Balaji's five-for sinks Kings XI Punjab
May 10, 2008

Chennai Super Kings 181 for 4 (Badrinath 64, Dhoni 60*) beat Kings XI Punjab 163 for 9 (Marsh 58, Pathan 40, Balaji 5-24) by 18 runs
A match that swung from one side to the other was decided by two exceptional overs from L Balaji, the India international: he first picked up two crucial wickets in the 13th over to seize the initiative for his side, then picked up the IPL's first hat-trick in the final over to finish the match. Balaji's performance, in front of an ecstatic home crowd, pushed Chennai Super Kings to second place in the points table and ended Kings XI Punjab's streak of five successive wins.

Chasing a stiff 182, Punjab lost two early wickets but Shaun Marsh stayed calm at the other end, working the Chennai bowlers into the gaps for runs while picking up the odd boundaries. As the asking-rate escalated to over ten, Marsh decided to step it up, punishing Palani Amarnath for two sixes over the straight boundary and bringing up his fifty with another clean straight hit, off Balaji.

If Marsh appeared as if he'd just arrived after a stint at a driving range, Ramnaresh Sarwan, with whom he put on 66, was a touch slow with 20 off 22 balls and his inability to hit a boundary suggested why his Twenty20 strike-rate is less than a run-a-ball.

Their partnership was looking threatening, though, before both fell in one match-turning over from Balaji. Ambling in from a shortened run and putting in the effort in his final stride, he varied his deliveries, mixing up slower balls with shorter ones, with some surprising the batsmen. He got Sarwan with the first ball, the batsman bowled while giving the charge. Four balls later Marsh followed, top-edging to Amarnath on the square-leg boundary.

Amarnath tightened the screws in the next over, having Yuvraj Singh caught by Stephen Fleming at point, and the match was almost over as a contest. Not as a spectacle, though.

The 15th over saw a mini-battle between Muttiah Muralitharan and his Sri Lanka team-mate Mahela Jayawardene, who got down on his knees and dispatched him over deep midwicket. Two balls later, though, a repeat effort resulted in a top edge to S Vidyut at short third man, and Jayawardene, normally accustomed to running to congratulate his leading bowler, had to head back to the dugout.

And then there was the hat-trick, in the last over of the match. There were four balls to go and 19 runs to get when Balaji bowled to Irfan Pathan, who'd already hit him for a six off the first ball. This time, he holed out to a slower ball to deep square leg. Next, Piyush Chawla lofted one towards long-off for an easy catch, and the hat-trick was completed when VRV Singh managed to back away and top-edge one straight to Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Badrinath, a local boy like Balaji, and Dhoni had earlier threatened to take the game away as Michael Hussey had done in the previous encounter between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab, but Punjab's bowlers did well to restrict the flow of runs in the final five overs of the innings.

Dhoni, Chennai's adopted hero and captain, sent the crowd into raptures soon after his arrival by clobbering Chawla for three sixes; the first two sailed into the leg-side stands, while the third was hit flat over the bowler's head. Yuvraj soon went in for damage control, bringing on Pathan, his side's leading wicket-taker, for his second spell as early as the 13th over. Badrinath took two sixes off Pathan and brought up his fifty off 37 deliveries. The two had added 80 off 49 deliveries, and a final flourish was on the cards.

Punjab came back well to rein in the rampaging batsmen. Sreesanth had bowled a good first spell in which he removed Chennai's openers and his final one - the 16th of the innings - went for just five, James Hopes and VRV took the cue and targeted the blockhole, and the run-scoring abated. Chennai got 181, but will be disappointed at not having been able to go past the 200-run mark, which looked likely at one stage.

12 May, 2008
Royal Watson blazes Delhi

Shane Watson cracked a scorching 74 to lead Rajasthan Royals to a three-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.

The Australian all-rounder needed just 40 balls to compile the match-winning knock as the Royals reached their target of 157 with five balls to spare, opening up a two-point lead at the top of the table and condemning Delhi to a third straight defeat.

Watson, Siddharth Trivedi and IPL debutant Dimitri Mascarenhas had earlier bagged two wickets apiece as Delhi was limited to 7-156.

Farveez Maharoof's blistering 39 off just 16 balls had given the visitors a platform, but his brilliant belligerence proved in vain.

Two early run-outs hampered the Royals' chase as AB de Villiers sent Yusuf Pathan (eight) and Mohammad Kaif (one) packing in successive overs.

But from then on Watson - who was dropped on 26 by Virender Sehwag - took command, peppering the boundary with some trademark powerful strokes as he racked up five fours and as many sixes.

He lost two partners in quick succession, Graeme Smith for 25 and Ravindra Jadeja for just six, but his rhythm was not disrupted.

Mascarenhas (nine) was deceived by the spin of Sehwag and Shane Warne (11) by a slower ball from Maharoof before Watson fell to a contested run-out, but Mahesh Rawat (five) joined Niraj Patel (one) at the crease to guide the Royals to 7-159.

Having been put in to bat by the Royals, Gautam Gambhir and Sehwag put on 47 in a promising first-wicket partnership before Sehwag (17) became Watson's first victim caught at point by Kaif.

Shikhar Dhawan (three) was run out the following over and Gambhir's knock stalled on 31 off 23 balls when he was bowled off an inside edge by Trivedi.

Mascarenhas then struck twice in one over, first removing De Villiers (20) and then Dinesh Karthik (13) as Delhi lost two wickets for no runs to slump from 3-92 to 5-92.

Amit Mishra contributed just four, but Maharoof took Warne to the cleaners in the penultimate over, bludgeoning four maximums off the veteran Australian before holing out to Niraj Patel.

The tail-ender's impressive innings though proved too little too late.


12 May, 2008
Ganguly gets the points

Sourav Ganguly was at his aggressive best as he led the Kolkata Knight Riders to a 23-run victory over the Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League.

The former Indian captain fired 91 in 57 balls as the Knight Riders posted an imposing total of 4-204.

He then took two catches and two wickets as the Chargers managed 7-181 in reply.

Kolkata did not immediately get into its stride, losing Salman Butt early on for four.

Ganguly joined Aakash Chopra (24 from 23) in the middle and the pair added an unspectacular 69 for the second wicket.

Ganguly reached his second IPL fifty off 40 balls and upped the rate from there, even after Chopra was run out in a mix-up over a quick single.

He struck five maximums in his innings, treating the slow left-arm spin of Pragyan Ojha with particular disdain.

He was supported by Australian David Hussey and the pair compiled a 102-run stand.

Ganguly eventually fell, caught at fine leg by RP Singh off the bowling of Paidikalva Vijaykumar, but Hussey continued where he left off, claiming his third half-century of the competition.

He was unbeaten on 57 off 29 balls when the Kolkata innings - boosted by four overthrows off the last ball - closed.

In reply, Herschelle Gibbs managed just four before departing and when Adam Gilchrist (24 from 17) joined him, caught by Ganguly to give Ashok Dinda the first of his three wickets, the Chargers were on the back foot.

Ganguly struck to remove New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris (5) and Sanjay Bangar (2), taking the catch off Dinda to remove dangerman Rohit Sharma (33 off 24) in between.

The only bright spot for Deccan was an effervescent innings from Venugopal Rao.

He smashed an unbeaten 71 off 42 balls in reply, including 22 off one Murali Kartik over, but it was not enough.

The Chargers' hopes of progression look virtually non-existent now - they have managed just two wins in nine outings.

13 May, 2008
More runs for Marsh

Shaun Marsh hit 74 not out to guide Kings XI Punjab to a comfortable nine-wicket victory over the Bangalore Royal Challengers in Monday IPL action.

The Australian had the highest batting average in the IPL before the clash and he cemented his position as the competition's best batsman with another swashbuckling performance in Mohali.

He smashed nine fours and two sixes to lead the Kings to 1-144 in reply to Bangalore's 143, and clinched the win with a single to cover off Praveen Kumar with more than four overs to spare.

He was assisted by countrymen James Hopes and Luke Pomersbach, whose 34 off 24 balls helped easily chase down a meagre target.

The Kings made a slow start but Hopes was soon racking up the runs, matching the power of three sixes with the finesse of a number of clever singles.

He made 27 off 19 balls before going for one slog too many off Vinay Kumar and was caught by Dale Steyn at deep extra cover.

Marsh was dropped by substitute fielder Bharat Chipli at mid-on in the fifth over as the Challengers again showed lacklustre fielding, and they were made to pay as the batsman produced another sublime showing.

In the 10th over he powered Steyn for three fours and a six, and dished out similar treatment to Zaheer Khan, hitting the Indian paceman for three successive fours to bring his side to within three runs of their target.

A single from Pomersbach, and two more from Marsh in the next over condemned Bangalore to yet another defeat.

Earlier, the Challengers had won the toss and elected to bat, but struggled from the start and amassed just five runs from two overs when the in-form Sreesanth made the breakthrough in the third.

He lured Jagadeesh Arunkumar (one) into an attempted cut at a wide delivery which flew to Mahela Jayawardene in the slips.

Misbah-ul-Haq (21) and Virat Kohli (21) accelerated the run rate with two consecutive fours each and the former then hit Sreesanth for six over long-off and for four with an exquisite square drive in the same over.

Misbah's form was not to last, though, and he played back too far and trod on his stumps two balls later.

Kohli hit back-to-back fours off Piyush Chawla in the sixth over but was then fooled by a low delivery which skidded on to his off stump.

Rahul Dravid helped guide the Challengers to 3-74 at the halfway stage but in the 11th over Cameron White (10) tried to launch Chawla over deep mid-wicket but mistimed the shot and was superbly caught by the bowler.

Bangalore, a struggler in the competition so far and having only won twice, was dealt a blow when Dravid was bowled by Irfan Pathan but Mark Boucher attempted to rack up the runs in the last few overs with a huge six off Hopes.

Two fours off the same over followed for Boucher but his partners continued to tumble, with Praveen Kumar (five) and Vinay Kumar (one) bowled by Sreesanth and Vikram Singh respectively.

Boucher was eventually beaten with the penultimate ball of the innings when he was run out chasing a second run after pushing Pathan to long-on.

Indian Premier League Twenty20 - 2008 20/20 Indian Premier League Winner
NSW TAB FIXED ODDS
Winner Online Betting Closes 23:00 Sun 01 Jun 2008

Odds updated at: 9:19:02 AM
Sportsbet No Selection (default) Price
21911 BANGALORE 67.00
21912 CHENNAI 5.50
21913 DELHI 6.00
21914 DECCAN (HYDERABAD) 34.00
21915 RAJASTHAN (JAIPUR) 3.50
21916 KOLKATA 6.00
21917 PUNJAB (MOHALI) 4.00
21918 MUMBAI 8.00
There are 8 Betting Selections Available over 1 pages.

14 May, 2008
Akhtar strikes back

Shoaib Akhtar put months of turmoil behind him by taking four quickfire wickets on his Indian Premier League debut to help the Kolkata Knight Riders to a 23-run win over the Delhi Daredevils on Tuesday.

Shoaib, available for selection after a five-year ban imposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board was suspended for a month pending an appeal, wasted little time in making an impact in claiming all his victims inside the first five overs of the Delhi innings for the loss of just 11 runs.

Kolkata opener Salman Butt's 48 was the best individual total of a low-scoring encounter that saw the Daredevils fail to chase down the Knight Riders' meagre total of 6-133.

Amit Mishra's 31 was as good as it got for the visitors, who managed just 110 runs before they were bowled out inside 18 overs.

The victory continues a marked turnaround in fortunes for the Knight Riders, who are now on a three-match winning streak after suffering four successive defeats.

A late effort by Laxmi Shukla, in taking three wickets with his first five balls, sealed the Daredevils' fate and their fourth straight loss.

Kolkata skipper Sourav Ganguly won the toss and put his side into bat first, but Butt's knock at the top of the order was not complimented by fellow opener Aakash Chopra, who managed just 13 before he was dismissed by Farveez Maharoof.

Ganguly made just seven before he was bowled between bat and pad by Yo Mahesh, but David Hussey joined Butt in the centre and the pair took the score to 87 before the latter departed two runs short of his half-century.

Manesh claimed the wicket with a full delivery outside off stump that Butt sliced into the hands of Glenn McGrath at third man.

Tatenda Taibu (seven) and Shukla (10) failed to concern the Delhi attack too much before they were dismissed but Hussey was steady at the crease and cobbled together a diligent run-a-ball 31 before he was caught at long on by Manoj Tiwary off the bowling of Maharoof.

Wriddhiman Saha (five) and Iqbal Abdulla (one) were unbeaten as the hosts closed on 133, but if Delhi thought that total was achievable, it had reckoned without an inspired performance by Shoaib.

The Pakistan paceman claimed his first scalp with just his second delivery in the IPL, enticing a thick edge from Virender Sehwag (nought) and Saha took the catch.

Gautam Gambhir fell to the Rawalpindi Express in the third over as Hussey took the catch at point.

Shoaib then took two wickets in two deliveries in the fifth over to see off AB De Villiers (seven) and Tiwary (nine) and further underline his intentions for the coming weeks.

After Shikhar Dhawan fell for seven, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mishra combined to take the Delhi total from 43 to 75 before the former was run out attempting a quick single.

Maharoof was dismissed for 10 five overs later to leave the visitors on 7-101 but it was dismissal of Mishra for 31 that sounded the death knell as Shukla claimed the first of three wickets in breathtaking finale.

Pradeep Sangwan (nought) followed Mishra back to the pavilion just one ball later as Hussey took the catch at long on, and after failing with his hat-trick ball to Mahesh, Shukla took care of business with the next ball to end Delhi's innings.

15 May, 2008
Sanath smashes ton

Sanath Jayasuriya smashed an unbeaten century to guide the Mumbai Indians to a comfortable victory against the Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday.

The opener's swashbuckling performance overshadowed Sachin Tendulkar's debut appearance for Mumbai and he powered his side to the 157-run victory target set by Chennai, which lost the toss and was put into bat.

The Sri Lankan hit 11 sixes and nine fours from 48 balls en route to his 114 not out, and with Tendulkar adding 12 off 16 balls and Robin Uthappa unbeaten on 16, he clinched this clash almost single-handedly.

Shaun Pollock had earlier laid the foundations, restricting Chennai to 6-156 after 20 overs with formidable figures of 1-9 off four overs.

Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Subramaniam Badrinath rescued the innings with a partnership of 95 from 55 balls after the Super Kings had been a dismal 4-57, but the total was nowhere near enough with Jayasuriya in this kind of form.

He started with a bang by smearing Morne Morkel for two boundaries in the second over, and launched Manpreet Gony for three sixes in the fifth over, bringing up the Indians' 50 in the process.

He dished out the same treatment to Morkel in the next over, smashing two awesome sixes and two more fours.

Chennai finally made the breakthrough when Joginder Sharma clean bowled Tendulkar (12) in the eighth over but Jayasuriya continued to hammer away at the target and took his side past their target in the 14th over with a flurry of boundaries.

Three successive sixes and two fours off Chamara Kapugedera capped a stunning individual performance and steered the Indians to a superb triumph.

Earlier, Chennai made a dreadful start up against an almost unplayable Pollock.

The South African took the wicket of Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan in the third over when the batsman tried to hammer one over the straight boundary but skied the ball to Rohan Raje at mid-off for 16.

The inconsistency of Chennai's top order has been a concern for Dhoni and the curse struck again when Suresh Raina was caught behind off Dwayne Bravo for one, leaving the Super Kings on 2-28 after six overs.

Fleming rallied and made 26 off 28 balls, including four fours, but never looked totally convincing and thick-edged a Dhawal Kulkarni delivery on to his stumps in the ninth over.

Kapugedera was almost out for a golden duck when he attempted a quick single which was never on, and he was back in the pavilion without troubling the scorers the next ball when he edged Kulkarni to Takawale in the slips.

Chennai laboured to 4-57 by the halfway stage but Dhoni and Badrinath salvaged some hope by racking up the runs, with the latter bringing up 100 for Chennai by creaming Bravo through backward point for four.

The pair accelerated the until-then low run rate in the final four overs, smashing regular boundaries, including a huge six over extra cover from Badrinath off Bravo, to power to a formidable partnership of 95 from 55 balls.

Badrinath reached his second Twenty20 half-century with another maximum over long-on, but he was then caught and bowled by Bravo going for another heave-ho.

Dhoni and Morne Morkel, who added five before being caught on the third man boundary by Uthappa off Kulkarni with the last ball of the innings, posted 15 runs in the last over to set Mumbai a target of 157 but it proved inadequate as Mumbai boosted their semi-final hopes with a convincing victory.

16 May, 2008
Mishra fireworks seal win

Amit Mishra claimed a hat-trick from the final over of a thrilling game to revive the Delhi Daredevils' semi-final hopes with a 12-run win against the Deccan Chargers.

Chasing the hosts' total of 4-194, the Chargers needed 15 runs from the final over, but Mishra struck with the first three balls of the final over to dash the Chargers' hopes.

Mishra finished with match-winning figures of 5-17.

The Daredevils began the game in desperate need of a win after slumping to four consecutive defeats, which had seen them drop from the top of the Indian Premier League table to outside the top four.

After being sent in to bat the hosts lost Virender Sehwag without scoring in the opening over before Gautam Gambhir (79) and Shikhar Dhawan (68 not out) combined for a stand of 133 from 85 balls to form the backbone of the home side's total.

Gambhir took a heavy-handed approach to the bowling, highlighted by consecutive sixes off India team-mate RP Singh, while Dhawan opted to nudge the ball about the Feroz Shah Kotla.

Gambhir's innings was ended in the 16th over when slow left-armer Pragyan Ojha fired a ball down the leg side to catch out the advancing batsman who was stumped by Adam Gilchrist.

Dhawan continued to find the gaps and some late hitting from Tillakaratne Dilshan, who scored 16 from six balls, left the visitors needing marginally less than 10 runs an over to complete an unlikely run chase.

The Chargers had managed just two wins in the competition, both when chasing, and sought the invention of the recalled Shahid Afridi at the top of the innings to arrest their flagging fortunes.

The Pakistan all-rounder had managed just 47 runs in six innings in the tournament, but he showed what he was capable in typically carefree style, crashing 33 from 14 balls to get the reply off to a promising start.

The Chargers' star-studded batting line-up has failed to fire in this tournament but solid contributions from Herschelle Gibbs (22), Rohit Sharma (35) and Scott Styris (29) gave them a sniff.

And those hopes were further boosted when, following Styris' dismissal in the 18th over, Venugopal Rao took 16 from the next three balls to leave his side needing 25 from 12 balls.

Rao fell in the next over but the Chargers eroded a further 10 runs from the target to set up a thrilling finale.

But Mishra quickly foiled their hopes as he struck to dismiss Ravi Teja, Ojha and RP Singh in consecutive balls.

It was the second hat-trick of the tournament inside a week after Chennai Super Kings medium-pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji completed the feat, also in the final over, against the Kings Punjab XI on Saturday.

17 May, 2008
Indians crush Knight Riders

The Kolkatta Knight Riders were condemned to the lowest total in the Indian Premier League as the Mumbai Indians cruised to an eight-wicket win.

Shaun Pollock laid the early groundwork for Mumbai with three wickets, while there were two apiece for Dwayne Bravo, Rohan Raje and Dominic Thornely as the Knight Riders were bowled out for just 67.

Sanath Jayasuriya then took control of the chase, firing 48 off 17 balls to lead Mumbai to victory with 14 and a half overs remaining.

The Knight Riders were on the back foot from the off.

Salman Butt (13 from 13) attempted to turn Pollock to leg and edged to Tendulkar at slip and Aakash Chopra was run out next ball after some miscommunication with Sourav Ganguly.

Pollock grabbed his second as David Hussey edged through to Yogesh Takawale and made it three courtesy of a slip catch from Robin Uthappa to remove Mohammad Hafeez.

Dwayne Bravo kept it tight at the other end and he claimed the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha thanks to another Tendulkar catch, his second of four.

Rohan Raje bowled Laxmi Shukla and any hopes of a late surge for Kolkata disappeared when Takawale, standing up to the bowling of Dominic Thornely, held a good juggling catch to remove Sourav Ganguly (15 from 20) and the tail duly capitulated.

In reply, Shoaib Akhtar removed Tendulkar early on, but Ishant's first over went for 15 and the result was never in doubt.

Sanath Jayasuriya was the aggressor in chief, plundering both bowlers for a succession of boundaries and claiming a pair of leg-side sixes off Shoaib, one a nonchalant flick and the other a towering pull shot.

Robin Uthappa fell for 10 from eight when he miscued Ishant straight to Ganguly attempting to keep pace his partner.

But Jayasuriya continued undeterred and moved to within two runs of both his fifty and Mumbai's victory with a six off Ishant.

The next delivery went to the boundary to end the game, but the former Sri Lanka skipper was denied his half-century as leg byes were signalled.

Mumbai are fourth in the table with 10 points from nine games, two places above but level on points with their opponents, who have played one game more.

18 May, 2008
Royals roll on

Rajasthan Royals maintained their perfect home record and moved to the brink of a semi-final place with an emphatic 65-run win over Bangalore Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.

An assured batting display from the home side paved the way for victory as they lost only Swapnil Asnodkar (50) in their total of 1-197.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith proved the mainstay of the innings hitting 75 from 49 balls while Shane Watson added 46 off 28.

And when the recalled Sohail Tanvir took two early wickets to reduce the visitors to five for three match was all but sealed.

Bangalore captain Rahul Dravid provided the only resistence for the visitors hitting 75, including six sixes, from 36 balls as his side could manage just 9-132 from their 20 overs.

Uncertainty surrounded the staging of the match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium following the bomb blasts in Jaipur on Tuesday.

Rajasthan captain Shane Warne and several other of the team's overseas players had voiced concerns about staying in the city while Bangalore requested the game be moved to the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

However, the fixture got the green light to go ahead as planned after IPL commissioner Lalit Modi assured the 'necessary security arrangements' would be put in place for the game.

Dravid won the toss and put Rajasthan in to bat and Asnodkar immediately signalled his intent smashing Zaheer Khan for six from the final ball of the opening over.

The 24-year-old right-hander shared a 109-run stand with Smith, before he became Anil Kumble's first victim of the tournament, slashing a shot to Misbah-ul-Haq at short third man.

The hosts were aided by 18 wides from the Royal Challengers as Watson and Smith added a further 88 runs from 46 balls to set an imposing target.

The Bangalore reply was immediately in tatters as they lost their top three with just five runs on the board.

Tanvir, brought back into the side for Dimitri Mascarenhas who has returned to Hampshire, claimed the scalps of openers Jagadeesh Arunkumar (duck) and Virat Kohli (three) either side of Munaf Patel dismissing Misbah without scoring.

And after overseas signings Jaques Kallis (20) and Cameron White (10) fell cheaply, Warne dismantled the lower order with three wickets in two overs to claim match figures of 3-23.

Despite wickets falling around him Dravid played a lone hand smashing Irfan Pathan for three sixes in one over, but without support his efforts proved futile.



18 May, 2008
Kings snatch the win

Mahela Jayawardene's six off the final ball earned the Kings XI Punjab a six-run victory over the Delhi Daredevils in a rain-affected Indian Premier League match on Saturday.

The Sri Lankan pulled a long hop high over deep mid-wicket from the last ball to take his side to 3-94 after the Duckworth-Lewis method reduced the target to 89.

Delhi, who won the toss and chose to bat, posted 4-118 from 11 overs with Virender Sehwag smashing an unbeaten 51 off 26 balls.

Punjab in reply made good headway with Yuvraj Singh powering 23 runs off eight balls. Yuvraj hit Glenn McGrath for two consecutive sixes but was then caught on the boundary by Farveez Maharoof with the Australian's next ball in the third over.

James Hopes (four) followed three balls later having been caught by Shoaib Malik on the long-on boundary off the bowling of Amit Mishra but Jayawardene entered the fray and hit Sehwag for 13 from four balls in his first over.

Luke Pomersbach (25 not out) helped maintain the momentum at the other end, launching Maharoof and Bajat Bhatia for maximums in back-to-back overs.

Jayawardene then completed the seventh over with a six, which secured the win before the covers were brought on yet again.

Earlier, Delhi made a flying start, partly thanks to some erratic bowling from Sreesanth, with Sehwag launching a six over the third man boundary in the first over.

They were lucky not to lose Sehwag in the third over, however, when he tried to launch one over Sreesanth's head, but the ball took the edge and ballooned towards mid-off, where Yuvraj spilled a sitter.

Fellow opener Gautam Gambhir was soon racking up the runs with regular boundaries off Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan.

A change of bowler made little difference to the Kings, with Sehwag smashing Vikram Singh for two consecutive sixes and a four in the sixth over.

The Kings finally made the breakthrough in the next over when Gambhir's 28-ball innings was brought to a halt by a peach of a ball from Ramesh Powar which took out middle stump.

The momentum remained with Delhi despite the loss of Gambhir as Sehwag dished out some slogging treatment to spinner Piyush Chawla, but the match was then interrupted by rain.

Shikhar Dhawan added eight after the break before skying a Powar delivery to Chawla at extra cover but Sehwag soon after reached 50 with a single off Vikram Singh.

Punjab took two wickets in the 11th and final over with Tillakaratne Dilshan (eight) and Maharoof (nought) both caught at mid-wicket off Hopes.

The Daredevils were disappointed to have their innings cut short, having raced to 4-118 by just past the halfway stage, which ultimately was not enough to prevent a Punjab victory.

19 May, 2008
Ntini steers Chennai home

The Chennai Super Kings moved a step closer to a semi-final place in claiming a narrow three-run win over the Kolkata Knight Riders on the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Chasing the hosts' total of 5-149, Chennai reached 0-55 after eight overs when play was halted due to rain.

And after an hour-long wait the umpires decided to call an end to the match, handing Chennai a narrow win - its seventh of the tournament.

Earlier, Chennai paceman Makhaya Ntini claimed the third hat-trick of the tournament - spread across two overs - as he claimed figures of 4-21 in the hosts' competitive total.

Salman Butt was the Knight Riders' highest scorer, contributing 73 from 54 balls.

Ntini claimed the first wicket of his hat-trick at the end of the fifth over when Sourav Ganguly (two) backed away only to see his stumps knocked back to leave the hosts 2-28.

Butt and Debabrata Das then put on a stand of 86 for the third wicket before Ntini was inserted back into the attack in the 16th over with immediate effect.

The South African bowled Das (27) with his first ball of his second spell, before hitting the stumps again with his very next delivery to remove David Hussey.

Butt finally fell in the 18th over when he was trapped leg before wicket by Lakshmipathy Balaji as the hosts registered a competitive total.

Chennai was gifted two runs to begin the reply as Shoaib Akhtar sprayed the first two balls of the innings.

Chennai's innings gathered further pace in the next over from Ishant Sharma when Stephen Fleming crashed consecutive fours after Parthiv Patel also found the fence.

With rain looming that helped the visitors remain just ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis method, which would prove crucial when play was finally halted.
Fleming finished unbeaten on 32 while Patel made 19.



19 May, 2008
Mumbai on fire

The Mumbai Indians claimed their sixth Indian Premier League win in a row with a 25-run victory over the chronically under-performing Deccan Chargers.

Sanath Jayasuriya, Abhishek Nayar and Dwayne Bravo all reached 30 for the Indians and, though none could go on, they still posted a competitive total of 7-178.

In reply, Adam Gilchrist, Shahid Afridi and Rohit Sharma all fell cheaply and even some powerful hitting from Venugopal Rao and Dwaraka Ravi Teja could not help them recover.

Mumbai is now in an excellent position to reach the semi-finals, while defeat for the Chargers confirmed the inevitable - their chances of progressing are over.

Jayasuriya (36) was typically aggressive, striking two sixes and six fours in his 15-ball stay at the crease before sweeping Rao straight to RP Singh.

Tendulkar added a more sedate 23, before Afridi removed him and Dominic Thornely in the space of three balls.

Bravo (30) and Nayar (38) added 54 for the fifth wicket before both fell to Singh in quick succession.

Singh also bowled Pinal Shah for 10 to finish with 3-25, while there were two apiece for Afridi and Rao.

The Chargers saw their challenge ended almost before their reply had even begun.

Captain Gilchrist (13) was removed by Dilhara Fernando, who also trapped Sharma for six, while Bravo had Afridi caught by Thornely for a duck.

That left them on 3-20, which became 4-56 when Nayar had Chamara Silva caught behind for 17.

Rao (57) and Teja (37) finally mustered some resistance, adding 74 for the fifth wicket.

But Bravo returned to remove both to effectively end Deccan's challenge, in what was his last act before joining up with West Indies to face Australia.

He will be replaced by South Africa's Andre Nel, who will be excused from his duties in playing English county cricket for Essex.