stands at the Eden Gardens were still filling up at the time of the toss, during which Gautam Gambhir, captain of the defending champions, decided to bowl first in the opening game of the sixth edition of the IPL. Kolkata Knight Riders have fewer injury worries than Delhi Daredevils, who are without Virender Sehwag for this match; he is recovering from back spasms. Knight Riders went in Jacques Kallis, Eoin Morgan, Brett Lee, and Sunil Narine as their four overseas players. 
 

Mahela Jayawardene, the Daredevils captain, said he would have preferred to bat anyway. David Warner was one among several Australian batsmen who had a poor Test series in India, but he'll open today. Johan Botha, the offspinner, is Daredevils' overseas spin option for this game, and they've also picked allrounder Andre Russell, who can work up decent pace and is a big-hitting batsman in the middle order. Daredevils have Unmukt Chand - fresh from two Twenty20 centuries on the trot - as an opening option, and he'll be among India's younger crop who'll be closely monitored this tournament.

 

Delhi: Chand, Warner, Jayawradene, Juneja, Botha, N Ojha, Russell, I Pathan, Nehra, Nadeem and U Yadav.

Kolkata: Gambhir, Bisla, Kallis, Tiwary, Y Pathan, Morgan, Laxmi Shukla, Bhatia, Lee, Narine, Balaji

KKR won toss and will field