IPL juggernaut rolls on

17 April, 2009

Shane Warne An Indian domestic competition played in South Africa, featuring Australians and big dollars?

If anyone had predicted that several years ago they'd either have lost all their credibility or be running the IPL.

The initial wow factor has been lost from the IPL, now in its second running, but there will be more than just passing curiosity in this year's tournament, which begins in Cape Town on Saturday.

How the competition is received in South Africa, this year's host due to fears over player safety in India while it is in election mode, is just one of many talking points.

Twenty20 cricket is tailor-made for night. It is the showbiz arm of the game. It's loud, there's bright lights, Bollywood stars and starlets and plenty of X-factor. What's more, it's great TV.

But the decision to make sure the matches are held in friendly hours for Indian TV means that every match will start in daylight in South Africa.

Several players have already bemoaned the expected loss of atmosphere as a result of the tournament being moved from cricket-mad India, but their six-figure salaries will offer some solace.

The big losers will be the fans and TV audiences, unless our South African brethren display their love for the game in a manner hitherto unseen in that country.

Australians wanting to watch the matches better enter the 21st century. ONE - Network Ten's new 24-hour free-to-air sports channel which is available only on High Definition TV - is the only place to watch it.

Even with the Australian side on tour in the UAE and several big names sitting out the competition to rest ahead of a busy winter schedule, there'll still be a strong Australian flavour in the IPL.

There's 32 players and coaches involved in the eight franchises.

Shane Warne, captain-coach of inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals, is back as are fellow international retirees Glenn McGrath (Delhi Daredevils), Matthew Hayden (Chennai Super Kings) and Adam Gilchrist (Deccan Chargers).

Shane Watson (Rajasthan Royals), Andrew McDonald (Delhi Daredevils), Brad Hodge and David Hussey (Kolkata Knight Riders) head a list of Ashes aspirants involved.

Then there's Symonds (Deccan), and India's favourite Australian Brett Lee (Kings XI Punjab), who will both be proving their fitness for England after undergoing surgery in recent months.

The biggest name, however, is Warne, arguably the greatest cricketer the world has seen since Don Bradman.

Despite being months away from his 40th birthday, that won't stop Warne from showing the young bucks how it's done.

Only Warne could turn the IPL's cheapest playing roster, which included once bitter enemy Graeme Smith, into a champion team. That done without the aid of a coach, such little respect does Warne have for such people.

Should he continue to star, don't be surprised if the champion leg-spinner again has to deflect rumours he's coming out of retirement. They are sure to surface in the build-up to the Ashes.

With countries yet to finalise their squads for the ICC World Twenty20 on the horizon, there's more than just big bucks on the line.

Players such as Moises Henriques, David Warner, Shane Harwood and Robert Quiney are several relatively unheralded Australians who can feature prominently in selections discussions for the tournament in England with strong showings in the IPL.

Australians in the IPL

Bangalore Royal Challengers: Cameron White, Nathan Bracken

Kolkata Knight Riders: John Buchanan (coach), Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Mark Cameron, Moises Henriques

Kings XI Punjab: Tom Moody (coach), Brett Lee, Burt Cockley, James Hopes, Luke Pomersbach, Shaun Marsh, Simon Katich

Chennai Super Kings: George Bailey, Matthew Hayden

Delhi Daredevils: Greg Shipperd (coach), Andrew McDonald, David Warner, Dirk Nannes, Glenn McGrath

Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne (captain/coach), Lee Carseldine, Robert Quiney, Shane Harwood, Shane Watson, Shaun Tait

Mumbai Indians: Luke Ronchi

Deccan Chargers: Darren Lehmann (coach), Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Ryan Harris

Date Home Team Away Team Venue
Apr 18, 2009 Mumbai Indians Chennai Super Kings Cape Town
Apr 18, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Bangalore Royal Challengers Cape Town
Apr 19, 2009 Delhi Daredevils Kings XI Punjab Cape Town
Apr 19, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Deccan Chargers Cape Town
Apr 20, 2009 Bangalore Royal Challengers Chennai Super Kings Port Elizabeth
Apr 21, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Kings XI Punjab Durban
Apr 21, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Mumbai Indians Durban
Apr 22, 2009 Bangalore Royal Challengers Deccan Chargers Cape Town
Apr 23, 2009 Chennai Super Kings Delhi Daredevils Durban
Apr 23, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Rajasthan Royals Port Elizabeth
Apr 24, 2009 Kings XI Punjab Bangalor Royal Challangers Durban
Apr 25, 2009 Deccan Chargers Mumbai Indians Durban
Apr 25, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Chennai Super Kings Cape Town
Apr 26, 2009 Bangalore Royal Challengers Delhi Daredevils Port Elizabeth
Apr 26, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Kings XI Punjab Cape Town
Apr 27, 2009 Chennai Super Kings Deccan Chargers Durban
Apr 27, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Mumbai Indians Port Elizabeth
Apr 28, 2009 Delhi Daredevils Rajasthan Royals Centurion
Apr 29, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Bangalore Royal Challengers Durban
Apr 29, 2009 Mumbai Indians Kings XI Punjab
Apr 30, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Bangalore Royal Challengers Durban
Apr 30, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Chennai Super Kings Centurion
May 01, 2009 Mumbai Indians Kolkata Knight Riders East London
May 01, 2009 Bangalore Royal Challengers Kings XI Punjab Durban
May 02, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Deccan Chargers Port Elizabeth
May 02, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Delhi Daredevils Johannesburg
May 03, 2009 Kings XI Punjab Kolkata Knight Riders Port Elizabeth
May 03, 2009 Mumbai Indians Bangalore Royal Challengers Johannesburg
May 04, 2009 Deccan Chargers Chennai Super Kings East London
May 05, 2009 Kings XI Punjab Rajasthan Royals Durban
May 05, 2009 Delhi Daredevils Kolkata Knight Riders Durban
May 06, 2009 Mumbai Indians Deccan Chargers Centurion
May 07, 2009 Bangalore Royal Challengers Deccan Chargers Centurion
May 07, 2009 Kings XI Punjab Chennai Super Kings Durban
May 08, 2009 Delhi Daredevils Mumbai Indians East London
May 09, 2009 Deccan Chargers Kings XI Punjab Kimberley
May 09, 2009 Chennai Super Kings Rajasthan Royals Kimberley
May 10, 2009 Bangalore Royal Challengers Mumbai Indians Port Elizabeth
May 10, 2009 Kolkata Knight Riders Delhi Daredevils Johannesburg
May 11, 2009 Deccan Chargers Rajasthan Royals Kimberley
May 12, 2009 Bangalore Royal Challengers Kolkata Knight Riders Centurion
May 12, 2009 Kings XI Punjab Mumbai Indians Centurion
May 13, 2009 Deccan Chargers Delhi Daredevils Durban
May 14, 2009 Chennai Super Kings Bangalore Royal Challengers Durban
May 14, 2009 Mumbai Indians Rajasthan Royals Durban
May 15, 2009 Kings XI Punjab Delhi Daredevils Bloemfontein
May 16, 2009 Chennai Super Kings Mumbai Indians Port Elizabeth
May 16, 2009 Deccan Chargers Kolkata Knight Riders Johannesburg
May 17, 2009 Kings XI Punjab Deccan Chargers Johannesburg
May 17, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Delhi Daredevils Bloemfontein
May 18, 2009 Chennai Super Kings Kolkata Knight Riders Centurion
May 19, 2009 Delhi Daredevils Bangalore Royal Challengers Johannesburg
May 20, 2009 Rajasthan Royals Kolkata Knight Riders Durban
May 20, 2009 Chennai Super Kings Chennai Super Kings Durban
May 21, 2009 Mumbai Indians Delhi Daredevils Centurion
May 21, 2009 Deccan Chargers Bangalore Royal Challengers Centurion
May 22, 2009 TBA TBA Centurion (Semi Final 1)
May 23, 2009 TBA TBA Johannesburg (Semi Final 2)
May 24, 2009 TBA TBA Johannesburg (Final)

Tendulkar's experience sets up Mumbai's win

April 17, 2009

Mumbai Indians 166 for 7 (Tendulkar 59*, Nayar 35) beat Chennai Super Kings 145 for 7 (Hayden 44, Malinga 3-15) by 19 runs

In the first match of the IPL in 2008, Brendon McCullum smashed an unbeaten 158 from just 73 balls to set up a crushing win for his side. A year later, as season two got underway across the Indian Ocean in different conditions and under grey skies, Sachin Tendulkar batted 20 overs for an unbeaten 59 from 49 balls. It was as valuable as McCullum's blitzkrieg, if utterly different in execution and appeal, for it came on a track not entirely conducive to batting and laid the platform for Mumbai Indians' victory.

Stumbling and bumbling, Mumbai managed to put together a competitive total after the core of their vaunted batting struggled to cope with the uneven bounce at Newlands. There were few fireworks from the big bats and the team owed plenty to the vast experience of Tendulkar, who absorbed the pressure superbly. Where Chennai's pacers were tidy in restricting runs during the middle stages of Mumbai's innings, it was the spinners Harbhajan Singh and Sanath Jayasuriya who derailed Chennai. They varied their pace and reined in the big hitters before Lasith Malinga kept the tail under control.

The pre-match drizzle in cloudy Cape Town influenced MS Dhoni's decision to field on a damp pitch, and though Mumbai's opening partnership yielded 39 in 5.4 overs, it wasn't convincing. Jayasuriya slashed and swiped and survived a run-out before he mowed fellow Sri Lankan Thilan Thushara to midwicket for 26. The ball didn't come on to the bat, as was evident in Tendulkar's frequent grimaces and constant shuffling to manoeuvre the bowling. Tendulkar attempted and connected with a few risky shots over the infield and was dropped on 10 by Matthew Hayden at first slip, off a leading edge induced by Andrew Flintoff.

Play was then held up for 12 minutes when a dog found its way onto the field. Failing to be enticed by whistles, calls, dives and even an inviting snack, the canine intruder got bored and finally trudged away. After the resumption Chennai's bowlers made swift inroads.

Shikhar Dhawan struggled for fluency and was undone by the slow bounce as he top-edged Manpreet Gony. Gony then held on to a sharp reflex catch to get JP Duminy with a clever bouncer in his next over and, taking the cue, Joginder Sharma dropped short and had Dwayne Bravo pulling to deep square leg. It was proof that the short-pitched ball can work well on such tracks. With Tendulkar keeping one end up, Abhishek Nayar walked out and played an invaluable cameo that provided a late push. Nayar larruped Flintoff for three sixes in a 22-run over in his 14-ball 35, while Tendulkar kept the innings alive by batting through the 20 overs. That 46-run partnership would prove decisive.

Chennai's chase was dented in the first over when Parthiv Patel steered Malinga to Tendulkar at slip. Suresh Raina caressed an impressive boundary in Zaheer Khan's first over but fell in the next, pulling Bravo to deep square leg where Rohan Raje made a difficult chance look easy. Malinga was tight, and Tendulkar showed the value of taking pace off the ball as a run-checking tactic by bringing on spinners at both ends, as Chennai's batsmen remained restless.

And as long as there is limited-overs cricket there will linger the prospect of the spinners' choking the opposition during the middle overs, especially when an Indian and a Sri Lankan are bowling. Today Harbhajan and Jayasuriya did that job. Flintoff didn't last long against Harbhajan, going for a wild swipe and popping back an easy catch.

Hayden - who bullied young medium-pacer Raje for three successive fours and drilled his old friend Harbhajan for a straight six - chased a wide one from Jayasuriya and picked out a diving Zaheer at cover. Jacob Oram then perished to an ugly slog against Jayasuriya, leaving Dhoni with plenty to do.

Dhoni swung his bat freely but the rest perished with a whimper. Malinga gave away nothing and his crafty yorkers and reverse-swinging variations netted him excellent figures of 3 for 15 from four parsimonious overs.

The crowd had filed in two hours ahead of the toss in gloomy conditions, and by the end of the first game of a double-header day they'd seen the weather clear and the ball go past the boundary several times. Mumbai celebrated the win animatedly in front of a healthy crowd - it wasn't exactly a boisterous Wankhede cauldron, but the IPL thinktank has reason to smile after the tournament opener.

Rajasthan humbled after inept batting

April 18, 2009

Bangalore Royal Challengers 133 for 8 (Dravid 66, Mascarenhas 3-20) beat Rajasthan Royals 58 (Kumble 5-5) by 75 runs

A charged-up Bangalore Royal Challengers produced the sort of performance for which franchise owner Vijay Mallya splashed the big bucks to bundle out Rajasthan Royals to the second-lowest total in Twenty20 history. There may be plenty of fresh faces but it was the old hands, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble, who were the stars in Bangalore's massive victory. Dravid was the most assured batsman on display, making a polished half-century, while Kumble took the most economic five-wicket haul in Twenty20s to clean up Rajasthan.

Rajasthan lost their last five wickets for 11 runs to slide to an embarrassing defeat. Such an abject end was in stark contrast to their start: Dimitri Mascarenhas scalping two big wickets in the very first over to rock Bangalore, before Shane Warne's bag of tricks kept them to what seemed a gettable 133.

The performance from Bangalore's bowlers was unidentifiable from the limp showing against a marauding Brendon McCullum in their season-opener last year. Rajasthan had a galaxy of savage hitters but they were stifled to such an extent that the entire innings had only two sixes and a solitary four.

Praveen Kumar revelled in conditions which assisted him, dislodging the openers Swapnil Asnodkar and Graeme Smith. The shot selection from Rajasthan was cringeworthy, none more so than Asnodkar's wild swing in the first over which ended up in Virat Kohli's hands at point to start the slide. Niraj Patel struggled to find any rhythm while Tyron Henderson was shackled by the short ball from Praveen and Dale Steyn.

Rajasthan were stuttering at 26 for 3 after seven overs, but it was still an even game. The match was transformed in the next over, when Henderson and Mascarenhas were dismissed off consecutive delivers in the eighth over. Henderson was tricked by a slower ball from Jesse Ryder, and Mascarenhas was run out when he refused to take no for an answer after calling Yusuf Pathan for a single.

Half the side was gone, and the run-rate was soaring into double digits. In short, Rajasthan's chase was up in smoke. Kumble was then brought into the attack and his double-strike that lured Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja into false shots extinguished any lingering hopes.

It had been so different when Mascarenhas, getting the ball to dart around, dispatched the New Zealand pair of Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor with his first three balls. Bangalore were gasping at 17 for 3 after five overs.

Kevin Pietersen, charged by Mallya with the duty of turning around Bangalore's form, was rarely troubled during his stay and, in Dravid's company, set about reviving Bangalore. They had collected an unfussy 35 runs, aided by a lightning outfield, before Pietersen mistimed a pull to a diving Niraj at midwicket.

Dravid, in the familiar role of repairing top-order collapses, calmly picked up the singles to keep the score ticking. He needed the rest to play around him, but they were bamboozled by Warne's variations. Kohli was beaten and bowled by one that drifted and dipped, while B Akhil had no reply to a classic ripping legspinner.

Dravid remained his composed self, playing a mix of orthodox and inventive strokes, to lift Bangalore. His trademark on-drive and favoured inside-out lofted drives were on view but he also mixed in some cheeky paddle-sweeps. Dravid was dismissed in the final over, foxed by a change of pace from Munaf Patel, but his 48-ball 66 had given his side's bowlers a total to defend.

The game ended in humiliation for Rajasthan, but as Warne pointed out, they started out their previous campaign with a similarly disastrous game, before scripting the fairytale run to the title.

Vettori stars in Delhi's rain-affected win
April 18, 2009

Delhi Daredevils 54 for 0 (Sehwag 38*) beat Kings XI Punjab 104 for 7 (Goel 38, Vettori 3-15) by ten wickets

Frequent showers ruined the first match of Sunday's double-header in Cape Town, reducing the target required by Delhi Daredevils to only 54 in six overs, a goal they reached with all wickets intact. The victory, however, was set up by Daniel Vettori's remarkable spell which brought an abrupt halt to Kings XI Punjab's burgeoning momentum and gave Delhi a manageable target to chase.


The game was first reduced to 14 overs a side, and then to 12, and the boundaries were shortened to exclude wet parts of the outfield. The pre-match conditions - overcast skies and a green-tinged pitch - indicated that the fast bowlers would find assistance at Newlands and Delhi packed their side with four seamers. However, their inexperienced new-ball attack - Delhi left out Glenn McGrath - struggled to contain the Kings XI Punjab openers, Karan Goel and Ravi Bopara, who raced to 67 in the first six overs.


Sehwag used his fast bowlers in one-over spells before the tactical time-out but turned to Vettori, the No. 1 spinner in Twenty20 internationals, soon after to stem the run-flow. Vettori had immediate success, trapping Bopara lbw with a straighter one, and bowled flat and straight, conceding only one run off his first over. Victoria fast bowler Dirk Nannes bowled another economical over to two new batsmen - Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh - before holding a well-judged catch at short fine-leg off Sangakkara's top-edged sweep to give Vettori his second wicket.

With only three overs to go, Yuvraj found his timing, clouting Nannes and Vettori for sixes over wide long-on and midwicket. Just when Yuvraj seemed to be making a push towards a 120-plus score, Mahela Jayawardene called for an ill-advised run and Vettori broke the stumps with Yuvraj well short at the bowler's end. Punjab then lost two more wickets within the space of three balls - Jayawardene was caught at long-off off Vettori and Piyush Chawla was run out without facing a ball. Vettori finished with 3 for 15 and was instrumental in pulling Punjab back to 104 for 7.

Gautam Gambhir gave Delhi an ideal start by driving Irfan Pathan over cover and flicking through midwicket for boundaries. Thereafter, however, it was all Sehwag. He flicked his first ball, from Yusuf Abdulla, over fine leg for six and lofted his second to the long-on boundary. The drizzle that had been around from the half-way point of Punjab's innings grew stronger and forced the players off with Delhi on 24 for 0 after 1.5 overs. When play resumed, Delhi needed only 31 more off 25 balls. Sehwag drove the first ball after the resumption firmly to the long-off boundary and effectively ended any slim hopes of a Punjab victory.

Tidy Deccan overwhelm Kolkata

April 19, 2009

Deccan Chargers 104 for 2 (Gibbs 43*, Rohit 36*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 101 (RP Singh 4-22) by eight wickets

Could the script have been any different from last year's start for the Kolkata Knight Riders? Brendon McCullum's intoxicating 158 had taken them to an enormous victory a year ago, but they were outplayed by an efficient Deccan Chargers outfit on a juicy pitch in Cape Town. It has been a weekend to savour for bowlers, and each member of Deccan's attack did their bit to leave Kolkata scrambling to reach triple-digits. Herschelle Gibbs, coming off a triumphant series against Australia, and Rohit Sharma, back in the country where he made his name in 2007, then made sure Deccan's campaign didn't begin in the dismal way last season's had.

Kolkata had packed their batting with foreign players, but it wasn't enough to prevent a hapless batting performance. Their formidable top order was handcuffed by Deccan's new-ball bowlers. Fidel Edwards was fast and frugal - consistently around the 140kph mark, he gave away only six runs, the lowest conceded in a completed IPL spell - and RP Singh evicted the Kolkata openers early.

Everything went right for Deccan. With Kolkata on 2 for 1 after three overs, Gayle broke free with a crash past point for four and a mow over midwicket for six. Then Adam Gilchrist pushed a fielder back to long-on, where Gayle promptly holed out next ball.

Sourav Ganguly had a short-lived and uncomfortable stay, beaten several times, and was unable to find the gap through the off side when he connected. Even fans protesting his removal from the captaincy can't defend the shot that brought about his dismissal - backing away and then stabbing at a wide, full delivery, only to nick it to slip.

Despite rain and a floodlight failure causing the game to be delayed by nearly an hour-and-a-half, the organisers decided to have the seven-and-a-half-minute interval after the tenth over. Aakash Chopra and Brad Hodge had dragged Kolkata to 31 for 3 by then, but also found Pragyan Ojha's left-arm spin a handful. Both Chopra and Laxmi Shukla perished giving Ojha the charge, only to be undone by the turn.

Hodge, the leading run-getter in Twenty20s, played a sensible hand. He entered in the fifth over and knocked around the singles before opening out in the 16th. Hodge slammed a couple of boundaries before slapping Scott Styris straight to Herschelle Gibbs at point. The tailenders threw their bat around but RP took two in three balls to deny Kolkata even the modest satisfaction of playing out their 20 overs.

A target of 102 was never going to be too big a challenge, especially as Kolkata had left out Ajantha Mendis on a pitch spinners have thrived on all weekend. Adam Gilchrist hit a couple of trademark boundaries before top-edging to square leg and VVS Laxman, after bludgeoning an out-of-character pull for six, was dismissed due to an old failing - poor running between the wickets.

That brought together Rohit and Gibbs, who knuckled down to work a few singles and steady the innings. Gibbs then started playing some inventive shots, a bent-knee sweep off Ganguly for four followed by a deft dab towards third man. Any pressure that Kolkata had built up vanished, and neither batsmen was afraid of lofting the ball after that.

Rohit joined in the fun once Ajit Agarkar was introduced, a huge six over long-off and a couple of boundaries helping take 17 runs off his first over. Some more merry hitting from the pair finished off the game with nearly seven overs to spare.

Kolkata had talked of a radical multiple-captain theory before the tournament, but they need to come up with some fresh ideas if they are improve on today's dreadful show.

Classy Chennai steamroll Bangalore

April 20, 2009

Chennai Super Kings 179 for 5 (Hayden 65) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 87 (Murali 3-11) by 92 runs

Chennai Super Kings' big-name foreign players stepped up to get the campaign back on track after the opening-day reverse against Mumbai Indians. Matthew Hayden rolled back the years to crack a quick half-century, Muttiah Muralitharan put another nail in the coffin of the spinners-have-no-place-in-Twenty20 theory, and Andrew Flintoff sparkled with bat and ball to sink Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Bangalore may have revamped their side this year, but turned in a performance reminiscent of their dire showings last season. The batting has yet to fire in two games, and the bowling was clueless against the initial onslaught from Chennai's openers.

After a weekend when the bowlers mostly held sway, the Chennai openers staged a display of vintage Twenty20 batting to provide just the start MS Dhoni would have wanted after winning the toss. Hayden was at his bullying best, and the hallmarks of his batting were on view: the walk-down-the-track to club the quicks, the muscular sweeps against the spinners. There was plenty of finesse among the fireworks as well, gentle glides to third man, and some caressed drives through cover.

Jacques Kallis, surprisingly picked ahead of Jesse Ryder, bore the brunt of Hayden's hitting. His first three deliveries disappeared for boundaries, and Hayden rounded off the over with a blast over long-off for six, 20 runs in that fifth over had Chennai flying at 56 for 0.

Pietersen rang in the changes but they were to no avail. Vinay Kumar was taken for two fours in the next over, and part-timer Virat Kohli gifted a couple of fours in the seventh which had Hayden racing to his half-century.

Parthiv was not quite as fluent, always keen to throw his bat and loft towards midwicket. There were plenty of mishits while he attempted that stroke, but there was one glorious pull off Dale Steyn which sailed over the square-leg boundary. By the time the tactical time-out came around, Chennai had sprinted to 106 for 0.

Kevin Pietersen may have been paid the big bucks for his flamboyant batting and captaincy, but it was with his amiable offspinners that he made an impact. His first ball bowled Parthiv, who made a meal of a slog-sweep, and Hayden was run out by a direct hit from Rahul Dravid at point off the next delivery. Only eight runs came off the next three overs.

Suresh Raina and Dhoni played some sumptuous strokes, but there too many singles and dot balls to keep the run-rate at the stratospheric levels the openers had maintained. It was left to Flintoff to make a 13-ball 22, including a flat six over square-leg off Steyn, to push Chennai along.

The boundaries may have been brought in at St George's Park, but 180 was always going to be a tall order for Bangalore. Their experiment to open with Praveen Kumar failed when he was bowled in the first over.

Kallis started to make amends for his lacklustre bowling with some eye-catching strokes steering Bangalore to 40 for 1 after five overs. However, he perished when, after a Pietersen-esque jumps across the stumps, he missed a full ball from Morkel to be trapped lbw.The miserly Flintoff then struck, getting Ross Taylor when a wild swipe only went as far as the bowler.

Worse was to follow. Murali, bowling from round the wicket, trapped Pietersen for a duck with a straighter one, and the unconvincing Robin Uthappa was stumped after being drawn forward by a flighted delivery which dipped and turned. Bangalore had slid to 51 for 5, and the chase was shipwrecked.

With the asking-rate spiralling upwards, Bangalore set about throwing the bat around, and the inevitable indiscreet strokes had them bowled out for 87.

Gayle helps Kolkata home in rain-hit game

April 22, 2009

Kolkata Knight Riders 79 for 1 (Gayle 44*, McCullum 21) beat Kings XI Punjab 158 for 6 (Yuvraj 38, Pathan 32, Ganguly 2-24) by 11 runs by D/L method

Sourav Ganguly made yet another comeback, this time with the ball, to help Kolkata Knight Riders keep Kings XI Punjab down to 158 for 6. Thereafter, Chris Gayle made the most of two dropped chances to dishearten Punjab and take Kolkata 11 ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis par-score when heavy rain ended the match in the 10th over.

Ganguly had been quiet in the lead-up to this tournament; he had lost his captaincy and looked out of sorts in scoring 1 in 12 balls against Deccan Chargers. Today, though, he made his statement with the ball, taking two wickets in his first over and pulling Punjab back from a solid-yet-unspectacular start.

When Ganguly came on to bowl, Irfan Pathan, promoted to No. 3, had just taken Ishant Sharma for 14 in his third over, and Punjab had moved along to 46 for 1 at the end of six overs. Thirty-two of those had come from Irfan's bat, in 17 deliveries.

And then Ganguly struck, fortuitously at first. Irfan went for a six to the deep midwicket area and was caught smartly by Murali Kartik at the boundary. Two balls later, Ganguly got Ravi Bopara, the opener, to edge to the new captain, Brendon McCullum. Both men were elated, the captain with his bowling change, the bowler having proved a point, and both ran in different directions to celebrate and eventually hugged each other.

Punjab moved from 46 for 1 in six to 67 for 3 in ten overs before a rain interruption. Following that, Punjab enjoyed two of the best overs of their innings. Yuvraj Singh hit a six off Ganguly to take 14 off his third over. Yet, Ganguly ended with figures of 24 for 2 off his four. And just after the rain break, in perhaps a poor tactical move, McCullum brought Chris Gayle on, who had trouble gripping the wet ball and bowled three wides in his 14-run over.

Yuvraj couldn't quite manage a reprise of his six sixes in an over at the same venue, during the inaugural ICC World Twenty20. And once he top-edged Moises Henriques in the 16th over, falling for 38 off 28, caught by Yashpal, Punjab were always struggling.

Thirty-six came off 26 balls after Yuvraj's fall, thanks largely to Mahela Jayawardene, who scored 31 in 19, and took the last over, bowled by Ashok Dinda, for 16, the biggest over of the innings.

But the hitting from Irfan, Yuvraj and Jayawardene paled in comparison with Gayle's. He played the first two overs quietly, and enjoyed a dropped sitter by Karan Goel at short midwicket off Yusuf Abdulla. It was a forgettable day for Goel, who had earlier scored a seven-ball duck.

Once Gayle carved Irfan over cover-point in the third over of the innings, the floodgates opened. From 4 off 8 balls, he reached 31 off 15 through a calculated assault on the left-arm opening bowlers. And then, in the fifth over of the innings, the game breaker came. Irfan was spanked straight and pulled square off the first two balls, and then Gayle showed him the greens, teeing off to over wide long-on.

By the time Gayle was dropped again, by Kumar Sangakkara, off a Piyush Chawla googly, he had taken the match out of Punjab's reach as the dark clouds gathered.

For the second game in succession, Punjab have been curtailed by rain, but this time they succumbed to Ganguly and Gayle, as opposed to their first match, when Delhi's chase was reduced to a six-over hit-out.

Match called off after intermittent rain

April 21, 2009

Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians - Match abandoned without a ball bowled

Poor weather continued to dominate the early stages of the IPL as the match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals was washed out without a ball being bowled. The opening game of the Tuesday double-header between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab was decided on Duckworth-Lewis hardly ten overs into the chase and the spectators were denied any cricketing action since then. The rain was intermittent all evening and the umpires decided to call it off two and a half hours after the scheduled start. Both teams will now share a point.

Incidentally, this is the second IPL game to be washed out without a ball being bowled. The first was at the Feroz Shah Kotla between the hosts Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata last May.

Gilchrist and Rohit shine in win

April 22, 2009

Deccan Chargers 184 for 6 (Gilchrist 71, Rohit 52) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 160 for 8 (Kohli 50, Dravid 48, Styris 3-32, RP Singh 2-17) by 24 runs

It seemed the IPL had finally found its Twenty20 soul, with two batsmen combining to score - for the first time in this tournament - at a frenetic pace throughout the innings. But chasing a huge Deccan Chargers total, a limp show from Bangalore Royal Challengers meant another wait for the first closely-fought encounter this season.

The day belonged to Adam Gilchrist and Rohit Sharma, who scored 123 between them, off 75 deliveries, with 88 of them coming in boundary hits. The target of 185, under lights at Newlands, is not an experience teams look forward to. It didn't help that for the third time in a row, Bangalore lost a wicket without having scored a run.

The difference in conditions in the two innings showed, with Deccan's bowlers managing to swing the ball in the initial overs. The first ball of the Bangalore innings, bowled by Fidel Edwards, was a fast, swinging yorker that removed Jesse Ryder for a duck in successive IPL matches.

If Edwards made an early impact, with only 31 runs coming in the Powerplay overs, Gilchrist was not far behind in Deccan's batting Powerplay. In the first two overs, bowled by Praveen Kumar and Dale Steyn, Gilchrist's clean hitting necessitated six fielding changes, and a change of angle to round the stumps from both bowlers. What was constant was Gilchrist's severity on anything erring in length. He reached 26 in the first two overs and inevitably a bowling change followed.

Praveen removed Herschelle Gibbs in his first over after changing ends, and despite VVS Laxman falling soon after, the Gilchrist show continued. From 26 off 11, he slowed down to reach 28 off 19, but then tucked into Jacques Kallis, taking him for 10 in two deliveries. That started the mid-innings assault with Gilchrist hitting clean - not one half-edge, not one unintended shot. He was especially harsh on short deliveries, and if the bowlers got too full, he teed off with similar ease. With one such six off a full Jesse Ryder delivery, in the 10th over, he reached his fifty in 31 balls.

Rohit was just warming up when Gilchrist sizzled. Once his captain got out, Rohit switched to his effortless hitting mode, which was one of the memorable sights of the last year's IPL. That Rohit paced himself well, showed in his scoring just 10 off the first 12 balls he faced, and 42 off the next 18. Anil Kumble's last over, the 13th of the innings, was the springboard for Rohit, with three sixes over midwicket - one swept flat, one lofted effortlessly, and the third a pull off a flatter, shorter delivery. Two more sixes later, Rohit perhaps fell at an inopportune time, with only 12 coming off the last 10 balls of the innings. But enough damage had been done by Rohit and Gilchrist by then.

A third poor start in a row by Bangalore meant they were always struggling against a Deccan attack that showed all the ingredients: hostility through Edwards, thrift through RP Singh (who took the purple cap with two wickets tonight), guile through Pragyan Ojha, and good support through Scott Styris. Once Ryder got out, Bangalore never really got going, and stumbled to 62 for 4 in the 11th over, with Kevin Pietersen back in the pavilion.

Rahul Dravid surprised his critics again, playing his natural shots, opposed to trying to hit too hard as he did against Chennai Super Kings. He finished with 48 off 27 balls, taking the orange cap in the process. Virat Kohli mirrored Dravid's effort, scoring a 32-ball 50, dominated by wristy shots and not one six. But from 62 for 4, with more than half the overs gone, they were fighting a lost cause.

In isolation, the innings played by Dravid and Kohli were as good as either Gilchrist's or Rohit's, with the hitting just as clean. However, isolation is not the luxury cricketers are accorded.