IPL Match 39 KXIP V SRH

Kings XI Punjab 206 for 4 (Saha 54, Vohra 47) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 205 for 5 (Ojha 79, Dhawan 45) by six wickets

The prospect of facing Kings XI Punjab means extensive research on Glenn Maxwell. 

Perhaps a few hours spent decoding David Miller. But the winning push, in Hyderabad, came from two men who fly well under the radar. 

Wriddhiman Saha, usually charged with steadying a top-order wobble, exploded to make 54 off 26 and Manan Vohra, who was inked into the XI for the first time this season, made 47 off 20. Sunrisers Hyderabad had amassed 205 but came in second best.

The Powerplay provides a crucial opportunity when chasing a big total. 

Dale Steyn and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, though, aren't the most straightforward bowlers to cart around. But that was what happened and the 86 for 1 that Saha and Vohra drove Kings XI to missed out on the overall IPL record for most runs in the first six overs by just one run.

Kings XI needed the audacious foundation, though. Only 24 runs came between the 13th and 17th overs. Sunrisers managed to keep Maxwell quiet for an over and dismissed him in the next. Miller wasn't managing his usual pace and Sunrisers' attack is well versed in flummoxing strong batting line-ups. 

Steyn was enlisted with the 18th over, but his extra pace proved just what George Bailey needed to hike his team back to the top of the table.

It was an unmitigated assault, and each shot carried the imprint of the dressing room's backing. 

Vohra faced eight balls from Steyn and smashed 20 runs, including two thumping sixes over midwicket. Saha deposited the second ball he faced from the South African quick into the same region with consummate authority. 

Both players were unafraid to go aerial and were quite efficient when they did. The result was Steyn, Sunrisers best hope, recorded his worst T20 figures - 0 for 51.

Sunrisers would rue not converting the opportunities they created - Bailey was absently loitering out of his crease in the 17th over, worried about a leg before appeal when Karn Sharma missed a run-out. Next ball, he hoisted a contentious chance to David Warner at long-off, but replays did not offer conclusive evidence of the catch being cleanly taken.

Shikhar Dhawan was confident of his top orders's aptitude at the toss. His concerns lay with the middle order and their ability to accelerate. Those were laid to rest courtesy a Naman Ojha-inspired bludgeoning. A strong bottom hand dominated most of his shots, so much that drives through the cover region seemed shoveled. 

Sunrisers have been searching for an Indian batsman to support their big-name top order and his 79 off 36 has given a strong message.

He was brutal against the spinners and Sandeep Sharma's medium pace enabled him to drive Sunrisers past the 200-mark. The 26 runs that came in the 19th over meant Sandeep's 1 for 65 became the joint second worst figures in IPL.

The early goings were markedly subdued though, with Dhawan stumbling around for form. He was leaping down the track only to find the inside edge. When he stayed deep in his crease, he couldn't pierce the gap on the off side. 

The fifth over provided ample relief and more pertinently, restored Dhawan's fluency. Sandeep's indiscipline - he offered two free hits - was punished with a four and a six. Having succumbed to the 30s on four previous occasions, he looked set to become the first Sunrisers captain to make a half-century but a flick off the hips found short fine leg.

David Warner strode in at No. 4 and ensured the foundation laid by the openers was taken advantage of. He contributed 44 to an 81-run stand for the third wicket that built a total fit to challenge most teams. But Kings XI's batting might was ruthlessly effective. 

IPL Match 38 RCB V DD

Royal Challengers Bangalore 186 for 4 (Yuvraj 68*) beat Delhi Daredevils 170 for 7 (Duminy 48, Jadhav 37, Muralitharan 2-25) by 16 runs

For the second time in three days, Yuvraj Singh announced his return to form, this time with a violent six-laden unbeaten 68 off 29 balls, but unlike two days ago, Royal Challengers Bangalore managed to hold their composure. They sneaked to a 16-run win against the bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils and kept their chances alive in the tournament. The relief was writ large over their faces when Daredevils finally fell short after threatening the target, at least till the 18th over when JP Duminy was around. However, Yuvraj's late assault this time did not go in vain.

Yuvraj was on 10 off 10 balls and Royal Challengers on 115 for 4 at the start of the 17th over. With their other big-hitters already back in the dug-out the onus of providing that final thrust lay squarely on Yuvraj, especially after his batting exploits in the last match. A score of 156 - the lowest successfully defended on this ground across IPL seasons - was still a fair distance away and reaching even that would have been a good result on a slowish pitch.

Imran Tahir, who had troubled Yuvraj in his earlier over, wasn't going to have a happy ending to his spell though. Bowling the 17th over, he gave away 21 runs that included three consecutive hits over the boundary by Yuvraj. The Royal Challengers gravy train was on the move. In the next over, Yuvraj targetted Mohammed Shami, picking up a six over fine leg with that trademark flick that oozed of 2007. Next over, another six over midwicket. Forty-four runs came off three overs but the best was yet to come.

The final over, bowled by Rahul Shukla, earned the distinction of being the most-expensive last over ever bowled in the IPL as Yuvraj smashed four sixes - the first of which brought him his second half-century in two games, off just 24 balls - to steal 27 runs.

Earlier, ending speculation over his injury, Chris Gayle had walked out to play a typically flickering 22 before being bowled by Shukla. Virat Kohli's search for some runs ended in vain as he was run-out for just 10. With the run rate lingering below six after eight overs, the first round of counter came through a busy 49-run third-wicket stand between Parthiv Patel and AB de Villiers, but as the two batsmen left within two overs of each other, Royal Challengers' innings appeared to be in danger of losing steam. However, from average beginnings, Royal Challengers were charged to 186 by an electric Yuvraj.

Daredevils lost their openers early - M Vijay falling to Muralitharan in the first over and Quinton de Kock to Mitchell Starc in the second - but a 63-run stand between Mayank Agarwal and Kevin Pietersen kept the runs coming. The two didn't let the required rate shoot up, collecting boundaries and sixes with relative ease in an association that lasted 7.2 overs. 

With Duminy and Jadhav in the middle when 64 were needed off the last four, Royal Challengers knew it was still not the time to encash the dividends on the Yuvraj investment - they had given that many in three overs two nights ago. However, once Starc bowled Duminy towards the end, the win was finally within grasp. 

IPL Match 37 CSK V RR

Chennai Super Kings 149 for 5 (Smith 44, Du Plessis 38, Ankit 2-20) beat Rajasthan Royals 148 for 8 (Watson 51, Ankit 30, Mohit 3-31) by five wickets

In two of Chennai Super Kings' last three games, they had been left with 11 to get from the last over with MS Dhoni at the crease. 

Today, against Rajasthan Royals, it came down to 12 from the last over. Dhoni was there, of course, batting on 15. In situations like that, all he needs is one ball in his slot.

It came off the second ball of the over, the first time he was on strike, when James Faulkner angled one across him but pitched it a touch too full. 

Down came that big bat-swing, and up went the ball, soaring for a flat six over wide long-on. A wide full-toss brought him two runs to deep cover the next ball, and with three needed off three, a push to the same fielder became the winning hit when Faulkner failed to collect Kevon Cooper's throw and gave away an overthrow.

It had all looked very different when Rajasthan Royals, having chosen to bat, had moved to 84 for 1 after 10 overs. Shane Watson was on the cusp of a half-century, and with him was Ajinkya Rahane. 

Steven Smith and James Faulkner, who had turned certain defeat to exhilarating victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the space of four crazy overs, were waiting their turn in the dugout.

But Super Kings pulled things back, with Mohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja proving particularly hard to hit on a slow, grippy surface, and Royals lost seven wickets and scored only 64 in their last 10 overs. 

Super Kings looked to have made things more difficult for themselves when Dhoni sent in R Ashwin at No. 5 ahead of himself, but Dhoni always leaves it till the end.

Royals sprung a surprise right at the start, opening with Ankit Sharma and Shane Watson instead of Karun Nair and Ajinkya Rahane, who had put on 54 in their previous match.

The new combination laid a solid foundation, starting sedately before the left-handed Ankit greeted R Ashwin by hitting him for two fours and a six in his first over. Ankit put on 60 with Watson before he holed out to long-on while trying to slog Ashwin against the turn.

Apart from one big over against IPL debutant Vijay Shankar, in which he smashed the medium-pacer for a four and two sixes, Watson had also been kept fairly quiet. Royals' 10-over score, therefore, didn't present the full picture of what had gone before. 

There had been some help for the spinners, and the seamers had been hard to get away when they changed their pace.

It wasn't that much of a surprise, then, that Royals didn't really take off in the last 10 overs. 

Mohit used his back-of-the-hand slower ball cleverly to pick up three wickets - including those of Watson and Smith, both bowled - and Ravindra Jadeja picked up two with his round-arm darts from left-arm around.

Even so, the extent of Royals' slow-down was startling, and they contributed to it with their endless experimentation - they waited until the end of the 15th over to send in Smith, and until the 18th to send in Faulkner. 

Both failed to get going, as had Rahane and Nair before them, displaced from the opening slots.

It left Super Kings 149 to get. Dwayne Smith got them going with his cleanly struck hits down the ground, but they lost wickets at the other end, with Brendon McCullum and Suresh Raina both unlucky to see their sweeps off Ankit going straight to fielders in the circle.

In Pravin Tambe, Kevon Cooper and Rajat Bhatia, Royals possessed three bowlers designed for this sort of pitch, and their cutters and leg-rollers stalled Super Kings' progress, particularly after Smith's dismissal in the 10th over. 

Du Plessis and Ashwin cobbled together 29 in 29 balls, leaving Super Kings needing 44 from 30 when Dhoni walked in. It was a tricky equation, considering the conditions, but it could have been even trickier had Royals not fallen away so spectacularly in the second half of their innings. 

IPL Match 36 MI V SRH

Mumbai Indians 160 for 3 (Rayudu 68, Simmons 68) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 157 for 3 (Finch 68, Warner 55*) by seven wickets

Lendl Simmons and Ambati Rayudu hit half-centuries to lead Mumbai Indians to an emphatic win over Sunrisers Hyderabad. The victory, Mumbai Indians' third in nine matches, kept the defending champions' campaign barely alive. Sunrisers Hyderabad were tied down after choosing to bat for all but the last two overs of their innings. David Warner helped his side take 33 off those two to push the total to 157, but it hardly mattered, as Simmons and Rayudu put on 130 runs for the second wicket in 14.3 overs to haul Mumbai Indians home with eight balls to spare.

Mumbai Indians lost CM Gautam second ball of the second over to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but Simmons and Rayudu kicked on after a sedate start. The release came when Irfan Pathan was brought on following a couple of tight overs each from Dale Steyn and Bhuvneshwar. Simmons, who had tried to slog Steyn without success, found Irfan's pace to his liking, and slammed him for a couple of sixes and a four.

Rayudu welcomed Amit Mishra with a charge and a straight six, and Mumbai Indians weren't looking back, with the boundaries coming regularly. Simmons did not let the legspinners settle and swung Karn Sharma for a four and a six. Rayudu gave the same treatment to Irfan as the allrounder went for 29 in two overs.

Shikhar Dhawan went back to Steyn in the 13th over but Mumbai Indians were approaching 100 by that time. Rayudu and Simmons took the fast bowler for a four each. Sunrisers had a chance in the next over but KL Rahul put down a top-edged skier off Simmons at deep midwicket with the batsman on 59 and the team score on 110. Simmons and Rayudu fell in successive overs for 68 each eventually but the game was almost over by then.

Dhawan felt Sunrisers were about 20 runs short on what he had called a good batting surface at the toss as he chose to bat. Dhawan himself scratched around for a while before being bowled by a full inswinger from Lasith Malinga. Rahul ran himself out going for a non-existent single but Aaron Finch had looked in nice touch all along.

He drove Corey Anderson crisply down the ground for fours and went after Pragyan Ojha, lofting and driving the left-arm spinner repeatedly through the off side for boundaries. Warner joined Finch and hit the odd boundary as well but the pair was not able to dominate amid some tight bowling from Harbhajan Singh and Jasprit Bumrah.

Finch holed out off Malinga in the penultimate over for 68 off 62 but Warner stepped up and launched the fast bowler for a couple of sixes. He ended the innings with successive fours off Kieron Pollard to finish on 55 off 31. Given Sunrisers' reputation of successfully defending moderate totals at their home ground, 157 did not appear to be an easy chase, but Rayudu and Simmons made it look so. 

IPL Match 35 RCB v RR

Rajasthan Royals 191 for 5 (Nair 56, Smith 48*, Faulkner 41*, Yuvraj 4-35) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 190 for 5 (Yuvraj 83, de Villiers 58) by five wickets

Till the 14th over of the Rajasthan Royals chase, it was the Yuvraj Singh show. He had shrugged off poor form with a pulverizing 83 off 38 to revive his side to 190 for 5 from 40 for 3. He had then taken four wickets to leave Rajasthan Royals reeling on 106 for 5. Royals needed 65 from the last four overs. Steven Smith and James Faulkner catapulted them home with an over and a delivery to spare. 

Mitchell Starc went for 21 in the 17th over, Ashok Dinda for 23 in the 18th and Varun Aaron for 21 in the 19th.

Yuvraj's fourth wicket had been Karun Nair, whose 56 off 39 had given Royals a fine start but had ended as the innings started to lose steam. Aaron went for 14 in the next over as Smith pulled, lofted and flicked him for boundaries. But Royal Challengers seemed to be ending the possibilities of any scares as legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal ended his spell with just four runs in the 16th.

What followed was so unexpected for them, Virat Kohli could only grit his teeth in helpless frustration as every bowler disappeared for plenty. Starc bowled some length balls in the 17th, and Faulkner drove and swung him for four and six, an outside-edged slog bringing in a third boundary in the over. Dinda began the 18th with two full deliveries that were taken for four and six. 

Dinda went wider now, and Smith responded by steering him to the deep point boundary. Just as it seemed nothing could go wrong further for Royal Challengers, Dinda overstepped and bowled it under the bat to be carted for a straight six. Smith could not get anything off the free-hit but Faulkner took over in the penultimate over with 21 needed.

Only a single came off the first ball before Aaron sent one down the leg side and the batsmen also scampered a bye. Royal Challengers continued to crack as Aaron delivered a length ball which was powered for six over long-on. 

A high full toss followed a wide full toss. Faulkner hit the former to the deep cover rope and sent the one into the stunned Chinnaswamy crowd over deep square leg. He then ran towards Smith, jumped into an embrace and took his fellow Australian down on the ground. 

Royal Challengers have now lost six of their previous seven games, and this one will take some time to forget. Their desperation to win was evident when they chose to bat after having bowled first six out of six times earlier this season, and when Kohli came out to open alongside Chris Gayle instead of his usual No 3. The pair were tied down, however, by some tight swing bowling from Kane Richardson and Shane Watson. 

Kohli soon thick-edged a swipe to third man off Richardson. Gayle was tied down further by Rahul Tewatia's googlies and went caught behind off the other legspinner Pravin Tambe for 19 off 25. India Under-19 captain Vijay Zol went to Tewatia's seventh googly on the trot after hitting a few spunky fours, and Royal Challengers going at under five an over when Yuvraj walked in.

Eleven overs later, Yuvraj walked back, having carted seven sixes and as many fours. His hitting was so severe and dominating, AB de Villiers' 58 off 32 was overshadowed. The pair put on the highest fourth-wicket partnership ever in the IPL of 132 runs in 10.5 overs.

Yuvraj got going with a series of sweeps against the legspinners. Batting with his back leg outside off stump, he found the combination of power and timing that makes him so destructive when he is in touch. Soon he was flicking the fast bowlers casually for six over the leg side. De Villiers hit five sixes and went at a strike-rate of 181.25 but it was hard even for him to take attention off Yuvraj.

Ajinkya Rahane and Nair put on 54 in seven overs for Royals but Chahal removed the former with his first delivery and in the next over, Yuvraj bowled Watson with an arm ball. Three balls later, Stuart Binny charged at Yuvraj and mishit to sweeper cover. 

Yuvraj kept striking, having Sanju Samson pop one back and then taking out Nair, but his quota ran out eventually, and Smith and Faulkner brought the curtains down on his show. 

IPL Match 34 KKR V KXIP

Kolkata Knight Riders 150 for 1 (Gambhir 63*, Uthappa 46) beat Kings XI Punjab 149 for 8 (Sehwag 72, Chawla 3-19) by nine wickets

Gautam Gambhir's third successive fifty anchored Kolkata Knight Riders' chase and steered them to a nine-wicket win over table-toppers Kings XI Punjab. The Knight Riders bowlers had pinned Kings XI down to 149 - the second time in the tournament they were kept to less than 150 - despite a swift 72 from Virender Sehwag.

The opening pair of Robin Uthappa and Gambhir - with two century stands in their last few games - set the platform for the chase, racing to 68 in seven overs. Uthappa's fluency was evident early on as he laid into Sandeep Sharma's second over, taking three fours off him, before collecting another 18 off Mitchell Johnson. Uthappa's 28-ball 46 brought the asking rate under control and put the chase firmly within Knight Riders' reach.

Conscious, perhaps, of the fact that another batting meltdown could end up becoming the symbol of Knight Riders' campaign, Gambhir and Manish Pandey played mostly percentage cricket in their unbeaten 82-run stand, which took the team home with two overs to spare. There were a few run-out chances but Kings XI did not have the best day in the field- George Bailey's dropped catch off Gambhir in the 17th over was the best example of that.

Kings XI, who had opted for a seam-centric attack, would have felt the absence of a second spinner, especially after Akshar Patel kept Gambhir and Pandey quiet for a couple of overs in the middle. However, the biggest factor in the result was the stark difference between the two halves of the Kings XI innings.

Coming into this game, Knight Riders were the most economical team in the death overs in the IPL, giving away just 8.30 runs an over. In the UAE leg, they were also the team that managed to stifle Kings XI successfully. 

That control with the ball, especially in the latter half of the innings, set up the game for the side. At 10 overs, Kings XI were 85 for 2, but they made only 64 for 6 in the next ten.

One of Knight Riders' chief contributors was Piyush Chawla, who was brought back in place of Shakib Al Hasan. 

In UAE against Kings XI, the legspinner had figures of 4-0-19-3 and he finished even this game with the same numbers. Chawla struck immediately with the big wicket of Glenn Maxwell, and then got rid of Sehwag and Rishi Dhawan in the 15th and 17th overs. Chawla, along with Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel, smothered any momentum Kings XI would have hoped to build.

Narine came on at the end and choked the run flow and even the normally industrious Bailey found it difficult to push for boundaries. Between the 15th and 20th overs, Kings XI - who average 50 runs in this period of play - scored only three boundaries, and two of them were from Mitchell Johnson.

Before the ten-over mark, though, the innings was all about Sehwag and that was the most heartening sight for Kings XI. His studied nonchalance of old was on display when he smacked the first ball of the match, off Jacques Kallis, for four through the off side and then capitalised down leg as the bowler tried to compensate. 

He got to 50 off 35 balls, but like most Sehwag innings, the opposition also had their share of chances. He was dropped in the second over and a few shots fell out of reach of the fielders. Luckily for the Knight Riders, those mistakes weren't too costly in the end. 

IPL Match 33 MI V CSK

Chennai Super Kings 160 for 6 (Smith 57, Malinga 2-15) beat Mumbai Indians 157 for 6 (Rayudu 59, Ashwin 3-30) by four wickets

It's a tight Saturday prime-time IPL match involving the two highest profile franchises in the tournament. Guess who delivers when it's a big game? MS Dhoni is perhaps the best finisher in the limited-overs game, and when Chennai Super Kings needed a big hit in the final over, he duly obliged, as he has so many times in the past. It came down to 11 off the last over, and Dhoni responded by calmly whacking a six over deep midwicket before wrapping up the victory with three balls to spare.

The last time Mumbai Indians lost an IPL game at the Wankhede Stadium was back in 2012, so long ago that their openers were Sachin Tendulkar and Herschelle Gibbs. The 10-game winning streak at home was built on muscular batting and depth in the bowling, neither of which were in evidence today.

After the peerless Lasith Malinga had produced another superb Twenty20 burst to drag them back into the game, Mumbai had to turn to Kieron Pollard for the final over. 

#BreachTheFortress Super Kings had been tweeted all day, and when the fortress had to be defended from Dhoni in the final over by amiable medium-pace, there was only going to be one winner.

Mumbai didn't help their cause by again keeping their biggest guns in the holster too long - Rohit Sharma came in towards the end of the 12th over, Kieron Pollard got a look-in only in the 18th, and Corey Anderson even later. When Rohit walked in, the run-rate was still hovering around six. The inclusion of Lendl Simmons worked better than the ill-fated experiment with Ben Dunk, but they will still expect quicker innings than a run-a-ball 38 from their specialist overseas batsman.

On a surface where Super Kings brought in an extra spinner in Samuel Badree, and on which R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja got plenty of assistance, Mumbai's spin department featured only Harbhajan Singh. Though chances of qualification for the play-offs are becoming remote, there were a couple of heartening things for Mumbai fans - Praveen Kumar showed he can be venomous with the new ball, and Ambati Rayudu shrugged off a run of lean scores with a half-century that anchored the innings.

Super Kings looked to be in control for much of the chase, helped along by a stop-start Dwayne Smith half-century, though they were rocked by a couple of woeful umpiring decisions. Brendon McCullum was sent on his way though the ball was clearly headed down the leg side, and the third umpire decided Suresh Raina was stumped though the replays suggested otherwise. 

They were also helped by the umpiring in the 17th over, just as the nerves were beginning to jangle: Jadeja was dead plumb to a full slower ball from Malinga, but the umpire somehow thought the ball would miss the stumps. He wasn't misled by Jadeja waving the bat as if to suggest he hit the ball, and the call of leg-byes only made the decision even more inexplicable.

Before the late drama, perhaps the highlight of the match was the astonishing range of boundary catches and drops - Mithun Manhas put down a sitter at long-on, Harbhajan Singh misjudged the line and could only get one hand on a midwicket six at a crucial juncture of the chase, Samuel Badree judged the ball perfectly at third man but could only push the ball over for six early on, Jadeja caught the ball at deep midwicket but failed to let the ball go before crossing the line, Simmons juggled three times before pocketing the ball at long-on, Raina took a couple of difficult tumbling efforts at midwicket, and the biggest wow-moment was Faf du Plessis flying across to catch a brutal hit at long-on before releasing the ball mid-air as he headed for the rope.

While the packed house roared on all that athleticism, they had come to see a Mumbai win. They got the second best thing - seeing the biggest name in Indian cricket do what he does best. 

IPL Match 32 DD V SRH

Sunrisers Hyderabad 44 for 2 (Ojha 13*) beat Delhi Daredevils 143 for 7 (Karthik 39, Steyn 2-20) by eight wickets (D/L method)

On a frustrating evening with four rain stoppages, sensational death bowling and a cameo from Naman Ojha set up an eight-wicket win (Duckworth-Lewis method) for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla. This was the fourth consecutive loss for Daredevils on their home ground in this IPL.

Sunrisers gave away just 22 in the last five overs, restricting Daredevils to 143 for 7, before their own chase was shortened first to 117 off 15 overs, then 97 of 12 overs and finally 43 off five.

Daredevils nearly clawed back into the game, as Rahul Shukla dismissed Aaron Finch with Sunrisers still needing 18 off 10 but Naman Ojha and David Warner ensured there were no further hiccups. Warner put away a full toss and Ojha followed it up with a slog over deep midwicket that brought the equation to six off the last over. Ojha's six off Laxmi Shukla took Sunrisers home with four balls to spare.

Daredevils in many ways ended up paying the price for steadfastly pigeon-holing two of their best batsmen this season as finishers. They were a comfortable 87 for 2 in the ninth over when Mayank Agarwal was dismissed but Daredevils held Duminy back and sent Laxmi Shukla in at No. 5. The allrounder added 55 runs with Dinesh Karthik but the innings struggled for impetus, specially after the first, hour-long rain break. 

Both Karthik and Shukla fell in the 17th over, leaving Duminy and Kedar Jadhav 18 balls between them to give Daredevils some sort of a finish. Unsurprisingly, they floundered against intelligent bowling from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Irfan Pathan and Dale Steyn.

Their ending - 11 runs off the last three overs - was in stark contrast to the sprightly start, a result of Kevin Pietersen's cameo in his first IPL appearance as an opener. Pietersen was hesitant early on and in danger of a being run-out a few times, but looked to be getting his groove back when he punched a square drive off Bhuvneshwar Kumar for his first boundary.

After Quinton de Kock fell to Steyn, Pietersen took charge, smacking a six and four each off Karn Sharma and Moises Henriques in successive overs to guide Daredevils to their best Powerplay period of the tournament. Against Mishra, though, he mistimed a drive straight to cover, giving the bowler his 100th IPL wicket.

Mayank Agarwal squandered a start leaving the rebuilding to Dinesh Karthik, who scored 39 off 30. Karthik kept the strike turning early on and made the most of a reprieve at fine leg to scoop Steyn for a six over the same region. He swatted Karan Sharma for a six and a four after the resumption of play but fell to a well-judged catch by Steyn at the long-off boundary. 

IPL Match 31 RCB V KXIP

Kings XI Punjab 198 for 8 (Miller 66, Sehwag 30, Chahal 2-23) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 143 for 8 (De Villiers 53, Sandeep 3-25, Shivam 2-26) by 32 runs

When the two teams last met, Sandeep Sharma had dismissed Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli in the same over and set the tone for a convincing win for Kings XI Punjab. 

On Friday, Royal Challengers Bangalore were chasing rather than setting a target, but the same set of characters went through an eerily similar routine, right down to the questionable umpiring decision that did for Kohli, in an over that sent Kings XI on their way to a 32-run win that gave them sole occupancy of the top spot in the IPL table.

An innings of 66, off just 29 balls, from David Miller had powered Kings XI to a total of 198. If any team could chase it, though, it was Royal Challengers. They had been the only team to chase a 200-plus total on this ground, and they had done it against the same opponents, back in 2010. They faced a similar ask this time, and needed their top order to fire.

Sandeep had troubled Gayle with his swing right through his first over, beating him twice before failing to grab a difficult caught-and-bowled chance off the last ball. First ball of his second over, though, Sandeep had his man. The ball moved away from Gayle, who swung hard at it and edged to the keeper.

In walked Kohli. In Dubai, he had been out second ball to a debatable lbw decision, with the ball appearing to be headed down the leg side. This time, Sandeep dismissed him first ball, caught behind down the leg side. There was a sound as ball passed bat, but replays suggested the ball had brushed the ground just as Wriddhiman Saha scooped it up with the webbing of his right glove. Royal Challengers were 8 for 2, and 199 looked like 299.

They were never going to get close after that, and Sandeep dented them once again with the wicket of Parthiv Patel in his next over. Royal Challengers' subsequent struggles were encapsulated by Yuvraj Singh, who kept getting beaten by the spinners during a painful 11-ball stay that ended when he gave debutant offspinner Shivam Sharma his first wicket in senior cricket. It was 50 for 5 at that point, but AB de Villiers ensured Royal Challengers reached a respectable score with a 26-ball 53.

When his team was asked to bat, Kings XI captain George Bailey said it was hard to tell what a good score would be, considering the flat pitch and short boundaries at Chinnaswamy Stadium. His team never had to worry about their run-rate, though, after they reached 64 for 1 after 6 overs - it was the most they had made during the Powerplay this season.

Virender Sehwag had played some aggressive shots in that time, but hadn't really exploded. But the bowlers had helped Kings XI along, bowling eight extra balls in those first six overs. Amidst all that, Mitchell Starc and Albie Morkel had also discovered that this pitch had a little more help for the bowlers than it usually does, and were getting their cutters to grip and deviate.

Yuzvendra Chahal, the legspinner, also settled in nicely, and dismissed both Sehwag and Glenn Maxwell. Kings XI were scoring rapidly, but they were losing wickets. But they still had Miller, and he was in terrific form.

On this day, Miller hit only three sixes, but he was hitting the ball cleanly along the ground placing it with rare precision. He hit Varun Aaron for three fours in the 10th over, and smashed Starc for three fours in the 13th.

The bowler who suffered most, though, was Harshal Patel, who would eventually finish with figures of 2 for 56 in three overs. The Haryana seamer had conceded two fours in his first over - one each to Sehwag and Maxwell - and had taken a nine-over sabbatical before coming back on. 

Immediately, Miller laid into him, clouting him over a leaping deep midwicket for six, dumping him back over his head and onto the roof of the stadium, and pulling him behind square for four, off his first three deliveries. Wriddhiman Saha got into the act in the same over, slog-sweeping him for six.

Miller's dismissal in the next over saw Kings XI lose some momentum, at least relative to what had gone before. They made 28 off the last 21 balls of their innings, and Royal Challengers seemed to have done well to keep them to under 200. All of that, however, ceased to matter after that one over from Sandeep. 

Only ODI ENG V SCO (reduced to 20 overs)

England 167-6 (20 overs) beat Scotland 133-9 (20 overs) by 39 runs (D/L method)

England beat Scotland by 39 runs on the Duckworth/Lewis method in a rain-reduced one-day international to give Peter Moores a winning start in his second spell as head coach.

After showers delayed the start until 16:00 BST, Ian Bell scored 50 to help England reach 167-6 in 20 overs.

Michael Leask kept Scotland in contention with 42 off 16 balls.

But his wicket triggered a collapse as the Scots slumped from 95-4 to 133-9, with James Tredwell taking 4-40.

The unlikely venue of Mannofield Park in Aberdeen provided the backdrop for the start of a new era in English cricket as they look to recover from a chastening winter in which they were whitewashed in the Ashes and crashed out of the World Twenty20 at the Super 10 stage.

Moores, who has replaced Andy Flower to reprise a role he held between 2007 and 2009, handed a debut to Nottinghamshire left-arm seamer Harry Gurney.

Brilliant Bell

Ian Bell surpassed Alec Stewart to become England's second-highest one-day run-scorer.

Paul Collingwood is top of the pile with 5,092 runs, followed by Bell on 4,685, Stewart on 4,677 and Kevin Pietersen on 4,422.

But for much of the day, it looked unlikely that any match would take place as persistent rain swept across the ground.

However, 17 minutes before the final cut-off time for a match to start, Alastair Cook and Bell walked out to bat after being put in by Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer.

The veteran duo quickly settled into a steady groove as they put on 87 for the first wicket.

Bell was more aggressive, bringing up his fifty off 33 balls only to get be bowled by the following delivery when he missed a paddle sweep at Rob Taylor.

Further rain resulted in the match being reduced from 23 to 20 overs, but England continued to bat with authority in spite of some outstanding Scottish fielding.

Cook was brilliantly caught on the boundary by a running Calum MacLeod for 44 and Jos Buttler fell to an even better catch by Rob Taylor, who reached above his head to pluck the ball out of the air.

Eoin Morgan kept England on course for an imposing total with some clean hitting before he was caught behind slashing at a wide ball from Iain Wardlaw.

England's summer series

20 May - 3 June: Twenty20 and ODI series against Sri Lanka
12 June: First of two Tests against Sri Lanka
9 July: First of five Tests v India
27 August: First of five ODIs and one T20 against India

Josh Davey took two wickets in two balls in the final over but Chris Jordan ensured England ended on a high when he thrashed the last ball of the innings down the ground for six.

James Anderson denied Scotland a fast start when he bowled both openers inside the first three overs.
Buttler did his chances of replacing Matt Prior as England's Test wicketkeeper no favours when he dropped a regulation chance to remove Coetzer.

But Scotland's captain did not go on to make the innings his team required as he was bowled around his legs in Tredwell's first over.

Leask entertained the crowd and kept the contest alive with three huge sixes off Ravi Bopara and Tredwell.

But just when Cook was starting to look concerned, Leask picked out Anderson, who took the catch on the long-on boundary at the second attempt.

From then on, the Scots imploded with four further wickets falling in the next five overs to guarantee England a morale-boosting victory.

England will next face Sri Lanka in a Twenty20 international on 20 May before five one-dayers and two Tests. 

IPL Match 30 SRH V RR

Sunrisers Hyderabad 134 for 9 (Dhawan 33, Watson 3-13, Bhatia 3-23) beat Rajasthan Royals (Bhuvneshwar 4-14, Steyn 2-31) by 32 runs

Sunrisers Hyderabad had done this in their inaugural IPL season in 2013 as well. Their batsmen would struggle to a middling total, but the bowlers would come out and defend it with considerable margins to spare. They did it again in Ahmedabad tonight. 

Their batting crumbled after a strong start of 55 for 1 to post 134 for 9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck off the third ball of the chase, and Royals were never allowed to get away. Just how difficult Sunrisers made it was evident from the fact that Royals managed one boundary after the seventh over.

Karun Nair and Sanju Samson had hit a few till that point, against the pace of Dale Steyn too. The second-wicket stand was soon cut short on 27 by the fast bowler when he had Nair caught behind with an outswinger. That was to be the only partnership that held promise for Royals.

The legspinners Amit Mishra and Karn Sharma were brought on, and Royals stalled. Samson stepped out in Karn's first over to be bowled by a straighter one. Despite no pressure yet from the asking-rate, Royals kept going for their shots. Moises Henriques had spent six games on the bench for Sunrisers. He was included tonight in place of Darren Sammy, and had Watson caught behind on the cut with his third ball.

From 41 for 4, Steven Smith and Stuart Binny were tied down by the legspinners. Mishra had been comically run out earlier after getting reprieved twice off the same delivery. He has been uncharacteristically expensive this season, and was left out for Sunrisers' previous match. He hit back with a spell of four overs on the trot for 13 runs. The batsmen were unable to pick his googly, and he was unfortunate not to have had Binny ruled caught behind.

Royals continued to slip when David Warner found Binny short with a direct hit after a slow 37-run stand. The asking-rate touched almost 11 by the time Mishra finished in the 15th over, and Steyn had Smith holing out in the deep for 22 off 33 in the next over. Bhuvneshwar ran through the lower order to finish with 4 for 14.

Royals seemed to have set up a straightforward chase for themselves at the halfway mark. Shikhar Dhawan had begun with a flurry of boundaries through the off side in an opening partnership worth 37 in four overs. However, for the fourth time in seven innings, he fell in the thirties, bowled by Shane Watson off the last ball of the fourth over.

Rajat Bhatia's slower ones were hard to score off again, and Sunrisers lost Aaron Finch, KL Rahul and Naman Ojha to him. David Warner was shunted down to No 5 to try and shore up the middle order, but was done in by Pravin Tambe's googly.

As if all these setbacks were not enough, Sunrisers lost Henriques and Karn off successive balls to give Watson a hat-trick when he came back in the 17th for his second over. Irfan Pathan scraped an unbeaten run-a-ball 21, but it was the bowlers' fight that was to win it for Sunrisers. 

2nd ODI Ireland v Sri Lanka A-A

Sri Lanka will fly out of Dublin on Friday with the first series of their tour duly sewn-up. The RSA One-Day Challenge may not be the most prestigious of the trophies they have collected this year but Marvan Atapattu, the interim coach, will be glad to leave Ireland unscathed after the second game in the series was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The skies that have brooded over the Irish capital for days drenched the ground overnight, and a damp patch on the pitch delayed the start. More rain fell throughout the morning and, although lunch was taken early, the prospects remained bleak. A thoroughly wet square and outfield forced the umpires to call things off at 2.15pm, the second time in three games the sides have been forced off without bowling a delivery.

Sri Lanka resume action at Chelmsford on Tuesday, ahead of T20, ODI and Test commitments against England, while Ireland's next game will come as part of a 50-over series at the end of July against a Sri Lanka A team that is sure to feature some of the younger members in action this week.

"It's disappointing that we didn't get any cricket in, but you're never in control of the weather," Ireland's captain, William Porterfield, said. "The umpires made the call when it was wet around the square even before the covers came off for the second time. It is just ironic that the sun has come out just after the game gets called off."

With no more ODIs scheduled until three against Scotland in September, when the county players will be unlikely to play, the summer season is pretty much over for Ireland before it began.

"This is the last time we're together as a squad for a few months", Porterfield said, "so obviously we've got to look after our own individual games and meet up again in September, October. We're looking to get down to Australia and New Zealand over the winter at some point to help our preparations for the World Cup." 

IPL Matches 28 KKR V DD & 29 KXIP V CSK

Kolkata Knight Riders 161 for 2 (Gambhir 69, Uthappa 47) beat Delhi Daredevils 160 for 5 (Duminy 40*, Karthik 36, Shakib 1-13) by eight wickets

Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa put together their second century stand in two matches, and unlike the spectacular collapse that followed against Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders did not mess up to win comfortably against Delhi Daredevils. 

Gambhir and Uthappa added 106 in 11.5 overs after Knight Riders had allowed Daredevils to recover to 160 for 5, with JP Duminy and Kedar Jadhav looting 54 off the last four overs.

The victory broke a run of four straight defeats for Knight Riders, while Daredevils crashed to their third successive loss at home. 

While Knight Riders finally converted a strong performance into a win, Daredevils were unable to defend a decent total yet again. Their previous two losses were by margins of eight and seven wickets.

About the only clear opportunity Daredevils created, barring the usual odd mishit falling in vacant areas, was when Gautam Gambhir feathered a slower one from Siddarth Kaul, but the wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik failed to take the ball as it dipped in front of him. 

That was in the sixth over, and by that time, Knight Riders had already gone past 50.

Mohammed Shami did begin with a testing opening over, but Daredevils were never able to create any pressure. 

Gambhir and Uthappa began with a four each in the second over off Wayne Parnell. Uthappa took Shami for successive boundaries in the next over, and Knight Riders were always in front for the rest of the chase.

Gambhir is increasingly looking nothing like the batsman who struggled so much to make a single run at the start of the season. 

His second scoring shot was an emphatic pulled four off Parnell. His timing was so good at times that a clip off the pad flew for six over deep midwicket off Laxmi Shukla. A forward stride and a lofted four over extra cover off Kaul was more evidence of the old touch returning.

At the other end, Uthappa hit Shahbaz Nadeem for successive boundaries to bring up the hundred of the stand. He went leg-before to Parnell for 47 off 34, Knight Riders needing 55 off 49 from that point. 

There were to be no flutters this time, as Gambhir stayed in the middle to push the score past 150 before he was caught behind off Parnell for 69 off 56. Knight Riders reached home in the 19th over, the ten deliveries to spare further driving home the ease of the win.

Daredevils were tied down for 16 overs when they batted, and were 105 for 5 when Duminy and Jadhav came together. The openers weren't able to get going and Kevin Pietersen could not handle the spinners before running himself out. Karthik made a quick 36, but Daredevils still needed a final push if they were to make a competitive total. 

Duminy and Jadhav provided that, even taking Sunil Narine for 29 in his last two overs, but it barely tested Gambhir and Uthappa. 

Kings XI Punjab 231 for 4 (Maxwell 90, Miller 47, Bailey 40*) beat Chennai Super Kings 187 for 6 (du Plessis 52) by 44 runs

Glenn Maxwell fell within touching distance of a century for the fourth time in the competition, but neither he nor Kings XI Punjab were complaining in the end as the side maintained their winning run each time Maxwell made a massive contribution. 

Maxwell and David Miller set off fireworks in Cuttack to lift Kings XI Punjab to the season's highest total - 231 - and though Super Kings managed 187, at no stage were they serious contenders in the chase.

The win took Kings XI to the top of the table.

Such was the carnage by Kings XI that it was easy to forget that only 69 came off the first ten overs. 

The next ten produced a whopping 162, an IPL record, of which the last five produced 78. The Miller-Maxwell partnership was worth 135 and after both departed, there was no respite for Super Kings as George Bailey and Mitchell Johnson swung their bats around to add 49 off just 16 balls to end the innings.

Both captains weren't quite sure how the pitch would play out, given that it was Cuttack's first match, but Virender Sehwag's rousing start was an indication that the batsmen would have it easy. 

However, at 37 for 2 and with Maxwell having just arrived, Kings XI abandoned their strategy of sending in the relatively passive Wriddhiman Saha and instead promoted Miller. Investing in their power hitters with nearly 15 overs remaining was the way to go.

The blitzkrieg began in the 11th over. 

R Ashwin continued with his tried-and-tested plan by bowling round the wicket to the right-hander, but his variations had no effect on Maxwell who smashed two sixes over deep square-leg. A rattled Ashwin strayed too wide either side of the stumps to check Maxwell but he was penalised. Ashwin was in for greater punishment in his following over as Maxwell smashed two fours and two sixes, including one that was reverse swept over third man.

Three overs of spin, including one from Ravindra Jadeja, leaked 52 and Ashwin was carted for 38 off two overs. The boundary barrage started to wear down the fielders as the normally safe Brendon McCullum let one slip at the boundary.

MS Dhoni later said that the inability of the spinners to contain Maxwell and Miller was the turning point. He turned to Ishwar Pandey to limit the damage and he too was spanked, for 18 in an over. 

Length balls were duly smashed and attempted yorkers turned into low full tosses that were dispatched. Jadeja tried bowling it flat and quick as a defensive option but Miller put him away, slashing past short third man and launching one over deep cover. Miller and Maxwell brought up the century stand off just 8.5 overs.

Dwayne Smith broke the partnership when Miller inside edged on to his stumps. Prior to that, though, Maxwell had biffed Smith for three sixes, including two audacious reverse pulls over third man. With a century in sight, however, Maxwell didn't slow down and his knock ended on 90 when he slogged a slower ball from Mohit to Jadeja at deep midwicket.

The depth in Kings XI's batting took them past 200 for the second time this season, both against Super Kings, though the previous occasion was a successful chase. Bailey and Johnson took 40 off the last two overs to push the score to 231.

Super Kings failed to put on partnerships even close to the tune of Miller and Maxwell. Their best hopes rested on their successful opening pair of Smith and McCullum, but their association ended in the first over. 

Following Jadeja's departure in the 11th over, Super Kings dropped the idea of attaining the target and focused on getting as many as possible for the sake of net run-rate. Du Plessis made an attractive fifty, but his efforts were lost in the din of Maxwell and Miller. 

1st ODI Ireland v Sri Lanka

Ireland lost by 79 runs to Sri Lanka in the first of this week's two one-day matches between the sides at Clontarf.

The hosts had their opponents 95-5 and 176-8 but the momentum swung as Mendis and Nuwan Kulasekara hit 43 from the final 22 balls as Sri Lanka made 219-8.

Ireland slipped to 5-2 but a 58 partnership between William Porterfield and Niall O'Brien gave their side hope, skipper Porterfield top-scoring on 37.

Ajantha Mendis took 3-26 from his 10 overs to help bowl out Ireland for 140.

Kusal Perera fell to the fourth ball of the match and Lahiru Thirimanne (8) edged Alex Cusack to wicketkeeper Gary Wilson.

Stuart Thompson had Upul Tharanga (24) nicking to Wilson, making it 57 for three, and Dinesh Chandimal's innings of 39 was brilliantly ended by Kevin O'Brien's catch off his own bowling.

William Porterfield top-scored for Ireland with 37

Paul Stirling then struck with his second ball, Kithuruwan Vithanage edging to Ed Joyce at slip, before Sri Lanka's century came up, five down, from the last ball of the 31st over.

The key wicket of Angelo Mathews (30) came via a direct hit from Niall O'Brien but new man Kulasekara quickly lifted Cusack for a straight six.

Ashan Priyanjan made 31 from 44 balls, with four boundaries, before chipping Dockrell to Joyce at mid-on and Tim Murtagh (2-21) removed Sachithra Senanayake for three.

But Dockrell haemorrhaged 17 runs in the 48th over including three successive boundaries for Mendis, who finished 18 not out from only nine balls with Kulasekara 42 not out from 34.

Ireland started badly as Stirling edged Kulasekara for four but was bowled next ball and the in-form Joyce failed to trouble the scorers, edging Suranga Lakmal to keeper Chandimal.

Porterfield and Niall O'Brien produced a handful of boundaries in a stand of 58 before the latter fell lbw to Mendis for 33.

Wilson (three) was shambolically run out and Kevin O'Brien holed out first ball off Lakmal, and when Thompson was trapped on the crease by Mendis, Ireland were 74-6.

Their last hope went when Porterfield (37) hoisted Mendis to Perera at deep square leg, while Cusack made 10 before being yorked by Lakmal (3-29).

Max Sorensen (17) was dismissed from the first ball after drinks and though Dockrell (18 not out) and Murtagh (10 not out) at least went down fighting, the Middlesex paceman was trapped lbw by Senanayake after hitting two boundaries. 

IPL Match 27 MI V RCB

Mumbai Indians 187 for 5 (Rohit 59*, Pollard 43) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 168 for 8 (Gayle 38, Kohli 35, Bumrah 2-22, Malinga 2-29, Harbhajan 2-33) by 19 runs

A calculated charge from Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard amid indisciplined bowling from Royal Challengers Bangalore set up Mumbai Indians' victory, their second on the trot at home. Rohit and Pollard came together at 84 for 4 in the tenth over and accelerated late to add 97 in the next ten. 

Combined with 25 extras, including 12 wides, it was well beyond Royal Challengers' reach, though they had reached 94 for 1 in the tenth over. Harbhajan Singh then claimed Chris Gayle for 38, and Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers went soon after as the visitors' challenge melted away.

With one side of the ground smaller than the other, and a furiously quick outfield, both sides wanted to chase, and Royal Challengers did. Mumbai Indians' top order of Ben Dunk, CM Gautam and Ambati Rayudu could not really get going on a pitch with pace and bounce, but the numerous extras served up by the Royal Challengers quick bowlers ensured the run-rate stayed reasonably high. The visitors hit back with quick wickets as the halfway mark of the innings approached, when Pollard joined Rohit.

With only Aditya Tare and the bowlers to come, the pair was forced to play cautiously for some time. The first five overs of the partnership produced only 29, despite some poor fielding. 

With about six overs left, Rohit and Pollard gradually opened up. Amid throwing his bat at Mitchell Starc in an ugly flare-up, Pollard contributed 43 off 31.

Rohit cut loose in the penultimate over bowled by Varun Aaron. A couple of top-edges flew fine for six, there was a straight hit for four and a sliced six over deep cover as 24 came off the over. 

Rohit lofted Starc for four over extra cover off the last ball of the innings to surge to 59 off 35 as Mumbai Indians ended on 187 for 5.

Gayle and Parthiv Patel responded with an opening stand of 53 in five overs. Parthiv did the early running before Gayle took Pawan Suyal for four successive boundaries in the third over. 

Rohit turned to Harbhajan, and after a quiet opening over, the offspinner had Parthiv bowled on the slog-sweep off the first ball of his second.

Gayle wasn't done yet. He swung Harbhajan for consecutive boundaries in the same over. 

Rohit persisted with Harbhajan, who sent down a tight third over. 

Harbhajan was given a fourth on the trot, the first four balls of which went for 12. Gayle attempted a slog-sweep off the fifth, missed and was bowled for 38 off 24.

In walked de Villiers and calmly reverse-paddled Harbhajan first ball for four. When Mumbai Indians reprieved both batsmen in the space of four deliveries, it seemed the chances could cost them. Royal Challengers needed 72 off the last eight with Kohli and de Villiers looking good.

However, de Villiers was bowled in the 13th over, missing after having backed too far across to Jasprit Bumrah. Kohli swatted Suyal straight to long-off in the next over. The asking-rate climbed rapidly now. 

Pollard ran out Yuvraj Singh, and though Rilee Rossouw tried, Royal Challengers had ceded too much ground with all those extras.