IPL 2013 Match 57 DD v RCB

Royal Challengers Bangalore 183 for 4 (Kohli 99, de Villiers 32*) beat Delhi Daredevils 179 for 7 (Chand 41, Unadkat 5-25) by 4 runs

After 16 overs of their innings, Royal Challengers Bangalore were 106 for 3, and Virat Kohli was 47 off 43. When Kohli was run out while attempting the second off the last ball of the innings, he had reached 99 off 58, and Royal Challengers had finished on 183.

Not many teams recover from such an onslaught. Delhi Daredevils tried hard to recover, but lost out to a limping Jaydev Unadkat's five-for and crashed to their 10th loss out of 13 matches. Royal Challengers moved to 16 points from 13 matches, staying in touch with the other three contenders for three open spots in the playoffs.

Those four overs, when Kohli and AB de Villiers hit six sixes and seven fours to loot 77 runs, took the game away from the hosts, but until then they had bowled pretty well on a slow surface. The same couldn't be said of their fielding and field placements. The fashionable wide slip, a simple drop by Virender Sehwag and a no-ball by inches all cost them wickets after they had got the better of Chris Gayle.

 

Finally given the first over the innings, Morne Morkel grew a leg and bowled fast, accurate and extracted movement. He had Kohli edging through even before he had scored, but had overstepped by an inch. Sehwag soon dropped Kohli when he was 14. However, despite those blemishes they kept the lid on until Kohli and de Villiers unleashed towards the end.

 

De Villers began the onslaught, attacking his South Africa team-mate and the best Daredevils bower, Morkel. With 18 runs off the 17th over, including a ramp over fine leg, de Villiers might just have freed Kohli up a bit too. He had been anchoring the innings until then, but he now got stuck into his India team-mate, Umesh Yadav. Twenty-four came off that over, and it only got worse for Daredevils.

 

Kohli didn't go crazy with the hitting, but with the strike staying with him, he trusted his trademark shots to punish Yadav some more in the final over of the innings. One of them was a four through wide long-on, and the other a drive through extra cover. He was now 86 with three balls to go. Then came two straight sixes. The run-out of the final ball kept the damage down to 23, but enough had been done.

 

Ravi Rampaul sconed Sehwag twice early in the second innings, and with Sehwag struggling Mahela Jayawardene fell in search of quick runs. Unadkat then took out the softened Sehwag with a slower ball, and Daredvils were 49 for 1 in the sixth over. Around those events, though, Unmukt Chand survived despite a loud edge through to the keeper, and Unadkat injured himself fielding in the deep.

 

With nothing to lose, Daredevils kept going after the total, and stayed in the hunt, but Unadkat once again split the game open when brought back in the 17th over. Daredevils were 129 for 4 then. Soon to be 133 for 6 by the end of that over.

 

It did become a bit interesting with slightly poor bowling over the next two overs, and even poorer umpiring. In the 19th over, Rampaul was no-balled with half his foot behind the line, and the third umpire didn't intervene. He got his own back with a dot-ball yorker, but conceded a six off the last ball, leaving Unadkat 18 to defend in the last over.

 

Both Morkel and Irfan Pathan hit him for a four each before Unadkat came back with a yorker to send back Morkel and seal the win.

IPL 2013 Match 56 Pune Warriors v KKR

Kolkata Knight Riders 152 for 6 (Gambhir 50, Bhuvneshwar 3-25) beat Pune Warriors 106 (Mathews 40, Balaji 3-19) by 46 runs
At the halfway stage, it looked like Pune Warriors had given themselves a target that was achievable, but the batting fizzled out, and Warriors fell to their 11th defeat this year, this time against Kolkata Knight Riders, who are yet to be convinced they are out of the race for playoffs this season. 
 

Warriors' openers, their best bet in the chase, scooted to 19 off the first two overs, but the wheels came off as early as the third over.

 

Aaron Finch had a reprieve off the first ball of the third over when he was caught backing up too far as a straight drive from Robin Uthappa hit the stumps at the non-striker's end. Kallis was convinced the ball had flicked his toe, but the replays were inconclusive. Later in the over Kallis, who argued unnecessarily with umpire Sudhir Asnani, bowled Finch with one that stayed a touch low. Yuvraj Singh's sorry run of scores received yet another entry and, apart from Uthappa and Angelo Mathews, no one got into double-digit scores. L Balaji made the most of the slowness in the wicket with a miserly 3 for 19, ending this tussle between two competitors, who have been lapped in the race this year, in an utterly one-sided fashion.

When asked at the toss if his team was motivated to end the tournament on a high, Gautam Gambhir had said, "playing for KKR is a big enough motivation. If someone needs to look somewhere else for motivation, he shouldn't be in the dressing room." He showed the same intent when he came out to bat, stroking a couple of boundaries through the off side in the second over. Manvinder Bisla joined in and the two were off to a quick start as 44 came off the first five overs.

Parvez Rasool, the debutant offspinner from Jammu & Kashmir, began his spell with a couple of tossed up deliveries but once Gambhir drove him through cover, he lowered his trajectory, shortened the length and started firing them in to good effect.

 

He earned the big wicket of Jacques Kallis in his second over as the batsman failed to clear short cover where Angelo Mathews held on to the catch on second attempt. In between Rasool's overs, Bhuvneshwar Kumar had Bisla stumped by the wicketkeeper, giving him first such victim in any form of cricket. The two consecutive losses made the positive start go pear-shaped as the boundaries dried up. Only 22 runs came between overs six and 10.

With the pitch not offering any pace to the batsmen, Gambhir and Morgan had to contend with singles and doubles as Rasool and Mathews ran through their overs.

 

When Morgan finally tried a ramp shot off Mitchell Marsh, he ended up playing it into the hands of the fielder at short fine leg. Gambhir's innings lost steam at the other end; he had six boundaries to score 35 off his first 22, but managed only 15 without a boundary off the next 22 and although he scored a half-century, he was caught soon at midwicket attempting a cross-batted heave. Pathan came and Pathan went, and Knight Riders were left tottering at 99 for 5 with four overs to spare.

The man of the moment turned out to be the often ignored Netherlands allrounder Ryan ten Doeschate, who was playing his first match this season and only his 10th in his third year with Knight Riders. He revived the innings with a muscular thwack off the first ball of the 17th over that went way over midwicket, ending a seven-over boundary drought, then he powered two more fours straight down the ground to add some spring to the innings.

 

The late spurt in energy was contagious as Manoj Tiwary, making a comeback after injury, also added a few bonus runs, while Rajat Bhatia tarnished Wayne Parnell's last over with a six and four to help Knight Riders to a match-winning total of 152.

IPL 2013 Match 55 Kings XI Punjab v RR

Rajasthan Royals 147 for 2 (Rahane 59*, Samson 47*) beat Kings XI Punjab 145 for 6 (Marsh 77, Cooper 3-23) by 8 wickets

A masterful death bowling effort, and Ajinkya Rahane's third straight fifty, helped consolidate Rajasthan Royals' place in the top four as they beat Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets in Mohali. Kevon Cooper was the primary architect of Kings XI's slow-down towards the end of their innings, as his measured slower deliveries exploited the slow nature of the Mohali surface, and swept away much of the momentum Shaun Marsh and Adam Gilchrist had secured in a 102-run stand.

Having arrived at the 14th over at 100 for 1, Kings XI could only stumble to 145 for 6 in their 20 overs and the batsmen failed to hit a boundary in the last four overs of their innings.
 

Cooper's first victim was Gilchrist, who reinstated himself in the side after three matches. He had batted securely for 42 from 32, and helped Marsh overcome an indifferent start, until he offered Cooper a return catch off an offcutter that took longer to arrive than he had anticipated. Cooper returned in the 17th over, proving difficult to get away, and should have had Marsh out then, had Rahul Dravid held on to a catch running back from cover. Cooper got both Marsh and David Miller next over though, again off slower balls, as both men perished attempting heaves across the line. He finished with 3 wickets for 23 from his four overs.

 

At the toss, Dravid had cited his side's preference for chasing scores as a reason for fielding first, and his choice proved an insightful one as Royals executed a smooth run chase to record their seventh-straight victory batting second. Dravid was uncharacteristically undone by the flight of a dipping Bipul Sharma delivery, but Rahane steadied the chase, alongside Shane Watson, and they rarely allowed the run rate to waver.

 

The pitch seemed to quicken as the match headed to its denouement - again a phenomenon Dravid had expected at the toss - and the hosts' fast bowlers could not build any pressure on the batsmen. Among Rahane's finest strokes was a languid six over extra-cover off Piyush Chawla, and an arrogant punch through the covers off Parvinder Awana.

 

Watson and Rahane put on 66 before Watson was dismissed by Chawla. Rahane subsequently gained a bundle of spirited raw-talent in 18-year-old Sanju Samson, who actually outshone Rahane in the latter part of the innings. The pair relied largely on singles and twos to form the base of their partnership, but quickly began finding the boundary as well, Samson doing so with particular audacity. He was unbeaten on 47 from 33 after hitting the winning boundary at the end of the 19th over, with Rahane on 59 from 49.

 

Marsh's 64-ball 77 was the backbone of Kings XI's foundation, but their failure to kick on from a good start ultimately cost them the match.

IPL 2013 Match 54 SRH v CSK

Chennai Super Kings 223 for 3 (Raina 99*, Hussey 67) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 146 for 8 (Parthiv 44) by 77 runs

A predatory mauling that lasted for most of Chennai Super Kings' innings set up a mammoth 77-run for the visitors, who ruined Sunrisers Hyderabad's perfect home record and placed themselves on the very brink of another playoffs berth.

Michael Hussey's 42-ball 67 fanned the sparks of a bright start into a roaring middle-over onslaught, before Suresh Raina acquired the bellows and set the stadium ablaze. At the close of the innings, he was one run short of a deserved hundred, having struck at over 190, and with the aid of a brief late burst from Ravindra Jadeja and a woeful Sunrisers attack, he had lifted his side to 223 for 3.

Sunrisers rarely looked capable of challenging that total during their response, and finished eventually on 146 for 8, now facing a steep climb into the playoffs, as their net run rate suffered due to the big defeat.
 

At the toss MS Dhoni said he had instructed his side to drive their 60-run loss to Mumbai Indians from their minds, and it is difficult to imagine how his side could have been more emphatically obedient.

 

The same top order that succumbed to 40 for 6 in their last match appeared in supreme collective form in Hyderabad, and though their opponents were lacklustre at best, Super Kings' batsmen not only exacted a heavy toll from the bad balls, they heaped pressure on the bowling by creating their own space and blasting even good deliveries to the fence.

Ishant Sharma began the rot for Sunrisers on his way to figures of 0 for 66 in his four overs - the worst ever spell in the history of the tournament. Dale Steyn, who conceded only 17 in contrast, had begun the match with a maiden to Hussey, but the batsman quickly amended his strike-rate against Ishant, before his opening partner M Vijay exploited the poor bowling even more brutally in Ishant's next over, by hitting him for three consecutive on side sixes. 
 

Hussey's knock was drenched in class. Running hard as always, and finding gaps with uncanny precision, Hussey moved smoothly through the gears after his slow start, and before long, Super Kings were hitting 10 runs or more an over as a matter of routine. The spinners were treated little different from the errant quicks - Hussey launched both Amit Mishra and Karan Sharma into the stands - before Raina came quickly up to speed and had eclipsed his senior partner before Hussey's dismissal.

Sunrisers continued to stray, though it must be said the flat pitch offered little wiggle room for bowlers, and Raina, moving particularly swiftly around the crease, rarely seemed to be breaking a sweat as he hit ball after ball to the fence. He tortured a broken Ishant in his final over, hitting four pretty fours and a slogged six, plundering 23 from that over for himself, though two wides added a couple more to the team tally.

Sunrisers failed to rally at any point after Super Kings had set off, and though Parthiv Patel gave the hosts a sliver of hope, as he set off quickly in their reply, the clatter of wickets at the other end snuffed that chance, and left them still outside the top four on the table. Super Kings consolidated their position at the top with 20 points, with three league games to play.

3rd ODI Zimbabwe v Bangladesh

Zimbabwe 251 for 3 (Sibanda 103*, Williams 55*) beat Bangladesh 247 for 9 (Mahmudullah 75*, Nasir 63) by 7 wickets

Vusi Sibanda brought up his second ODI hundred by hitting the winning runs that secured Zimbabwe a rare series victory, against Bangladesh in Bulawayo. Zimbabwe's seven-wicket success broke the deadlock between the sides and gave the hosts the series 2-1.

Zimbabwe's bowlers laid the foundation for the victory, operating with discipline to restrict Bangladesh to 247 for 9. Brian Vitori's two-wicket burst with the new ball gave the hosts impetus, before Tendai Chatara and Prosper Utseya bowled expert line and lengths in the middle overs. There were no bowling heroes, but a collective effort did the job.

 

The batting hero was undoubtedly Sibanda. He forged different types of partnerships, often played the less dominant role, and stayed until the game was won. Sibanda was stranded for an over on 99, when Sean Williams hit a boundary with five runs required, but Williams then blocked five balls and gave his partner the chance to get to his hundred. Sibanda edged the next ball for four, to move to 103 off 135 balls, and the celebrations began.

 

Williams' contribution to the chase was 55 off 46 balls, his second successive half-century. He gave Sibanda adequate support and put himself in line for a Test spot in the future.

 

The fourth-wicket stand finished off what Zimbabwe's openers had begun, with a 79-run partnership. Sibanda let Hamilton Masakadza dominate and their association produced Zimbabwe's first 50-plus opening stand since September 2011. When Masakadza was dismissed for 41 off 46 balls, the platform had been laid for the rest.

 

Sikandar Raza began his third ODI innings slowly, taking most of the strike during a steady 56-run stand with Sibanda. Raza made 37 off 52 balls, and though he batted quietly for most parts, the pair frustrated the visitors. Bangladesh had an opening when they removed Raza and the captain Brendan Taylor in the space of six balls, but that was their last strikes of the game.

 

Bangladesh's innings was remarkably different. Vitori's successive dismissals of Mohammad Ashraful and Jahurul Islam rocked the visitors in the fourth over. He got one to climb on Ashraful, who gloved a catch to gully. Jahurul played around a straighter and fuller delivery, and was bowled.

 

Despite recovering from those blows Bangladesh lost their way during the middle overs, when three of their senior batsmen fell without converting starts. Mushfiqur Rahim made 32 off 41 balls before holing out at deep midwicket, after adding 62 for the third wicket.

 

Tamim Iqbal followed soon after, playing a shot in anger after having played only one forceful shot in his 70-ball innings. He made 32 with two fours and a six, and was more circumspect than usual, but was dismissed trying to slog Chatara. Shakib also threw it away after making 18 off 23 balls, giving Williams at short fine leg an easy catch while trying to clear mid-on.

 

Bangladesh were 110 for 5 in the 28th over, but recovered through a 79-run stand between Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah. Nasir made 63 off 74 balls, and after his dismissal Mahmudullah took over and scored his ninth ODI half-century. They gave their team a defendable target, but Zimbabwe's batsmen did not make too many mistakes in the chase.

 

The 2-1 series win was a boost to Zimbabwe after their poor showing in the Caribbean, while Bangladesh will rue their performance after impressive showings in three previous ODI competitions.

IPL 2013 Match 53 MI v KKR

Mumbai Indians 170 for 6 (Tendulkar 48, Smith 47) v Kokata Knight Riders 105 (Harbhajan 3-27, Johnson 2-13) by 65 runs

In the increasingly intense fight for the play-offs, Mumbai Indians joined Rajasthan Royals at No. 2 hours after the latter had broken away with a win of their own. And the win came easy against the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders. It was the kind of win that coaches love: almost everything went to plan. They won the toss, batted first, Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik got them a target, and their superior attack shut Knight Riders out. Only a faulty light tower and some good fielding towards the end of Mumbai's innings posed any resistance.

It was all one-way traffic from the moment Tendulkar smacked Ryan McLaren for five successive fours, all to different areas of the ground, in the fourth over. By the time the power failure countered the Tendulkar blaze, he had reached 29 off 17 balls. Despite Dwayne Smith's struggle to get going at the other end, Mumbai were headed in the right direction.

 

The lights came back on for Tendulkar to score 19 more off 11 more balls. Smith failed to reach a run a ball, but by the time they fell, Mumbai had reached 99 in the 14th over. Some good fielding - Eoin Morgan's catch at deep midwicket, lobbing the ball up, stepping over the boundary and coming back in to complete the catch; and two run-outs - reduced Mumbai to 144 for 6 in the 19th over.

 

Karthik, though, kept scoring from one end. Most striking was his unsettling of Sunil Narine. He used sweeps to hit Narine off his length, and took 20 off the 11 balls he faced from Narine. Mitchell Johnson, as if to give a sample of what was to follow, smacked the last ball of the innings for a straight six.

 

Ten minutes later, he began swinging the ball at a high pace. An inside edge saved Manvinder Bisla first ball, and then next hit him high on the thigh pad. Two balls later, Gautam Gambhir played for the non-existent swing, and was bowled for a duck. Jacques Kallis and Bisla looked to revive the chase, but Pragyan Ojha had Bisla stumped just after the Powerplay. 

 

Kallis soon fell to Harbhajan Singh, who had dropped him earlier. And when Eoin Morgan sliced Abu Nechim to point in the 13th over, the game was virtually over, just like Knight Riders' campaign.

IPL 2013 Match 52 RR v DD

Rajasthan Royals 155 for 1 (Rahane 63*, Dravid 53) beat Delhi Daredevils 154 for 4 (Rohrer 64*) by nine wickets

A stuttering top order and a lame effort with the ball consigned Delhi Daredevils to their ninth loss in 12 matches, while Rajasthan Royals sounded a warning with a nine-wicket thumping that embellished their unbeaten home record, and propelled them to second place on the table.
 

Royals' seventh straight victory in Jaipur was founded first on robust bowling, as Siddharth Trivedi, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny and 41-year-old debutant Pravin Tambe struck upon a collective consistency that erased the damage done in Shaun Tait's early, wayward overs. Their openers then flew to an unbeaten century stand in staggeringly orthodox fashion, and ensured Daredevils' modest total would not challenge them.

Ajinkya Rahane, who opened alongside Rahul Dravid, was dropped on 4, but did hardly a misdeed thereafter, as he finished not out on 63 from 45 balls, after he hit the winning run in the 18th over. Dravid had more of the strike in the early overs, and though he was the slower scorer, reached his fifty first, before departing for 53, with the match almost secure, at 108 for 1. 



It was Royals' bowling, however, that had the bigger impact on the match, as they muzzled a seasoned Delhi Daredevils top order, despite their strike bowler's indiscretions. Tait began the match with an 11-run over, three wides among those runs, and his second cost 17, later in the Powerplay. But James Faulkner and Watson had struck once each in between those Tait overs, and that was enough to scare Mahela Jayawardene and David Warner into relative reticence. 



On a pitch so full of runs, Daredevils did not hesitate to bat first, but the visitors were barely scoring at six an over inside the Powerplay, and when Warner departed in the eighth over to leave his side at 47 for 3, the run rate dipped further still. Jayawardene attempted a measured rescue, but fell too, before he could make any meaningful impact, and were it not for a well-paced 64 not out from Ben Rohrer, whose recent nuptials had evidently done him good, Daredevils may not have reached 154 for 4 on a pitch on which they should have made 180. 




Royals' openers exploited Daredevils bowling, and the pair went about playing orthodox cricket, with just the level of aggression required for such a chase. Daredevils' seam bowlers strayed towards the pads too often, and Dravid laced the first four of the innings through the leg side, and continued to prosper there, throughout his innings. Rahane began with more nerves - an inside edge past the stumps in the eighth over in addition to the early life - but he found the going simple enough in the end, thanks largely to the largesse of the bowlers.

 

Watson arrived after Dravid's fall in the 14th over and struck two powerful fours off Umesh Yadav almost immediately, as Rahane coasted beyond 50 at the other end. The pair blasted one six apiece in the 17th over to take their side to the brink.

IPL 2013 Match 51 RCB v Kings XI Punjab

Kings XI Punjab 194 for 4 (Miller 101*) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore190 for 3 (Gayle 61, Pujara 51) by 6 wickets

David Miller became the fourth centurion of this edition of the IPL as he single-handedly kept Kings XI Punjab in contention for a playoff place. His 38-ball hundred resurrected Kings XI from 64 for 4 and he was chiefly responsible for the 99-run blaze scored in the last five overs of the chase to pull off a coup against a team studded with superstars.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore would not have expected this from the Mohali-based minnows, especially after they recorded the fifth-highest total of the tournament so far. Their innings was built on the shoulders of Chris Gayle - who crossed the fifty mark for the first time since his 175 against Pune and reclaimed the orange cap - and the fit-again Cheteshwar Pujara and given legs by AB de Villiers' cameo at the end.

 

Kings XI responded with only a spine in Miller. He proved it remains the most important component of the human body and can be totally self-sustaining if needs be.

Miller's father would have been a proud man, if he was watching in Durban. He gave his son an important piece of advice when he was growing up and tonight he followed it to the letter." If it's in the V, it's in the tree and it it's in the arc, it's out of the park," Miller senior said.
 

Against an attack that continued to offer him length, Miller had both those options and took full advantage. His innings was a masterclass in hitting straight, although not all his shots found the boundary. He top-edged one attempt when he was on 42. Virat Kohli spilled the skier which proved match-changing. The next over confirmed it, as Miller took 26 off RP Singh to begin the assault. He started by dispatching a half-volley over long-off and ending with a cut over point to display his ability in hitting to other areas of the ground as well.

 

Miller went on to pick the slower ball with ease and targeted wicket area as well, bringing up the 100 partnership with Rajagopal Sathish with a six off a short-ball. Sathish had only scored 11 at that point and was happy to play a bit-part role until the end.

 

Sathish managed 14 runs off Gayle's over and then dutifully gave Miller the strike to end the match. With four runs to get - it was only the 18th over - and Miller on 94, he needed a big hit to reach a century and sent a length ball over the sightscreen to bring up his milestone in characteristic fashion.

Fittingly, it came off Gayle who had himself showed intent in the other half of the match but had to be a spectator this time. Gayle started well, despite being peppered with short balls from the Kings XI attack. Praveen Kumar and Parvinder Awana did not have the pace to test Gayle on the back foot and he had Pujara as an ideal foil. When Gayle was bowled, Pujara went on to record his first half-century in the format in typically classy fashion. His only ungainly shot came when he charged Manpreet Gony and played on.

 

Kings XI clawed back but ran into de Villiers at the end of the innings. His cheeky defiance began with a flyswat through midwicket and he innovated with the sweep shot and square cut to take Royal Challengers to a total they would have been satisfied with.

 

Having reduced Kings XI to 64 for 4 at the halfway stage, with David Hussey among those dismissed, Royal Challengers would have been confident of victory. But the other David was still at the crease and it is his name Royal Challengers will remember after tonight.

IPL 2013 Match 50 RR v PWI

Rajasthan Royals 182 for 5 (Rahane 67, Dravid 58, Binny 32*, Parnell 3-27) beat Pune Warriors 178 for 4 (Uthappa 54, Finch 45) by five wickets
The Sawai Mansingh Stadium continued to remain a fortress for Rajasthan Royals, though it came close to being breached by Pune Warriors during a high-scoring clash on Sunday. Royals moved to No.3 in the IPL points table, their openers Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane guiding a big chase with half-centuries, and Stuart Binny and Sanju Samson chipping in with crucial cameos to help sneak their team home in the final over.

The sixth straight win at home for Royals was a seventh consecutive loss for Warriors, who need to get their bowling in order to spoil a party or two this season.

The dew was a factor in Jaipur, but Rahul Sharma's long-hops in a game-changing 17th over could not be blamed on the environment alone. With 43 needed off 24 balls, he gifted a short ball outside off to Binny, who promptly slashed it past point. Two more short deliveries later, Binny pulled the next one over the deep midwicket boundary. Samson faced his first ball with 28 needed off 16, and began imperiously, showing no signs of nerves, driving Wayne Parnell on the up and then running him past third man for successive boundaries. Binny took charge, dispatching a length ball from Bhuvneshwar Kumar for six in the penultimate over and squeezing Parnell past mid-on for four to seal victory when one run was needed off two balls.

Dravid surprised a few by walking out to open instead of Shane Watson during Royals' chase of 179, but took the lead in delivering a brisk start that was the foundation for his team's successful overhaul of Warriors' score. He punched Bhuvneshwar for two boundaries through point in the opening over, then targeted Krishnakant Upadhyaya for three fours to three different parts of the ground. The best shot of his innings was an inside-out drive for four off Angelo Mathews, and he had a straight six up his sleeve off Rohit Sharma shortly before holing out for 58. It was part of a 98-run opening stand with Rahane, in 71 balls.

Rahane will feel a little hard done to have missed out on a place in the Champions Trophy squad, and his latest knock ended an unsatisfactory run of scores over the last few matches for him. He played the supporting role to his captain, but took charge in the 14th over off Mathews, helping snatch 21, including two fours and a sweetly-timed six over extra cover. Not one to derive a lot of thrill playing cross-batted shots, Rahane dragged a couple from outside off stump against the Warriors seamers, one of them ending up as a flat six. When he fell, he left Binny with a task he's become quite familiar with this season, as a finisher.

On a good track to bat on, Robin Uthappa had given Warriors a real shot at victory with a second-successive half-century. He is known to have worked hard this season, having lost 17 kilos to get in shape. Together with Aaron Finch, with whom he added 97, Uthappa took advantage of some sloppy Royals bowling that included a series of wides down the leg side. He middled the ball, and Mitchell Marsh ended the innings on a high, cruising to an unbeaten 35 off 21 balls. It marked a second straight improved performance with the bat from Warriors, but wasn't enough to rescue their bowlers.

2nd ODI Zimbabwe v Bangladesh

Zimbabwe 253 for 4 (Wiliams 77*, Sibanda 49, Shafiul 2-51) beat Bangladesh 252 for 9 (Razzak 53*, Chigumbura 3-39) by six wickets

Sean Williams guided the Zimbabwe chase to a successful finish, after Vusi Sibanda laid the foundation. The home side have levelled the series 1-1, making the third and final match of the series the decider. The six-wicket win also broke a six-match losing streak in ODIs, Zimbabwe having won their last game in October 2011, coincidentally at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

Williams struck his eleventh half-century to finish unbeaten on 77 off 74 balls as Zimbabwe overhauled a fairly stiff target of 253. He was not entirely attacking, but did bring out the big shots whenever the opportunity arose or a boundary was required. He struck five fours and a six, slammed over square-leg. The boundaries came through pull shots, a straight drive and even a reverse-sweep slammed through regulation cover.

Malcolm Waller played a great foil to Williams, contributing 39 off 50 balls with four boundaries. His calmness in a nervous chase also helped, as he played mostly straight and used the crease very well. Williams and Waller added 86 after Brendan Taylor was dismissed in the 35th over, scoring at 6.29. They were mostly calm during the second Powerplay overs that followed immediately, taking just 29 runs as they kept up with the required run-rate.

That was the third of three mid-sized partnerships on which the win was built. The first of the three was between Sibanda and Sikandar Raza for the second wicket. The pair added 65 in just 12.2 overs, blunting the pace bowlers. They struck ten boundaries, Sibanda hammering seven in his 51-ball 49 which forced Mushfiqur Rahim to use five bowers in the first 12 overs. Raza was attacking against pace, hitting three boundaries in his 36-ball 23. But the newcomer playing only his second ODI struggled to get the left-arm spinners away.

 

It was the Razzak and Shakib Al Hasan bowling spell which slowed these two down, with Sibanda's falling lbw to Shakib. Four balls after he was dismissed, Raza followed suit as he chipped an easy catch to midwicket off Shafiul Islam.

 

Taylor and Williams then batted slowly, quite deliberately so. They added 73 for the fourth wicket, which was vital as they were 94 for 3 in the 18th over when Raza was dismissed. Taylor made 37 off 60 balls. The Bangladesh bowlers were ordinary, perhaps for the first time on tour as they were found out by a very good batting track.

 

They couldn't back up Razzak's last-ditch effort with the bat. He struck five sixes, one of which was hit out of the ground, in his 22-ball 53. Razzak's innings, though, only masked how poorly some of the top- and middle-order batsmen performed.

 

The openers Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful didn't reach double figures while the new No. 3 Mominul Haque struggled to work the ball around, and play his natural game. Mushfiqur made 26 in quick time but fell leg-before, while Nasir Hossain was constricted by some good field placements by the Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor.

 

Once again, Bangladesh were at the wrong end of a poor umpiring decision. Shakib was adjudged leg-before though the ball looked to be heading down the leg-side, and there was a hint of an inside-edge as well. His reaction was almost violent, slamming the bat on to his pads. It also accidentally touched Taylor's pad as he walked to celebrate with Prosper Utseya, and Shakib apologised immediately.

 

Until Razzak went after them, the Zimbabwe bowlers were more disciplined than in the first game, when they conceded 18 wides. The return of Kyle Jarvis made the difference, injecting much needed verve into the attack. He was poor towards the end, though, conceding 17 runs in the last over.

The May 8 finale would be the perfect end to an erratic but entertaining series which has seen some excellent fightbacks from both sides.

IPL 2013 Match 49 CSK v MI

Mumbai Indians 139 for 5 (Rohit Sharma 39*, Jadeja 3-29) beat Chennai Super Kings 79 (Ojha 3-11, Johnson 3-27) by 60 runs

It was as if the Chennai Super Kings batsmen wanted to beat the evening crowds in the Mumbai local trains. So as opposed to chasing the below-par 140 in a hurry, they kept throwing away their wickets away, folding for the lowest total this IPL and losing by 60 runs to end their seven-match winning streak.
 

No matter how much credit you give to Mumbai Indians' bowling - one of the more watchable acts of the IPL - it was a surreal case of mediocrity manufacturing excitement in the first few overs of the chase. In the first over of the chase, Mitchell Johnson kept bowling short and wide, Michael Hussey kept cutting it to Kieron Pollard at point, and Pollard kept dropping. The third successive one of those cut Pollard's nose, and he walked off the field even as the Wankhede Stadium rubbed its collective eyes.

 

You could argue Johnson came back with a superb second over, but that began with a loose shot from M Vijay, who dragged a wide length ball on. Suresh Raina played across one, and got a leading edge to Pollard at point. This time Pollard dived in front and half-redeemed himself. As is the rule with Super Kings, they sent S Badrinath to face the crisis, and he nearly edged the hat-trick ball. Soon, Johnson beat his other edge with a left-arm bowlers' outswinger, and was denied a triple-wicket maiden only by Dwayne Bravo.

 

And Wankhede was yet to finish rubbing its eyes. In the next over, Bravo drove a shortish Pawan Suyal delivery off the back foot straight to cover. At 18 for 4, MS Dhoni held himself and Ravindra Jadeja back, and sent in R Ashwin, who soon fell to the veteran offspinner he has usurped, Harbhajan Singh. In came Dhoni with the asking rate past eight and only five wickets in hand.

 

Hussey regained his orange cap, but his innings was never fluent. Lasith Malinga's over to him was striking as the bouncers did Hussey in with both the slowness and then pace. Under immense pressure, Hussey looked for release the moment Pragyan Ojha came on to bowl, and lofted him straight to deep midwicket to make it 40 for 6 in 9.1 overs.

 

Too much was left for Dhoni to do, and he too holed out off Ojha. Malinga ran through the rest, and Mumbai kept themselves in the top four with the end of the league approaching. It shouldn't have been that easy, though, after they managed about 50 fewer than the average first-innings score in Mumbai this season. Once again, they were off to a slow start, and five of their top six failed to score at more than a run a ball.

 

The two who did, captain Rohit Sharma and Harbhajan, went on to bat until the end. When they took it to the end, they got a loose last over from Ben Laughlin and took 19 runs off it. It didn't seem the case then, but the momentum had shifted.

IPL 2013 Match 48 Sunrisers v Delhi

Sunrisers Hyderabad 81 for 4 (Dhawan 22) beat Delhi Daredevils 80 (Sammy 2-10, Perera 2-11) by six wickets
A couple of years ago, the Hyderabad Cricket Association had performed several pujas at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal seeking divine intervention to change the fortunes of the home side which seemed to invariably lose at the venue. Whether it was India, the local Ranji side or the now-defunct Deccan Chargers, the Hyderabad crowd turned up only to see their side defeated. 
 

Whether it is due to the pujas or not, the home side's fortunes have certainly changed at the Uppal stadium. India won two Tests there this season, and the new franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad have now won five in five after routing Delhi Daredevils with 37 balls remaining.

 

The bedrock of Sunrisers' surprisingly successful season so far has been the bowling. Dale Steyn has bowled with frightening pace, Amit Mishra and Karan Sharma have used their googlies to flummox the batsmen, Thisara Perera has had plenty of success with both bat and ball and Ishant Sharma, usually so profligate in the limited-overs format, has been effective with the new ball. All of that came together perfectly as they hounded out Daredevils for 80, the lowest total of the season.

 

Daredevils' campaign had been on life support over the past week, with a couple of victories just about keeping them alive in the competition. Their chances are now dead and buried after their faltering batting failed once again. There were only four fours and one six in the entire innings, less than what AB de Villiers managed in a single over against Ashok Dinda earlier this week.

 

Their openers survived a couple of pacy, probing overs from Steyn at the start before Asad Rauf gave a rough lbw decision to Mahela Jayawardene. Virender Sehwag followed soon after as he missed an indipper from Darren Sammy and lost his offstump. That left only David Warner among the big names, and though he was put down on 6, he couldn't make it to double-digits as he misread a Mishra googly and was stumped by yards.

 

The Sunrisers quicks had a plan on a track that was slow and had some variable bounce - they didn't bowl anything full, giving nothing that could be driven easily. The surface also offered turn for the spinners, which both Mishra and Karan exploited.

 

Daredevils had lengthened their batting with the inclusion of two overseas allrounders, Johan Botha and Jeevan Mendis, but it was to little avail. Mendis holed out to long-on, Botha top-edged to the keeper, and Irfan Pathan dragged on a Steyn delivery to the stumps. Daredevils went from 70 for 5 to 80 all out.

 

Sunrisers major weakness is their frail batting, and the pitch was not a batting beauty but the target was too small for Daredevils' bowlers to stand a real chance of defending it. Shikhar Dhawan made it seem like a flat track early on with some sumptuous shots, and though there were a few hiccups, Sunrisers maintained their 100% home record without too much trouble.

IPL 2013 Match 47: KKR v RR

Kolkata Knight Riders 133 for 2 (Yusuf 49*, Kallis 33) beat Rajasthan Royals 132 for 6 (Samson 40, Watson 35, Senanayake 2-26) by eight wickets

Kolkata Knight Riders used the comfort of their home territory to register only their fourth win in the competition, effortlessly beating Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets. Both teams had stuffed their teams with spinners as if it was a fifth day Kanpur pitch, but it was Knight Riders' spinners who strangled Royals' batsmen before Yusuf Pathan and Jacques Kallis pushed the team over the line with 16 balls to spare.
 

The victory has kept Knight Riders' chances of making it to the playoffs alive, but the task ahead remains extremely difficult; five wins in five matches required from here.

At the mid-innings break, Sanju Samson, the top scorer for Royals, had said that he was confident the 132-run total was defendable on a pitch that was slow and afforded turn to the spinners, but Royals' slow bowlers were not able to have the same impact as their counterparts from Knight Riders, with Brad Hogg guilty of dishing out plenty of full tosses. Manvinder Bisla and Gautam Gambhir raced away at the start, adding 41 runs in no time, and although both were out within 10 balls of each other, Yusuf and Kallis quickly shot any hopes that might have cropped up for Royals with some lusty hits. Yusuf remained unbeaten on 49, his best score for Knight Riders in his three-year long association with the team.

Royals have an untarnished home record this season, but they have been a shadow of themselves playing away. As they chose to bat, a heavy dose of spin was expected. But Gambhir made a surprise move, opening the bowling with medium pacer Sumit Narwal, who was playing his second game this season, but bowling for the first time. Judging by the way Rahane played each delivery off the front foot irrespective of the length, it was clear he didn't think Narwal posed much of a threat.

Sachithra Senanayake, at the other end, was a more obvious choice and he extracted the juice that was there for the spinners. He tossed up the first delivery of his second over, releasing it a touch slower, and drew a mistake from Ajinkya Rahane. The batsman stretched out to play an inside out lofted drive, missed the ball as it turned sharply through the gap between bat and pad, and saw the keeper whipping the bails off.

 

Dravid tried to unsettle Knight Riders' plans by sending James Faulkner at No. 3, but the move yielded just one run. Sanju Samson, the impressive 18-year-old, joined Shane Watson and added 41-runs for the third wicket during which neither batsmen appeared in any trouble. The two picked up singles off the spinners for a couple of overs, before Samson unleashed a meaty punch through extra cover that oozed class off the second ball bowled by Jacques Kallis. He got more adventurous in the next over, smashing a short delivery by Iqbal Abdulla over cow corner, deep into the crowd.

Royals had patiently moved to 71 for 2 after 10 overs when Gambhir introduced Sunil Narine. The bowler's repertoire of variations was all thrown at Watson in the first over, and the batsman, struggling to pick the changes, bowed out of the battle after just five balls. Samson continued to dazzle and looked set for another half-century. But he fell in the 18th over, five balls after he had been dropped by Bisla off Narine. Dravid held himself back till the end and came in at No. 8 to play just three balls, but none of the batsmen who came before him had much of an impact.

Royals' total proved too tiny to pose any problems for Knight Riders, who rounded off their final league match at Eden Gardens with a resounding victory.

1st ODI Zimbabwe v Bangladesh

Bangladesh 269 for 8 (Nasir 68, S Masakadza 4-51) beat Zimbabwe 148 (H Masakadza 38, Ziaur 5-30) by 121 runs

Bangladesh came out on top by making fewer mistakes, and ended up crushing Zimbabwe by 121 runs. The home side fell into a sink-hole of wickets in the middle order, from which they never recovered.

The material differences between the two teams were Nasir Hossain's timely 68, which rescued Bangladesh from their own middle-order implosion, and Ziaur Rahman's five wickets, which damaged the Zimbabwe middle-order badly. It also helped Rahman bring down his bowling average.

It was Brendan Taylor's dismissal for 33 that saw the home side slip from 78 for two in the 15th over to 148 all out in 32.1 overs.

 

Taylor had his offstump rattled by Razzak after batting confidently for 37 deliveries. After a short partnership, Sean Williams was run out after some hesitation with his partner Hamilton Masakadza, who fell for a promising 38 soon after. He was Ziaur Rahman's first wicket of the day, before the Bangladesh bowler dismissed Elton Chigumbura and Prosper Utseya in quick succession.

 

Chigumbura played a slog off his third ball, while Mominul Haque took a catch to remove Utseya for a duck. Television replays of Utseya's dismissal weren't conclusive as the umpires went to the third-umpire for a decision.

 

This was the worst period of play for Zimbabwe's batting as they lost 5 wickets for 15 runs in 39 balls. The last four of these wickets fell on 93, as Bangladesh took control of the game. Malcolm Waller and Shingi Masakadza added 55 runs for the eighth wicket but Ziaur broke the stand and later took the wicket of Tinashe Panyangara to complete the five-for. Robiul Islam removed Shingi who made 33 to add to his four-wicket haul.

 

Earlier, Nasir held the Bangladesh innings together after they were 94 for 4 in the 22nd over. It was his fifth ODI fifty, and he struck seven fours and a six in his 67-ball innings. He put together two important partnerships too. For the fifth wicket, he and Mominul Haque added 76 off 87 balls in quick time, before Nasir and Mahmudullah put together 44 runs for the sixth wicket.

 

Nasir's knock was the only element of the innings that wasn't riddled with mistakes, although his innings ended with a well-timed shot that was caught at deep point. But he dominated the Zimbabwe bowlers despite the situation. He found boundaries regularly, striking the ball very well and piercing the off-side field from the start.

 

Mominul struck three boundaries in his 66-ball 38, which was slightly slower than what was desired at the stage. And not for the first time, he was out playing a ball far from his body. All the main Bangladesh batsmen gave away their wickets to a combination of soft dismissals, poor calling and overall complacency.

 

It began with Tamim Iqbal, who was caught down the legside off Shingi Masakadza in the 14th over. He and Mohammad Ashraful added 65 runs quite confidently but their reticence at playing shots regularly had them getting out in such ordinary manner.

 

Ashraful, too, got out to a poor shot, caught at deep square-leg off Shingi's next over. Captain Mushfiqur Rahim under-edged to the wicketkeeper after chasing a wide one outside offstump from Masakadza. Three balls later, Shakib Al Hasan was run out after Mominul's poor call. 

 

After he tapped the ball on the offside, Mominul initially called him for the single but stopped him midway through the run. Shakib slipped and before he could run, Malcolm Waller had hit the stumps with an underarm throw.

 

Masakadza was the best Zimbabwe bowler, taking four wickets for 51 runs. It was a frustrating morning session for the home side as they gave away 36 extras, including 18 wides. Masakadza completed his third four-wicket haul in ODIs after he clean bowled Mahmudullah. The beleaguered batsman came out at No. 7 to make 36 off 38 balls with three fours, key to their 88 runs in the final ten overs.

25 overs Zimbabwe 105 for 7 (H Masakadza 38, Ziaur 3-23) need 164 runs to beat Bangladesh 269 for 8 (Nasir 68, Shingi 4-51)

Zimbabwe slipped to 105 for 7 after 25 overs as Bangladesh slowly took charge of the first ODI in Bulawayo. The home side's batting line-up fell apart after their captain Brendan Taylor fell in the 15th over, losing four more wickets in their chase of 270.

Malcolm Waller and Shingirai Masakadza were at the crease, as they looked to minimise the damage to the innings. It was a similar collapse to Bangladesh's after they lost four wickets for 29 runs after a good start. Zimbabwe were cruising at 78 for 2 before Ziaur Rahman and Abdur Razzak struck.
 

Razzak took the important wicket of Taylor, rushing the ball past his bat and taking the off stump out of the ground. Taylor made 33 off 37 balls, and looked the most confident of all the batsmen. He struck four boundaries, two of which were beautiful shots through the offside.

 

Sean Williams was run out in the 19th over after a mix-up before Ziaur removed Hamilton Masakadza and Elton Chigumbura in the 20th over. He later added the wicket of Prosper Utseya in his next over.

 

Hamilton Masakadza was looking quite comfortable till then, scoring 38 off 53 balls with three fours and a six. He was trapped leg-before though he had charged Ziaur slightly. Chigumbura played the next two deliveries before swinging across the line to be cleaned up by the medium-pacer. Utseya was the seventh wicket, caught at point by Mominul Haque to give Ziaur his third wicket.

 

Earlier, it was Shafiul Islam who gave them the first two breakthroughs. He took the first wicket with his fourth ball of the match. Regis Chakabva dragged a wide delivery on to his stumps, his feet firmly away from the ball. In his next over, he removed debutant Sikandar Raza, uprooting the middle stump as the batsmen continued the trend of leaving a gap between bat and pad. Raza made only three, and the home side quickly slipped to 13 for 2 at the start of the fourth over.

 

Shafiul's first spell had cost 29 runs for those two wickets. This was his first match after suffering a stomach muscle injury before the ODI series against Sri Lanka. Robiul remained steady, but he couldn't quite use the new white ball like he did the red one in the Test series. He bowled a maiden over as he began straightening his line and keeping it closer to the batsmen.

 

The pace bowlers bowled five overs each in the first spell before captain Mushfiqur Rahim brought on the left-arm spinners -Razzak and Shakib Al Hasan. While the former bowled well, the latter was hammered for a four and a straight six in his first over and was promptly taken off and replaced by Ziaur.

Bangladesh 269 for 8 (Nasir 68, Shingi 4-51) v Zimbabwe

Nasir Hossain almost single-handedly gave Bangladesh a competitive total in the first ODI, lifting the visitors to 269 for 8 after they had slipped to 94 for 4 despite Zimbabwe's poor discipline with the ball.

All the top batsmen gave away their wickets through soft dismissals, poor calling or having a slog later in the innings. Shingi Masakadza was the biggest beneficiary, taking four wickets for 51 runs. 

 

It was a frustrating morning session for the home side as they gave away 32 extras, including 18 wides. Nasir's knock was the only quality element of the innings. His 67-ball 68 rescued Bangladesh from major embarrassment, especially as this was the first completely batsman-friendly pitch on tour. Despite the middle-order collapse, Nasir batted with dominance, finding boundaries regularly. He struck the ball very well, piercing the off-side field from the start. 

 

His energy at the crease mattered in the fifth and sixth wicket partnerships with Mominul Haque, someone still trying to get into grips with the one-day game, and Mahmudullah, an out of touch batsman. Nasir struck seven fours and a six, particularly going after Prosper Utseya. He scored 37 off 32 balls faced from the offspinner, hitting him for four boundaries and the six over long-on.

 

It was the Mominul-Nasir partnership that re-established Bangladesh's footing in the match. They added 76 runs for the fifth wicket, in the 14.3 overs they batted. Mominul fed Nasir much of the strike as he dropped anchor. He struck three boundaries in his 66-ball 38, which was probably slightly slower than what his team desired. The partnership was led by Nasir, as he counterattacked the Zimbabwe bowlers, though it was not too difficult against poor line and lengths.

 

The counterattack was much required, especially after two of the senior batsmen fell in the 22nd over. Captain Mushfiqur Rahim under-edged to the wicketkeeper after chasing a wide one outside offstump from Shingi. Three balls later, Shakib Al Hasan was duped by Mominul's poor calling: after he tapped the ball on the offside, Mominul initially called him for the single but stopped him midway through the run. Shakib slipped and before he could trun, and Malcolm Waller hit the stumps direct with an underarm throw.

 

It changed the complexion of the game as the visitors slipped from 65 for 0 to 94 for 4 in the space of eight overs. Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful added those 65 runs for the first wicket before Tamim was caught down the legside off Shingi in the 14th over. He made 31 off 49 balls with four boundaries and his dismissal would have been hugely disappointing for his team. It was a bad delivery, which he should have clipped past the wicketkeeper rather than being caught. 

 

Ashraful too got out poorly, getting caught at deep square-leg in Shingi's next over. Ashraful had crashed his fourth boundary just the ball before but then he flicked into Prosper Utseya's lap as he ran across the deep field.He made 29 off 41 balls.

Shingi completed his third four-wicket haul in ODIs after he clean bowled Mahmudullah.

 

The beleaguered batsman came out at No. 7 to make 36 off 38 balls with three fours, key to Bangladesh's 88 runs in the final ten overs.

 

Zimbabwe, who chose to bowl, fielded a very different batting line-up to the one they played in their last ODI. Debutant Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams and Elton Chigumbura were among seven changes in their side. 

 

Bangladesh made four changes, with Shakib, Shafiul Islam and Robiul Islam vital to their bowling stocks. Robiul is making his ODI debut while Shafiul is returning from a stomach muscle injury. Shakib is playing his first ODI since March last year.

25 overs Bangladesh 111 for 4 (Mominul 14*, Nasir 11*, Masakadza 3-27) v Zimbabwe

Bangladesh had reached 111 for 4 at the 25-over mark as Zimbabwe benefited from a string of soft dismissals on a fine batting track. Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor, who elected to bowl after winning the toss, would have been pleased with the wickets though their bowlers were hardly accurate.

Mominul Haque and Nasir Hossain were the unbeaten batsmen, on 14 and 11 respectively. Both batsmen would look to settle down and reconstruct the Bangladesh innings.

 

Shingi Masakadza took the first three wickets before Shakib Al Hasan was run out by a direct hit from Malcolm Waller in the 22nd over. Two wickets fell in the over as captain Mushfiqur Rahim was also caught behind.

 

Mushfiqur had under-edged to the wicketkeeper after chasing a wide one outside offstump. Three balls later, Shakib was sold down the river by Mominul who refused the single after the senior batsman had come halfway down the pitch. Waller hit the stumps after running in from gully.
 

That completely spoiled their good start, the openers Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful added 65 for the first wicket.

 

Tamim was caught down the legside off Masakadza in the 14th over. He made 31 off 49 balls with four boundaries and the manner of dismissal would have been hugely disappointing for his team. It was a poor delivery, which Tamim should have dealt with properly but his watchful approach of the morning probably cost him; if he was a bit more forceful, the same delivery would have been tickled a little squarer rather than ending up in the wicketkeeper's gloves.

 

Ashraful too got out poorly, getting caught at deep square-leg off Masakadza's next over. Ashraful had crashed his fourth boundary just the ball before but then he flicked into Prosper Utseya's lap as he ran across the deep field. Ashraful made 29 off 41 balls.

 

It was a cautious start from the Bangladesh openers, getting to 42 runs in the first 10 overs of Powerplay. Tamim and Ashraful left many balls outside the offstump as Tendai Chatara and Tinashe Panyangara bowled steadily. Tamim played the odd straight drive to find the boundary, and punched the ball past point and the covers.

 

Ashraful was careful to start with but started to open his shoulders as the overs wore on. There was a blast through the covers but there were anxious moments as he edged the ball a few times over and through the slip cordon.

 

Panyangara was playing his first ODI since 2011, and it looked like he needed time to settle himself in international cricket once again. He is the most experienced of the specialist seamers in the side, having taken 26 wickets in 25 matches previously. He was given an extended first spell, and so was Chatara as the pair bowled six overs respectively.

 

Zimbabwe made seven changes from their last ODI, played in the West Indies. They have brought in debutant Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Elton Chigumbura, Prosper Utseya, Shingirai Masakadza, Tinashe Panyangara and Tendai Chatara in place of Vusi Sibanda, Tino Mawoyo, Chamu Chibhabha, Tino Mutombodzi, Natsai Mushangwe, Kyle Jarvis and Chris Mpofu.

 

Bangladesh made four changes, with the return from injury of Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan and Shafiul Islam, and the inclusion of debutant Robiul Islam.

IPL 2013 Match 46 PWI v RCB

Royal Challengers Bangalore 187 for 3 (Tiwary 52, de Villiers 50*) beat Pune Warriors 170 for 9 (Uthappa 75, Vinay 3-31) by 17 runs

Royal Challengers Bangalore finally shed the tag of being poor travelers by registering their first away win of IPL 2013, beating bottom-placed Pune Warriors by 17 runs. The margin of victory suggested a comprehensive win, but Royal Challengers were run close by Robin Uthappa, who showed his potential with a blazing fifty which gave Warriors hope of chasing a tall 188. AB de Villiers was his innovative best with the bat, smashing an unbeaten 50, off 23 balls to launch Royal Challengers past 180. His blows were the difference in the end.

De Villiers' assault helped Royal Challengers ransack 68 off the last five overs. Warriors needed 66 off the last five overs, but with a set Uthappa at the crease, Royal Challengers couldn't afford to relax. Angelo Mathews too gave the visitors a scare with his cameo, but his untimely departure only piled further pressure on Uthappa. Uthappa's form was good news for Warriors, but had he received better support, the result could have been different.

The pitch at Pune has been one of the slower ones in the IPL and one that was going to test the batsmen more than the one in Bangalore when the teams last met. Chris Gayle found out the hard way early in his innings when he found the spinners hard to get away. It was a clever ploy by Warriors to take the pace off the ball, giving Ajantha Mendis the new ball and bringing in the part-timer T Suman. A repressed Gayle plodded to 15 off 19 balls before lofting Suman over the sightscreen for a six. It was hardly a sign of things to come as he tried to repeat that shot the following the ball and miscued it to deep extra cover, falling for a sluggish run-a-ball 21.

 

Since there was no blazing launchpad by Gayle for a change, it was unusual watching Royal Challengers scrap to 59 after nine overs. Saurabh Tiwary and Virat Kohli gave the innings some impetus with a rousing stand of 63. Tiwary, who has batted in the middle order, had requested to go up the order and he justified his promotion with a half-century.

 

The most decisive phase in the match came in the final over. De Villiers was on 24 off 17 balls when Ashok Dinda - not the most reliable death bowler - ran in. De Villiers moved across his stumps and smoked a full delivery outside off stump to deep midwicket for a flat six. The second was smashed over the bowler's head for four, the third over long-off for six, the fourth reverse-swept to third man and the fifth scooped over short fine leg. De Villiers had raced to 50 off 23 by the end of the over, rousing Royal Challengers and demoralising the Warriors before the chase began.

 

Warriors needed a pacy start but they too found the going difficult early on, moving to 49 for 2 after eight overs. Yuvraj Singh gave the innings a push with two exquisite sixes and his confidence began to rub off on Uthappa, who was starting to peak when he launched Muttiah Muralitharan over the sightscreen

 

Royal Challengers bounced back with two wickets in an over from Vinay, but Uthappa's was the wicket they needed. The equation narrowed after one over when Uthappa and Mathews targeted the most experienced of the lot, Muralitharan, smashing three clean sixes in one over. Forty-five off 24 was achievable, but Vinay provided some relief to the visitors when he had Mathews caught at backward point. Uthappa's heroics ended the following over when he top edged Murali Kartik to point. The chase was all but over when he walked back.

IPL 2013 Match 45 CSK v KXIP

Chennai Super Kings 186 for 4 (Raina 100*, Hussey 35) beat Kings XI Punjab 171 for 6 (Marsh 73, Miller 51, Bravo 3-34) by 15 runs

With 92 IPL games to his name, Suresh Raina, even more than MS Dhoni, is the tournament's most experienced campaigner. A vital part of the Chennai Super Kings line-up, retained by his franchise after the first three seasons, he's been key to several of his team's successes and, on Thursday, he smashed his first IPL century in another victory. His yellow jersey had a brownish shade by the time he reached the landmark, his aggression not only confined to targeting the bowlers. If there's an Indian batsman after the Mohammad Kaif of almost a decade ago who inflicts as much damage on his clothing while running between the wickets as he does while fielding, it's Raina.
 

Raina's innings had its sedate phase, when it kept pace with Super Kings' start, with a run-rate of just a little over six in the first nine overs. In the unforgiving Chennai heat, with not a speck of cloud in the sky, nor any breeze in the air, there was a back-massage for Raina from one of his team-mates, his head was wrapped up in a wet towel, his partner Michael Hussey was on his knees, and both were gulping down fluids during the time-out. It certainly helped re-energize Raina, as he transformed his game after having moved to 14 off 15 balls at that point.

 

The first ball he faced after the break, he drove David Hussey beautifully through deep cover and long-off before launching him over long-on for six. At the other end, Michael Hussey went past Chris Gayle to become the highest run-getter this season but was stumped 55 runs into the partnership. Raina lost Dhoni, run-out brilliantly by R Sathish in the 13th over, but he had made up his mind to be on the attack. He slog-swept Chawla with the turn, clipped Sathish past fine leg, and stepped up another notch after the second time-out, which was taken at the end of the 15th over.

 

Six seasons into the IPL, death bowling has continued to be a worry for most teams, whose Indian bowlers, especially, have struggled to contain the batsmen. Attempted yorkers, almost inevitably, end up being length balls; Raina struck Manpreet Gony imperiously over the straight boundary off two such deliveries.

 

Sathish was then cut and swept, Praveen Kumar was dispatched over long-on twice, the second six coming in the final over during which Raina reached his century. Through his assault, he ran superbly, though was fortunate to have just made his ground as he attempted a dive to complete a run very early in his innings, the bat popping up as he tried to slide it in. The last five overs yielded 70 runs, also thanks to Albie Morkel's cameo of 23.

Kings XI Punjab had a similar start to their chase, reaching the halfway mark at 65 for 2. But Marsh and Miller gave Super Kings a serious scare, their combined acceleration beginning, incidentally, in the 12th over from Raina that went for 19. Both cleared the boundaries comfortably during their half-centuries - they put on 95 in 52 balls - and still had an outside chance with 19 needed off the six. Marsh, however, was bowled off the first ball by Bravo while trying to dispatch a length ball, and the task was beyond even Miller from there on as he faced just two more deliveries.

IPL 2013 Match 44 Delhi Daredevils v KKR

Delhi Daredevils 137 for 3 (Warner 66*, Chand 37, Lee 1-26) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 136 for 7(Bhatia 26*, Yadav 2-36) by seven wickets

A spirited performance on the field, followed by a resilient 95-run stand between David Warner and Unmukt Chand helped Delhi Daredevils add a third win to come level with Kolkata Knight Riders. Knight Riders are now level with Daredevils, squandering a two-point advantage. The task of making it to the playoffs, for both, remains a distant dream.

Daredevils had been the happier side halfway into their innings. The first couple of overs from Brett Lee and L Balaji indicated there was help for the bowlers, but Virender Sehwag laced a couple of boundaries to set the innings into motion. Gautam Gambhir spilled an easy chance off Sehwag at short cover, but it didn't hurt Knight Riders much. Sehwag steered a length delivery into the hands of slip in the next over, the relief writ large on Gambhir's face. And when Mahela Jayawardene fell in an identical manner the next over, Knight Riders had found an opening.

Unmukt Chand had a torrid time in his first four games, but he set about improving his run with a patient stay in the middle. He was at sea against Sunil Narine's variations, but hung in and kept rotating the strike. Fortunately for Daredevils, there wasn't much scoreboard pressure; only a couple of productive overs were needed to catch up with the required rate.

 

That impetus was provided by measured aggression from David Warner, who pierced the boundary every now and then and helped bring the equation under control after the 12th over that yielded 15 runs. By that time, Chand had settled down and started stroking boundaries - an upper-cut past slip being the most stylish - to bring up his best score this IPL. He fell trying to hasten the end but Warner, who scored his third half-century this IPL, switched gears, unleashed the ruthless strokeplay he's acquired a reputation for and sealed victory with 13 balls to spare.

 

Gambhir called the Raipur ground one of the best in the country in terms of facilities, but the venue didn't bring any cheer for the team after they chose to bat. Manvinder Bisla, who had been in imperious touch in the last two matches, started with a casual pull that rocketed to the deep square-leg boundary, but off the very next ball, Gambhir called him for a suicidal single and paid the price as Irfan, the bowler, beat him in a dash to the striker's end.

What followed was a period in which the Daredevils seamers - and the fielders - started shutting escape routes for the batsmen. Bisla was beaten for pace by a sharp delivery from Umesh Yadav and lost his stumps. Yusuf Pathan attempted to mark his authority with a huge hit off Morne Morkel, but was brilliantly caught next ball by Irfan, who took the skier running backwards from square leg.

That brought the experienced pair of Jacques Kallis and Eoin Morgan together, but their alliance was short-lived. Morgan reverse-swept Shahbaz Nadeem for a boundary, but when he tried to pull the long-hop next ball, an agile Yadav charged in from deep square leg to take a good low diving catch. Kallis followed Morgan in the next over as another stunning one-handed catch at point pushed Knight Riders to a precarious 50 for 4 in the ninth over.

Debabrata Das and Rajat Bhatia started the repair job, playing out nine dot balls, then making slow progress with occasional hits to the boundary to bring Knight Riders to 83 for 5 with five overs to go. They hobbled to 110 for 6 at the end of the 18th, but some timely hitting by Lee saw them prop up the score to 136, which was a decent score on this ground with bigger boundaries.

IPL 2013 Match 43 SRH v Mumbai Indians

Sunrisers Hyderabad 130 for 3 (Dhawan 73*) beat Mumbai Indians 129 for 4 (Ishant 2-15, Mishra 2-24) by seven wickets
This was a clash between the IPL's most powerful line-up and its most effective attack. Here was a line-up that had had just one failure in nine games. Here was an attack that was still to concede more than 130 at home.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers kept their home run going, stopping Mumbai Indians just short of 130 on a slow pitch which the visiting batsmen could never get going on, despite losing only four wickets. Shikhar Dhawan guided the chase single-handedly, peppering both square boundaries as he motored to his second fifty in three innings.

Apart from the pitch and the home attack, what went against Mumbai Indians was that they lost their four wickets in groups of two each, sucking out whatever momentum they had managed to build on both occasions. The first time it happened, a start of 32 in 4.2 overs was squandered. The second time, two batsmen, Dwayne Smith and Rohit Sharma, who had spent enough time in the middle to have assessed the wicket, fell in the same over.

 

It was Ishant Sharma who began Sunrisers' dominance. Sachin Tendulkar had whipped and lofted Dale Steyn for successive fours but Ishant's short of a good length stuff was to prove difficult to time. Tendulkar backed away and missed one that nipped in from that length. Two balls later, the in-form Dinesh Karthik reached for one that wasn't quite there for the drive, and sliced it to backward point.

As he usually does, Dwayne Smith took his time in the Powerplay but unlike normally, he found the runs weren't coming even during the middle overs. Ishant was bowling a superb line and length, and the two legspinners, Amit Mishra and Karan Sharma, were getting grip and turn.

 

Smith was dropped by Ishant at long-off in Mishra's second over but got a poor decision in the bowler's next, given out lbw after gloving an attempted sweep onto the pads. Four balls later, Rohit mishit in front of long-off and this time, Ishant made no mistake.

 

Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard had seven overs to go, and managed to last till the end, but as evidence of how accurate the Sunrisers bowlers were, the partnership went over run a ball only twice in those overs.

 

Steyn came back well after an expensive opening over, signing off with six full and low balls in his last over. Thisara Perera wasn't far behind apart from the 20th over that went for 16, finding swing on his full deliveries.

 

Mumbai Indians don't have a bad attack at all, but Dhawan is not in bad form either after that Test debut against Australia. A chase of 130 could easily have got close - Sunrisers defended 126 here against Pune Warriors - but Dhawan was in a different mood.

 

Pragyan Ojha created some pressure, giving just 18 in four overs, but Sunrisers broke away in the 12th over as Rohit tried Smith. Dhawan and Hanuma Vihari took 15 off Smith's mediums. Dhawan bossed the attack after that, cutting, pulling and lofting over extra cover at will to end the game with a couple of overs left.