27 May, 2008
Royals win again

A final-ball fumble by Sanath Jayasuriya gifted the Rajasthan Royals a five-wicket win over the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League on Monday.

With Rajasthan requiring two balls off the final ball for victory, Jayasuriya, standing at the bowler's end, bungled a routine run out when he dropped a throw from the outfield.

Sohail Tanvir had earlier recorded figures of 4-14 as the home side limited Mumbai to 7-145.

And Niraj Patel was the Royals' hero with the bat, cracking a fine 40 from just 29 balls to help his side to 5-146 and earn them their 11th win of the competition.

None of the Rajasthan batsmen were able to get into their stride early on as the form which has propelled them to the top of the IPL table threatened to desert them.

Kamran Akmal (18 off 16), Swapnil Asnodkar (17 off 18) and Shane Watson (18 off 19) all got starts, but were unable to push on.

But Ravindra Jadeja (23 off 20) and Patel in particular pulled them out of the mire, putting on an unbeaten 73 for the sixth wicket to see the Royals home - although the winning runs owed much to Jayasuriya's blunder.

Sent in, Mumbai made a promising start, openers Jayasuriya (38) and Sachin Tendulkar (30) putting on 71 for the first wicket.

Tanvir then took charge, removign Abhishek Nayar lbw for 25 and Shaun Pollock (nought) in successive balls, while Manish Pandey and Dwayne Smith were sent packing in the space of three balls in Tanvir's next over.

Pandey was bowled between bat and pad for three before Smith holed out to Niraj Patel at long off for eight.

Yogesh Takawale cut loose at the death with a rapid 24 off eight balls, but his contribution did not prove decisive.

28 May, 2008
Super Kings into semis

The Chennai Super Kings booked an IPL semi-final showdown with the Kings XI Punjab after they won their final round-robin match against the Deccan Chargers by seven wickets.

The Super Kings needed victory to assure their place and were made to sweat on victory, finally reeling in the home side's 8-147 when Suresh Raina clubbed a straight six from the second ball of the final over.

They will now travel to the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday for the opportunity to play in the first ever Indian Premier League final.

Defeat for the Chargers completed a frustrating campaign when they failed to win at home and managed just two wins in 14 games to finish two wins adrift at the foot of the table.

The home side had laboured to their total of 8-147 with local duo Venugopal Rao (46) and Dwaraka Ravi Teja (40) leading another Chargers recovery mission after the top-order again failed to deliver.

Openers Adam Gilchrist (five) and Herschelle Gibbs (eight) fell cheaply, before Scott Styris' run-a-ball innings of 20 was ended when he slogged across the line and was bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan.

However, in front of their home crowd, Venugopal Rao and Ravi Teja combined for a 76-run stand from 50 balls to help set a competitive total.

Parthiv Patel (20) and Stephen Fleming (14) got the Super Kings off to a quick start and when captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (37) was caught at long-off by Gibbs from the bowling of Pragyan Ojha, the visitors needed a manageable 33 from 28 balls.

Some tight bowling from Styris loosened the Super Kings' grip on the game, but Raina remained as a steady presence.

The India left-hander found the boundary regularly enough to keep his side in control of the game before supplying the killer blow in the final over, smashing a straight six off spinner Paidikalva Vijaykumar.

The shot also brought up his half-century, from 43 balls.

29 May, 2008
Marsh the man once more

Impressive Australian Shaun Marsh struck a century to confirm himself as the Indian Premier League's leading runscorer as the Kings XI Punjab coasted to a 41-run win in their top-of-the-table clash with the Rajasthan Royals.

The gloss of the encounter, the 56th and final match of a protracted round-robin series, was reduced by its dead-rubber status as both team's had already secured a place in the weekend's semi-finals.

And while defeat for Rajasthan did not prevent them from finishing as table leaders, perhaps worryingly for its hopes was the ease in which it was cast aside by the home team.

The Royals were without the inspiration of captain Shane Warne, who opted to rest his 38-year-old body, but in his absence Marsh led a demolition of their attack as the Kings XI posted a formidable 3-221.

The 24-year-old West Australian confirmed his rising talent as he struck his maiden Twenty20 century, ably assisted by countryman James Hopes (51) and a 16-ball 49 from Yuvraj Singh.

Marsh was not selected in the original player lottery, instead arriving at Mohali as a late purchase following the recommendation of Punjab coach Tom Moody - Marsh's coach at Western Australia.

It has proved an astute piece of business as Marsh, who was also the leading runscorer in the Australian Twenty20 competition earlier this year, has scored a competition-high 593 runs at an average of 74.12.

His latest innings was undoubtedly his best so far as he crunched 11 fours and seven sixes in his career-high 115 from 69 balls.

He combined with Hopes in an opening stand of 133 from 81 balls to set the hosts on their way, before Yuvraj's destructive knock.

At one stage he and Marsh traded sixes, with Yuvraj edging their own personal battle with a hat-trick of maximums to end the 18th over, bowled by Siddharth Trivedi.

Their stand, 80 from 34 balls, was ended in the final over when Marsh was caught in the deep off Shane Watson, before Yuvraj was run out off the final ball.

The Royals' reply was immediately undermined by the early dismissals of Mohammad Kaif (one) and Younis Khan (three).

With nothing riding on the game the visitors' batsmen seemed more intent on gaining some valuable time in the middle ahead of their semi-final against the Delhi Daredevils on Friday.

Niraj Patel did his hopes of playing in that game no harm with a breezy 57 at the top of the order while Yusuf Pathan chipped in with 39, including three sixes, as the visitors completed their 20 overs at 180 for seven.

Teenage leg-spinner Piyush Chawla was the pick of the Kings XI bowlers claiming 3-35 from four overs.

The Kings XI will play the Chennai Super Kings on Saturday for the right to play in the IPL's first ever final.




29 May, 2008
Jayasuriya does job

A half-century from Sanath Jayasuriya has helped Mumbai Indians finish their failed Indian Premier League campaign with a nine-wicket victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Sachin Tendulkar's side exacted revenge for the loss his team suffered when Mumbai had hosted the Royal Challengers, but the win was inconsequential as they had no chance of advancing to the semi-finals.

Jayasuriya and Tendulkar put on 96 runs for the opening stand as the Mumbai Indians made light of a target of 123.

Jayasuriya clobbered four sixes and four fours in a typically belligerent batting display as Rahul Dravid's decision to again open the bowling with Anil Kumble backfired.

Kumble conceded nine runs in his first over and was quickly removed from the attack.

Kumble was at the receiving end as Jayasuriya completed his half century when he swung the leg-spinner for six over deep midwicket.

Jayasuriya finally fell for 54 when he miscued a short-arm jab off Dale Steyn to cover.

Tendulkar kept the other end secure with a display of controlled aggression. He struck four fours and a six in an unfinished knock of 40, ensuring victory when he swept Kumble for a couple of boundaries.

Bangalore had earlier failed to make good on a modest start. Dilhara Fernando had wrecked the Royal Challengers' top order with a three-wicket haul in his first two overs.

The Sri Lankan paceman vindicated skipper Tendulkar's decision to field first in a game reduced to 18 overs due to rain.

He then had the dangerous Misbah-ul-Haq dismissed for nought before returning in the final overs to claim the wicket of Vinay Kumar and finish with figures of 4-18 from four overs.

Dwayne Smith ensured wickets fell at regular intervals as the Royal Challengers stuttered and stumbled under the pressure of losing early wickets.

Smith finished with 3-26 from four overs.

31 May, 2008
Watson stars in Royals' victory

Shane Watson was the star of the first Indian Premier League semi-final as he steered the Rajasthan Royals to a 105-run win over the Delhi Daredevils.

Captain Shane Warne had feared a neutral venue could hamper the Royals, who topped the regular league table with 11 wins from 14 matches, but those concerns were quickly laid to rest by Watson as the Royals came through unscathed in a disappointingly one-sided affair.

The Australian all-rounder, who top-scored for the Royals with 52 off 29 deliveries, also dominated with the ball, dismissing the dangerous Virender Sehwag (three) and Gautam Ghambir (11) in quick succession to leave the Daredevils reeling.

Sehwag mis-timed a pull and was caught at deep square-leg by Sohail Tanvir, while Ghambir was caught in the covers while attempting a drive.

Those wickets coupled with that of Shikhar Dhawan (five) - Watson's third wicket - brought the Daredevils' chase to a standstill.

And when Dinesh Karthik (10) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (33) departed cheaply, it was all over bar the shouting.

Earlier Watson built impressively on the platform provided by openers Graeme Smith (25) and Swapnil Asnodkar (39) as the Royals finished with a competitive 192 for nine in 20 overs after being asked to bat first.

Asnodkar had stifled nerves at the start in typically explosive style as he put on 65 runs for the opening wicket with Smith.

The South African had seemed in considerable pain due to a hamstring injury and called for a runner in only the second over. But his stroke-making skills seemed unaffected as he hit Glenn McGrath for three consecutive boundaries in the third over.

The Daredevils had started with Mohammed Asif, just back from an elbow injury, but when the Pakistani proved expensive Farveez Maharoof was pressed into service.

The Sri Lankan delivered immediately, dismissing both openers, but those blows hardly stemmed the flow of runs.

Watson bailed his team out of trouble and together with a cameo from Yusuf Pathan (45) ensured a winning total for the Royals.

Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Daredevils 20/20 Scoreboard 30/05/2008

Rajasthan Royals innings

Smith c Dhawan b Maharoof 25 (21)
Asnodkar c Tiwary b Maharoof 39 (21)
Tanvir c Karthik b Maharoof 5 (5)
Watson st Karthik b Mishra 52 (29)
Kaif b Mishra 12 (11)
Pathan run out (Dilshan / Karthik) 45 (21)
Jadeja c Maharoof b Mahesh 7 (5)
Warne c Sehwag b Mahesh 0 (1)
Rawat c & b Mohammad Asif 2 (4)
Patel not out 0 (0)
Trivedi not out 1 (2)
Extras 4 (lb 1, w 3)
Total 192 (9 wickets; 20 overs)

FoW: 1-65 (Smith, 6.4 ov), 2-65 (Asnodkar, 6.6 ov), 3-76 (Sohail Tanvir, 8.5 ov), 4-128 (Kaif, 13.4 ov), 5-155 (Watson, 15.6 ov), 6-171 (Jadeja, 17.4 ov), 7-172 (Warne, 17.6 ov), 8-190 (Rawat, 19.3 ov), 9-191 (Pathan, 19.4 ov)

Bowling
McGrath 4-0-38-0 (1w)
Asif 4-0-32-1
Mahesh 4-0-50-2 (1w)
Maharoof 4-0-34-3
Mishra 4-0-37-2 (1w)

Delhi Daredevils innings

Gambhir c sub (Kolhi) b Watson 11 (15)
Sehwag c Tanvir b Watson 3 (4)
Dhawan c Jadeja b Watson 5 (12)
Tiwary c Asnodkar b Patel 0 (3)
Dilshan c Tanvir b Warne 33 (22)
Karthik c Kaif b Trivedi 10 (12)
Maharoof c Pathan b Warne 6 (6)
Mishra b Patel 2 (5)
Mahesh c Rawat b Patel 3 (10)
Asif run out (Pathan / Rawat) 3 (5)
McGrath not out 4 (3)
Extras 7 (lb 3, w 4)
Total 87 (all out; 16.1 overs)

FoW: 1-10 (Sehwag, 1.2 ov), 2-23 (Gambhir, 3.6 ov), 3-24 (Dhawan, 5.2 ov), 4-28 (Tiwary, 6.2 ov), 5-55 (Karthik, 9.5 ov), 6-75 (Maharoof, 12.1 ov), 7-76 (Dilshan, 12.5 ov), 8-77 (Mishra, 13.1 ov), 9-82 (Mahesh, 15.2 ov), 10-87 (Mohammad Asif, 16.1 ov)

Bowling
Tanvir 2-0-16-0 (2w)
Watson 3-0-10-3 (1w)
Patel 4-0-17-3
Trivedi 3-0-20-1
Warne 4-0-21-2
Jadeja 0.1-0-0-0

Rajasthan Royals won by 105 runs
Player of the Match: Watson

1 June, 2008
Super semi for Kings

Chennai Super Kings romped into the final of the Indian Premier League thrashing Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets in the second semi-final on Saturday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team advanced to Sunday's summit clash with the Rajasthan Royals after a determined and disciplined effort saw them past Kings XI with some ease.

Chennai's speedsters set up the victory, reducing Punjab's famed batting line-up to 8-112, before Parthiv Patel (51 not out) and Suresh Raina (55 not out) saw them home with more than five overs to spare.

Dhoni handed Muttiah Muralidaran the new ball, but it was Makhaya Ntini who struck the first blow when he induced an edge from the bat of James Hopes (two), in the second over. It was the beginning of a dramatic slide for the Kings XI.

Manpreet Gony resumed his place opposite Ntini at the top of the bowling order after Murali's first over proved expensive and immediately struck, getting rid of the dangerous Kumar Sangakkara cheaply.

Yuvraj Singh came and went quickly and Shaun Marsh, the tournament's leading run scorer, played on to a delivery from Ntini leaving Punjab XI's batting order in tatters.

Significantly, it was the portly off-spinner Ramesh Powar who top-scored for Kings XI. He added a touch of respectability to the Punjab King's XI total by smashing a 21-ball 28. He flayed Lakshmipathy Balaji for three consecutive boundaries in the final over of the innings to get his team past the 100-run mark.

The absence of Stephen Fleming, who has returned home for the birth of his child, left Chennai looking decidedly brittle at the top, but the 113-run target - less than a run a ball from the start - never had the Super Kings under any sort of pressure.

Fleming's replacement at the top, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan (six) departed early but Patel and Raina batted with poise as they calmly overhauled the target.

Patel flicked a Pathan delivery through mid-wicket to bring up his second half-century of the tournament, while Raina, who had hit a couple of big sixes, reached his with a boundary off Piyush Chawla.

Kings XI Punjabs innings
SE Marsh b Ntini 23 (17)
JR Hopes c Patel b Ntini 2 (5)
KC Sangakkara c Patel b Gony 3 (4)
Yuvraj Singh c Muralitharan b Gony 4 (8)
DPMD Jayawardene c Patel b Morkel 8 (10)
IK Pathan run out (Ntini/Gony) 3 (12)
WA Mota c Raina b Morkel 25 (26)
PP Chawla b Muralitharan 12 (15)
RR Powar not out 28 (21)
S Sreesanth not out 0 (2)
Extras 4 (b 2, w 2)
Total 112 (8 wickets; 20 overs) (5.60 runs per over)
FoW: 1-8 (Hopes, 1.3 ov), 2-11 (Sangakkara, 2.2 ov), 3-28 (Yuvraj Singh, 4.4 ov), 4-34 (Marsh, 5.5 ov), 5-40 (Pathan, 8.2 ov), 6-45 (Jayawardene, 9.5 ov), 7-63 (Chawla, 13.4 ov), 8-98 (Mota, 18.6 ov)

Bowling
M Muralidaran 4-0-19-1-4.75 (1w)
M Ntini 4-0-23-2-5.75
M Gony 4-1-14-2-3.50 (1w)
JA Morkel 4-0-27-2-6.75
L Balaji 4-0-27-0-6.75

Super Kings innings
PA Patel not out 51 (48)
S Vidyut c Mota b Pathan 6 (7)
SK Raina not out 55 (34)
Extras 4 (w 4)
Total 116 (1 wicket; 14.5 overs) (7.82 runs per over)
FoW: 1-14 (Vidyut, 2.2 ov)

Bowling
IK Pathan 4-0-24-1-6.00 (2w)
S Sreesanth 1-0-7-0-7.00 (1w)
RR Powar 3-0-28-0-9.33 (1w)
VRV Singh 2-0-14-0-7.00
JR Hopes 2-0-20-0-10.00
PP Chawla 2.5-0-23-0-8.11

2 June, 2008
Royals claim IPL title

Yusuf Pathan inspired the Rajasthan Royals to a three-wicket defeat of Chennai Super Kings in a thrilling Indian Premier League final on Sunday.

He firstly took three wickets to reduce Chennai to 5-163 and then smashed 56 - including four sixes and three fours - in a 39-ball innings.

Needing eight runs off the final over, Shane Warne and Sohail Tanvir (both nine not out) kept their cool to reach the target, with the latter grabbing the one run needed for victory off the final ball of the match.

Rajasthan made a shaky start as it chased down Chennai's target, losing Niraj Patel in the fourth over for just two runs off 11 balls.

He played Manpreet Gony on to his leg stump attempting a pull, but fellow opener Swapnil Asnodkar (28) looked in better touch.

He seemed to have the measure of Makhaya Ntini, hitting the South African for consecutive fours, but could not cope with the pace of Albie Morkel and slashed at a wide ball to Suresh Raina at point.

The Royals suffered a double blow as in the same over Kamran Akmal (six) went for a suicidal single after nudging to mid-on and was run out by Ntini's direct hit.

Pathan proved he was just as capable with the bat as with the ball, although he was lucky to be dropped by Raina in the 11th over on 13.

Raina's error proved costly as Pathan went on to smash Muttiah Muralitharan for back-to-back sixes.

Shane Watson chipped in with a quickfire 28 off 19 balls but succumbed when he came down the track to Muralitharan but missed and was bowled.

Needing 52 off the last five overs, Pathan launched Lakshmipathy Balaji for 12 off one over and then dished out the same treatment to Muralitharan, hoisting the spinner over midwicket to bring up his half century.

But Mohammad Kaif then lobbed Muralitharan into the hands of Mahendra Singh Dhoni at cover and Ravindra Jadeja followed the next ball when he lamely pulled Morkel straight to Kapugedera at mid-on.

Rajasthan's hopes were knocked when Pathan was run out by Raina's superb direct hit but Warne and Tanvir steered the Royals to victory.

Earlier, Chennai openers Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and Parthiv Patel put on 39 before the former was dismissed in the sixth over. He tried to pull Pathan over deep midwicket but mistimed it and was caught by Jadeja sprinting in from the boundary.

Patel looked a touch nervy from the off and survived two decent lbw appeals, but he hit five fours in a 38-run innings off 33 balls before being caught behind by Akmal off Pathan.

Morkel attempted to accelerate the run rate and smashed two sixes before he became Pathan's third victim.

Aiming for a flurry of runs in the final few overs, Raina tried one shot too many and was caught on the long-off boundary by Jadeja off the bowling of Watson, and Chamara Kapugedera did not last long, adding just eight runs before lofting to Asnodkar at long on off Tanvir.

Dhoni smashed 29 off 17 balls, including a huge six in the last over, and Subramaniam Badrinath made six off the final two balls of the innings.

Chennai Super Kings innings
Patel c Kamran Akmal b Pathan 38 (33)
Vidyut c Jadeja b Pathan 16 (14)
Raina c Jadeja b Watson 43 (30)
Morkel c Kamran Akmal b Pathan 16 (13)
Dhoni not out 29 (17)
Kapugedera c Asnodkar b Sohail Tanvir 8 (12)
Badrinath not out 6 (2)
Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 3, nb 1) 7
Total 163 (5 wickets; 20 overs)

FOW: 1-39 (Vidyut, 5.2 ov), 2-64 (Patel, 8.6 ov), 3-95 (Morkel, 12.4 ov), 4-128 (Raina, 16.2 ov), 5-148 (Kapugedera, 19.1 ov)

Bowling
Tanvir 4-0-40-1 (1w)
Watson 4-0-29-1 (1nb, 1w)
Patel 2-0-14-0
Pathan 4-0-22-3
Trivedi 2-0-21-0
Warne 4-0-34-0 (1w)

Rajasthan Royals innings
Patel b Gony 2 (11)
Asnodkar c Raina b Morkel 28 (20)
Akmal run out (Ntini) 6 (7)
Watson b Muralitharan 28 (19)
Pathan run out (Raina) 56 (39)
Kaif c Dhoni b Muralitharan 12 (9)
Jadeja c Kapugedera b Morkel 0 (1)
Warne not out 9 (9)
Tanvir not out 9 (7)
Extras (b 1, lb 6, w 5, nb 2) 14
Total 164 (7 wickets; 20 overs)

FOW: 1-19 (NK Patel, 3.1 ov), 2-41 (Asnodkar, 6.1 ov), 3-42 (Kamran Akmal, 6.4 ov), 4-107 (Watson, 14.1 ov), 5-139 (Kaif, 16.6 ov), 6-139 (Jadeja, 17.1 ov), 7-143 (Pathan, 17.4 ov)

Bowling
Ntini 4-1-21-0
Gony 4-0-30-1
Morkel 4-0-25-2 (2nb, 3w)
Balaji 4-0-42 0 (1w)
Muralitharan 4-0-39-2