ICC World Twenty20: Warm up Matches

On 28th April 3-warm up 20-20 matches was played in West Indies.

 

 

First was between afghanistan & Ireland which was payed at Providence Stadium, Guyana at 11:00 PM IST. Afghanistan won the toss & elected to field first.

Ireland completed their 20 overs & put up a total of 133 runs loosing 9 wickets at a run rate of 6.65 runs per over. Chasing the targetted score, Afghanistan, in 19.3 overs scored 134 runs thereby won the match by 5 wickets.  

 

 

Second was between New Zealand & West Indies which was payed at Providence Stadium, Guyana at 02:30 AM IST. New Zealand won the toss & elected to bat first.

New Zealand, in 20 overs scored just 124 runs in total & lost 8 wickets with a run rate of just 6.20 runs per over. This total was very less for the top most teams which should be a easy chase for the opponents. In reply, West Indies failed to chase this target as they lost all 10 wickets in 19.4 overs scoring just 117 runs. New Zealand won the match by 7 runs.

 

 

Third match was played between Bangladesh & England which was payed at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown - Barbados. Bangladesh won the toss & elected to bat first. 

Bangladesh scored 126 runs completing 20 overs & lost 7 wickets with a run rate of 6.30 runs per over. This was not an tough chase for the opponents. England chased the targetted score successfully in 17.1 overs with a run rate of 7.39 runs. England won the match by 7 wickets.

Schedule for World Twenty20 cup

Zimbabwe stuns Australia by winning the warm up match

Today 3 matches were played as an warm up for World Twenty20 cup. World Twenty20 cup will be starting from 30th of April in West Indies.

Zimbabwe played their warm up match against Australia at St Lucia. Zimbabwe stunned Australia, winning the match by 1 runs. Batting first, Zimbabwe put up a total of 173-7 in 20 overs. Elton Chigumbara hit a massive 76 runs from just 33 deliveries. In reply, Australia played magnificently with the help of David Warner who hit 72 runs. But they failed to score 2 runs to become victorious there by loosing the match to Zimbabwe by 1 runs. Wow!! what a start from Zimbabwe in this season as they have stunned one of the best team in the world.

 Second match was played between New Zealand & Ireland. Kiwis batted first & made a magnificient 187 runs loosing 5 wickets off 20 overs. In reply, Ireland could score only 147 runs off 20 overs. Top performer was Jesse Ryder who played spectacularly scoring 60 runs from just 30 deliveries.


Third match was between Bangladesh & Barbados XI which was played in the afternoon. Bangla boys won the match by 36 runs which has increased their confidence. They scored 166 runs loosing 6 wickets off 20 overs. Chasing the target, Barbados could score only 130.

Also, Pakistan had won the opening warm-up game against Windward Islands XI where they had the match comfortably by 68 runs.

Will Umar Gul's Absence affect Pakistan's T20 team ??

Last year Pakistan cricket made a remarkable win in the ICC World Twenty20 which held last year at England. This year ICC World Twenty20 will be at West Indies which is going to start from 30th April.

Pakistan team has got a big blow now as one of their fast bowler "Umar Gul" will not be playing this year due to injury. Younis Khan who led the team last year & won the cup believes that, the absence of Gul might affect the team in this season. He continued telling that even with loss of Gul they have plenty of options to fill.

Amer, Asif, Ajmal & Afridi are good bowlers, at the last moment PCB has included 2 more bowlers to the squad. They are Mohammad Sami and left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman. Later he said, Even these both are good choices as they have performed very well in the domestic cricket.

IPL finals: Chennai Super Kings lift IPL 2010 cup

Today is the day where either Mumbai Indians & Chennai Super Kings dream of lifting the IPL cup comes true. They both faced each other in the finals of IPL edition 3 at DY Patil stadium, Navi Mumbai. Chennai Super Kings won the toss & bat first.

Chennai Super Kings started their innings very slowly, their run rate was below 6. Openers Murali Vijay & Mathew Hayden got out in 8th over & 9th over respectively. At this point of time, they had scored 47 runs from 8.4 overs. There was a good partnership between Suresh Raina & the skipper MS Dhoni which helped CSK to put up a highest first innings total in the history of IPL finals. Completing the 20 overs, Chennai Super Kings had put up total of 168 runs loosing 5 wickets. Suresh Raina was unbeaten scoring 57 runs from 35 deliveries which included 3 fours & 3 sixes.

Now the real pressure was on Mumbai Indians side, CSK looked little dominant after putting this good total.

Mumbai Indians started their chase with the openers Shikhar Dhawan & Sachin Tendulkar. Shikhar Dhawan did not stay long as he got out in the 2nd over, he did not score a single run. There was 66 runs partnership between Sachin & Abhishek Nayar. After this partnership, wickets kept on falling. But, Kieron Pollard played some big knocks which started to ease pressure. But he could not make it till the last over, as he got out in the last delivery of 19th over. This big blow gave the confirmation to the Chennai Super Kings that they will definitely win this IPL. After 20 overs, Mumbai Indians could make only 146 runs loosing 9 wickets. Thereby, Chennai Super Kings won the match by 22 runs & lifted the IPL 2010 cup. Again MS Dhoni has captained his team very well leading the team to victory.
Hope he again does the same in the upcoming World Twenty20 cup :-)

Royal Challengers Bangalore enter Champions League

Today Royal Challengers Bangalore & Deccan Chargers played against each other in the IPL  season 3 third-fourth play off at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai. Both the teams had lost semi-finals which had shattered their IPL winning dreams. This is a very crucial match & a must win match for both the teams. The team which wins this match will be playing the Twenty20 Champions League that will taking place this year.
Deccan Chargers won the toss & elected to bat first. Skipper Adam Gilchrist & Monish Mishra opened the innings for Deccan Chargers. Adam Gilchrist hit a four in the very first ball of the DC innings, but this did not work for Deccan Chargers as both were dismissed. Even Rohit Sharma did not stay long as he gave a clean catch to Kevin Pietersen. Deccan Chargers were under real trouble as they lost 3 wickets in 3.2 overs scoring only 15 runs. Further the wicket falls kept on continuing regularly but with very bad run rate. By, 10 overs, DC scored only 43 runs & had lost 5 wickets. All important wickets were gone & this particular point of time, Royal Challengers Bangalore looked very outrageous & very dominant. Deccan Chargers scored only 82 runs in 16.2 overs & had lost 6 wickets. This was an halted scored for them, because they lost remaining 4 wickets at this run itself. This was the lowest total ever made by a team in IPL history.
 Royal Challengers Bangalore wanted just 83 runs to grab the 3rd position & also qualify to play in Twenty20 Champions League.

Jacques Kallis & Rahul Dravid opened the innings for RCB. Jacques Kallis again became the highest run getter in IPL 2010 crossing Sachin Tendulkar. He did not stay for long time as he was tricked by Rohit Sharma & gave a simple catch to the bowler. Kevin Pietersen walks to the crease & played well till the end. Rahul Dravid & Pietersen were unbeaten scoring 35 & 29 runs respectively, thereby winning the match by 9 wickets. Royal Challengers Bangalore completed their chase in 13.5 overs & got qualified for the Champions League.

Next match will be the IPL finals where Chennai Super Kings will be playing against the dominant Mumbai Indians. Definitely this will be an very interesting match to be watched as the Indian captain MS Dhoni's team will be playing against the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar 's team.

Chennai Super kings are into IPL season 3 finals

Second IPL semi-finals was played between Chennai Super Kings & defending IPL champions Deccan Chargers today at Dr DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai. Chennai Super Kings won the toss & elected to bat first.
Murali Vijay & Mathew Hayden opened the batting innings for Chennai Super Kings. They both did not survive as they both got quickly. Even Suresh Raina did not play well as he got out scoring just 2 runs from 4 deliveries. After loosing 3 key players, CSK captain MS Dhoni came to bat, he gave partnership with Subramanium Badrinath which lasted for 51 deliveries. MS Dhoni got out in 13.2nd over, new comer Albie Morkel could not last long as he got out in the last delivery of 15th over. CSK were loosing wickets in regular intervals but somehow managed to put up a total score of 142 runs in 20 overs.
Chasing the score of 143 runs, Deccan Chargers started their batting with their openers Adam Gilchrist & Herschelle Gibbs. Till 5 overs, Deccan Chargers did not loose any wickets & had made a total of 19 runs only. First wicket fell in the 1st delivery of 6th over, it was Adam Gilchrist who could not connect the ball properly & failed to clear the boundary. Deccan Chargers were loosing wickets in regular intervals, no one survived for longer period. This time Andrew Symonds could not make it big as he got out scoring only 22 runs from 23 deliveries. By 19.2 overs, Deccan Chargers lost all 10 wickets scoring only 104 runs. Most economical bowler for Chennai Super Kings was Doug Bollinger whose economy rate was just 3.25 runs per over & took 4 wickets.
Chennai Super Kings won the match by 38 runs. They will be facing Mumbai Indians in the finals which will played on 25th April. Meanwhile, Deccan Chargers will playing against Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 3rd place on 24th April.

First Semi-Finals: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

IPL season 3 league matches got over at the start of the week. Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, Chennai Super Kings & Royal Challengers Bangalore have finished in the top four places respectively. These four teams will be playing semi-finals where Mumbai Indians will be competing against the Royal Challengers Bangalore & Deccan Chargers will be competing against Chennai Super Kings. Both the semi-finals will be played at Dr DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai.
Today First semi-finals was played between Mumbai Indians & Royal Challengers Bangalore. Mumbai Indians won the toss & elected to bat first. Most of the viewers in the stadium were supporters of Mumbai Indians. As the match was transferred from Bangalore to Navi Mumbai after the bomb blast which took place in Bangalore a few days ago, supporters of Bangalore could not make it to Navi Mumbai. With the less supporters, Royal Challengers Bangalore opened their bowling with the bowler Praveen Kumar. He started his bowling in a grand style where he gave only 2 runs in the very first over. Sachin Tendulkar in the second over hit 2 fours, which gave a very bright confidence to the team. But this did not last long as he got out in the fifth ball after hitting 2 continuous four. He gave a straight catch to Ross Taylor which was taken perfectly, the ground halted with a complete silence. Even Shikhar Dhawan could not make it big as he got out in the 4th over. There was a good partnership built between Ambati Rayudu & Abhishek Nayar with a good run rate which was almost 10 runs per over. Abhishek Nayar was out in the 9th over, JP Duminy walked to the crease with a huge responsibility. But he did not succeed as he was tricked by the RCB skipper Anil Kumble & got out in the 10th over. Now Mumbai Indians are into real Pressure as they have lost most of the key players. Mumbai Indians run rate dropped drastically to around 7.15 runs per over. From the 16th over, Mumbai Indians started to bat very aggressively. Both Saurabh Tiwary & Kieron Pollard played well which help Mumbai Indians to put up a total of 184 runs loosing 5 wickets. Saurabh Tiwary scored a unbeaten 52 runs from 31 deliveries & on the other side, Kieron Pollard quick fired scoring 33 runs from just 13 deliveries. Now, pressure in on Royal Challengers Bangalore. They have to score a total of 185 runs from 20 overs to enter the IPL finals.
Royal Challengers Bangalore started their chase with the openers Jacques Kallis & Rahul Dravid. Both of them started the innings in a grand style, but Jacques Kallis could not score more runs so that he could get the orange cap this time. He got out in the 3rd over, bowled by Lasith Malinga & the catch was taken by Ambati Rayudu. Royal Challengers Bangalore lost their first wicket, Kevin Pietersen joined Rahul Dravid at the crease. The wickets kept on falling in a regular intervals. At one particular time Robin Uthappa looked very dangerous but he was tricked by Kieron Pollard & got out. Royal Challengers Bangalore could not chase the target, they landed up scoring just 149 runs completing 20 overs loosing 9 wickets. Mumbai Indians won the match by 35 runs, man of the match was Kieron Pollard for his brilliant performance both in the crease as well in the field.
Mumbai Indians are now into IPL finals. They have 4 more days to go make a history in IPL. Lets wait & watch.

Chennai Super kings qualify for IPL semi-finals

Kolkota Knight Riders won by 8 wickets

Kolkata Knight Riders had won only 5 out of 12 games played in this IPL. Another was must win game for them & also have to increase their run rate a lot, so that they can get into semi-finals. Other-side Rajasthan had won 6 matches out of 13 matches played, even for them this match considered to be very important & had to win the match with huge margin to make it to semi-finals. Both the teams clashed today at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Rajasthan Royals won the toss & elected to bat first.
Shane Watson & Naman Ojha opened the innings for the Rajasthan Royals, they started off very well. Shane Watson was out in the 3rd delivery of the 8th over, which was supposed to be considered as the turning point of the match. Rajasthan Royals started to loose wickets very regularly with the run rate dropping as well. They could not sustain the Kolkata Knight Riders attack, they lost 9 wickets completing 20 overs. The run rate they had made was very less, it was 6.60 runs per over. They made a total of 132 runs, which was supposed to be a very easy chase for the opponents. Rajasthan Royals top scorer was Shane Watson who had scored 44 runs from 26 deliveries which included 7 fours & a six.
Kolkata Knight Riders started their chase with a grand style, with the openers Sourav Ganguly & Brendon McCullum. Their run rate was higher than the required rate, Brendon McCullum was out in the 3rd over. Even Chris Gayle followed Brendon & went back to the pavilion without scoring a run. At this point of time, Kolkata Knight Riders had completed 2.5 overs scoring 22 runs & lost 2 precious wickets. Skipper Sourav Ganguly was on the crease, Cheteshwar Pujara came out to accompany him. Both played brilliantly till the end & finished off the innings sparing 23 delivieries. By 16.1 overs, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 133 runs thereby winning the match by 8 wickets. Sourav Ganguly scored a brilliant unbeaten 75 runs from 50 deliveries & Pujara scored a unbeaten 45 runs from 38 deliveries. KKR's net run rate has improved to -0.456, this means they have to win the upcoming match which will be played against the Mumbai Indians with a huge margin which is almost impossible to achieve. Let wait & watch... :D

Royal Challengers Bangalore had to fight back to chase a total of 192 runs

Mumbai Indians played against Royals Challengers Bangalore today at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. Mumbai Indians wanted to show their supremacy by winning this match as they had lost a match against RCB, previously played. Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss & elected to field first.
Sachin Tendulkar & Ryan McLaren opened the batting innings for the Mumbai Indians. Both were playing at an average of around 5 runs per over, which was supposed to be the worst start for the Mumbai Indians in this IPL edition. Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar failed to make it big as he got out in the last delivery of 6th over. He scored just 19 runs from 18 balls. But, everything changed in the 9th over where Pankaj Singh gave 26 runs in his over. After this big over, Mumbai Indians started to blast the opponents, where they were scoring more than 10 runs per over easily. Ambati Rayudu,  Kieron Pollard & JP Duminy played very aggressively scoring 46 runs from 27 balls, 20 runs from 7 balls & 42 runs from 19 balls respectively. This helped Mumbai Indians to put up a huge total against the home team. Mumbai Indians scored 191 runs in 20 overs loosingonly 4 wickets. Only bowler who was very economical was Dale Steyn with an economy rate was 4.5 runs per over.
Chasing the target of 192 runs, Royal Challengers Bangalore started their innings with the openers Manish Pandey & Jacques Kallis. But both the players did not last long, as they got out in 5th over & 6th over respectively. There was even bigger blow for Royal Challengers Bangalore, they lost 3 most important & reliable wickets. They were Rahul Dravid, Kevin Pietersen & Robin Uthappa, They were in real trouble. By 11.1 overs, Royal Challengers Bangalore scored only 74 runs loosing 5 wickets. Virat Kohli was the only man to fight for Royal Challengers Bangalore who helped the team to cross more than 130 runs in total. This helped Royal Challengers Bangalore team's run rate to increase a bit, by this they have retained a chance to get into semi-finals. After 20 overs, they scored 134 runs loosing 9 wickets. Hence, Mumbai Indians won the match by 47 runs. Royal Challengers Bangalore's Net Run Rate (NRR) got dropped from +0.48 to +0.219. Now they have to completely rely on luck to make it into semi-finals.

Deccan chargers are now almost into semi finals

This match was considered as one of the crucial match for Deccan Chargers as they have to win the match to get into semi-finals safely. Kings XI Punjab are undoubtedly out of IPL edition 3 semi-finals. Both the teams faced each other yesterday at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala. Deccan Chargers won the toss & elected to field first.
Shaun Marsh & Mahela Jayawardena opened the innings for Kings XI Punjab. Shaun Marsh went back to pavilion by getting duck out in the very first over of the innings. Jayawardena & skipper Kumar Sangakkara put up a decent partnership of 86 valuable runs to their team. Sangakkara got out in the 12th over, he had scored 52 runs from 37 balls. Yuvaraj Singh came to bat, again these two put up a very good partnership which was again 86 runs partnership. Yuvaraj Singh got out in the fifth delivery of the 20th over, at this point of time Kings XI Punjab had scored 173 runs in total. All the credit goes to Mahela Jayawardena who started to perform brilliantly after 15 overs was up. He was unbeaten scoring 93 runs from 62 deliveries which included 13 fours & 2 sixes. Kings XI Punjab at the end pf 20 overs had put up a total of 174 runs loosing 3 wickets.
Deccan Chargers started to chase the total of 175 runs with their openers Adam Gilchrist & Monish Mishra. They lost Gilly in the 2nd over when the total was 13 runs. After the big blow, Deccan Chargers started to play decently with a very good run rate which was meeting up the requirements. They were loosing wickets in regular manner but with long intervals. Thirumalsetti Suman & Rohit Sharma, both batted nicely which helped the DC to keep their pace with the asking rate. Deccan Chargers chased their target in 19.1 overs & won the match by 5 wickets. Rohit Sharma was the top scorer who was unbeaten scoring 68 runs from 38 balls which included 6 fours & 3 sixes. After this win, Deccan Chargers have won 7 matches in total which has eased the pressure for them. Now they are in safe zone as they have almost into semi-finals. They have one more match left which will be played against Delhi Daredevils. Man of the match was Rohit Sharma.

Delhi Daredevils won the match by 6 wickets

It was a crucial match for both Delhi Daredevils & Chennai Super Kings as they have won 6 matches in total, whoever wins this match will have the advantage of safely getting into IPL semi-finals. Both the teams faced each other today at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Chennai Super Kings won the toss & elected to bat first.
As usual, Murali Vijay & Mathew Hayden opened the innings for Chennai Super Kings. Right from the begginning of the innings, Chennai Super Kings lost wickets with low scoring rate. They lost Mathew Hayden, MS Dhoni & Murali Vijay in 2nd, 3rd & 4th over respectively, which was a big blow for them. Suresh Raina & Michael Hussey both resisted Delhi Daredevils attack for some while, but both this did not last long. Again Chennai Super Kings lost 3 more important wickets, Suresh Raina in 9th over, Michael Hussey & Albie Morkel both in 10th over. They were loosing wickets in regular intervals, only Subramaniam Badrinath played well & contributed precious 30 runs from his side to the team. By the end of 20 overs, Chennai Super Kings lost 9 wickets & scored 112 runs. Most economical bowler for Delhi Daredevils was Amit Mishra whose economy rate was 3.25 runs per over & took a wicket.
Chasing the target of 113 runs set by the Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils opened their innings. Even Delhi Daredevils lost 3 most important wickets in first 10 balls. Skipper Gautam Gambhir & Dinesh Karthik put up a partnership of 32 runs, later Karthik got out Shadab Jakathi's over. Mithun Manhas came to bat, he & his skipper played well till the end & chased their target successfully. By 18.4 overs, Delhi Daredevils scored 113 runs & won the match by 6 wickets. DD Skipper Gautam Gambhir was unbeaten scoring 58 runs & became man of the match.
Now Deccan Chargers have to loose a match, so that Chennai Super Kings will get their chance to get into finals.

Royal Challengers Bangalore make their safe way to reach Semis

Rajasthan Royals & Royal Challengers Bangalore faced each other to book their places in semi finals of IPL season 3. Both the teams have won 6 matches playing 12 matches in total, whoever wins this match they will be making their way to semi finals safely. But, whoever looses the match will have to win their final match against their opponents with a huge margin.
Rajasthan Royals played their home match today at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. They won the toss & elected to bat first. Rajasthan Royals started their innings with the openers Michael Lumb & Naman Ojha. Initially they were looking good with good run rate, they had scored 16 runs in 2.1 overs. But, Rajasthan Royals lost their 3 important wickets in just 7 deliveries. Shane Watson played some good knock but even this did not do well for Rajasthan Royals as he gave a catch to Kevin Pietersen. Again 2 more wickets fell after the departure of Shane Watson, it was Abhishek Jhunjhunwala & Yusuf Pathan. Rajasthan Royals at this point of time, they had completed 13.1 overs & had scored 72 runs loosing 6 wickets. They fought back really well & completed 20 overs without loosing no more wickets & scored a total of 130 runs. Teams top scorer was Abhishek Raut who was unbeaten scoring 32 runs in just 20 balls.
Royal Challengers Bangalore had to score 131 runs in 20 overs which was not a big total at all for the team. Jacques Kallis was out by getting bowled in Kamran Khan's over, he played 3 deliveries & did not score a single run. They were maintaining run rate of around 10 runs per over & also were loosing wickets at a very long intervals. Kevin Pietersen was the who played extra-ordinary innings for the Royal Challengers. He scored 62 runs from just 29 deliveries which included 10 fours & 2 biggies. When Royal Challengers Bangalore lost kevin Pietersen, their run rate from 10 runs per over to around 8 runs per over. Ross Taylor completed the innings of Royal Challengers Bangalore by hitting a six. Royal Challengers Bangalore won the match by 5 wickets. They chased the target in 15.4 overs & now they are looking safe & are almost into the semi-finals. Man of the match was Kevin Pietersen.

Chennai Super Kings & Kolkata Knight Riders fight for their survival to get into Semi-finals

Kolkata Knight Riders & Chennai Super Kings have won 5 matches each & lost 6 matches playing 11 IPL - 3 matches in total. Both the teams are at the bottom of the table. This match is supposed to be the turning point for both the teams, whoever wins gets chances to make it to semi-finals.
Today, Kolkata Knight Riders played against Chennai Super Kings at MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk), Chennai. Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss & elected to bat first.
Skiper Sourav Ganguly & Chris Gayle opened the innings for Kolkata Knight Riders in a grand style. But, Kolkata Knight Riders went into a bad situation after scoring 17 runs in 2.1 overs, they lost 4 quick wickets in just 10 deliveries. After this big blow, they came back little well, but could not score huge. By the end of 20 overs, they scored 139 runs loosing 8 wickets. Angelo Mathews was the top scorer for Kolkata Knight Riders who scored 48 runs from 48 balls. Doug Bollinger was the economical bowler for Chennai Super Kings whose economy rate was 3.75 runs per over taking 2 wickets.
Chasing the target of just 140 runs, Chennai Super Kings opened their innings with Murali Vijay & Mathew Hayden as openers. Mathew Hayden was out in the 3rd ball of the 1st over, where he was bowled out by Chris Gayle. Suresh Raina & Murali Vijay started to build the partnership & also played aggressively. They both contributed a unbeaten 137 runs partnership. By 13.3 overs, Chennai Super Kings successfully chased their target by scoring 143 runs. Suresh Raina scored a unbeaten 78 runs from just 39 deliveries which included 11 fours & 3 sixes. Meanwhile, Murali Vijay scored his unbeaten half century in 40 balls. Chennai Super Kings won the match by 9 wickets. By this win, Chennai Super Kings have got a good opportunity  to get into semi-finals & Kolkata Knight Riders are almost out of this IPL season. Man of the match is Suresh Raina for unbeaten 78 runs & picking up a wicket.

Mumbai Indians lower the hopes of Delhi Daredevils getting into semi-finals

This was one of the important match for Delhi Daredevils as they have to win the upcoming matches in order to get into semi-finals safely. They visited Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai & played against Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians won the toss & elected to bat first. Chandan Madan & MI skipper Sachin Tendulkar opened the innings for the Mumbai Indians. Both started the innings very well as the run rate was around 10 runs per over. Chandan Madan got out in the sixth over, at that time MI had scored a total of 41 runs who were looking good. Skipper Sachin Tendulkar could not make it big as he got out scoring 30 runs from 26 balls, but retained his Orange cap. When Mumbai Indians lost their 4th wicket they had scored only 133 runs from 17 overs. Kieron Pollard & JP Duminy played very agressively to score 50 runs in just 18 balls. Pollard scored a unbeaten 45 runs in just 13 deliveries which included 2 fours & 5 sixes. Meanwhile JP Duminy scored 25 runs from 14 deliveries. At the end of 20 overs, Mumbai Indians made a total of 183 runs loosing 4 wickets.
Chasing the target of 184 runs set by the Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils gave a grand start with the openers David Warner & Virender Sehwag. Both very batting very aggressively, where the run rate more than the asking rate. Delhi Daredevils lost their first wicket in the 4th over, it was David Warner. Even with loss of David Warner, things did not change for Delhi Daredevils as the run rate was very good. But they started to loose their top order batsmen, things started to get worsen when Delhi Daredevils lost their 5th wicket by the end of 11th over. Run rate started to drop rapidly & they were loosing wickets as well. By the end of 20 overs, Delhi Daredevils could score only 144 runs loosing 7 wickets. Most economical bowler for Mumbai Indians was Kieron Pollard, his economy rate was just 3.75 runs per over. Best part was he did not take any wickets but he made 2 important run-outs which turned the match for Mumbai Indians. Those 2 were Virender Sehwag & Paul Collingwood. Mumbai Indians won the match by 39 runs. After this defeat, Delhi Daredevils are into tight situation & have to win all 2 upcoming games to get into Semi-finals safely. Man of the match was Kieron Pollard who played brilliantly in the field, with ball & with the bat.

Rajasthan Royals fight against Mumbai Indians to get into Semis, but failed

Rajasthan Royals are currently in the fourth position in the IPL ranking, this means they have to keep winning the upcoming matches to make up to semis safely. Rajasthan Royals played their home match against Mumbai Indians at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. Rajasthn Royals won the toss & elected to field first.
Mumbai Indians started their innings with the 2 legends, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar & Sanath Jayasurya. Sanath Jayasurya failed to stay in the pitch for longer period & he got out in Shane Watson's delivery in the 2nd over of the innings. After the fall of 1st wicket, Mumbai Indians lost 2 more wickets in quick succession. At the end of 4th over Mumbai Indians scored 30 runs loosing 3 wickets. JP Duminy had come to bat, he gave a good partnership of 63 runs with MI skipper Sachin Tendulkar. Keiron Pollard came to bat when JP Duminy got out, he contributed 25 runs in just 13 balls. Pollard got out in the last delivery of 18th over, Mumbai Indians scored 143 at this stage. This score was not enough, but it all changed in the 20th over when Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar hit 20 runs utilizing all 6 deliveries. The flow of score in last 6 balls was 6 6 2 0 2 4 thereby Mumbai Indians made a total of 174 runs loosing 5 wickets. Teams top scorer was Sachin Tendulkar who was unbeaten scoring 89 runs from 59 deliveries which included 10 fours & 2 sixes. Rajasthan Royals economical bowler was Yusuf Pathan whose economy rate was 6 runs per over.
Rajasthan Royals started their chase of 175 runs, Zaheer Khan opened the bowling for Mumbai Indians giving a grand start. He gave only 2 runs in the first over. In the second over, Rajasthan Royals lost their first wicket, Michael Lumb. Even Naman Ojha could not make his mark as he was duck out first delivery of Zaheer Khan's 2nd over. Shane Watson was run out in the Zaheer Khan's 2nd over. Thereby loosing 3 wickets in quick succession. Rajasthan Royals started to loose wickets in regular basis, no one survived in the field. Even Yusuf Pathan failed to make it a big win when he got out in Keiron Pollard's delivery. By the end of 20 overs, Rajasthan Royals could score 138 runs losing 8 wickets. Mumbai Indians won the match by 37 runs. Man of the match was Sachin Tendulkar for his brilliant batting of unbeaten 89 runs. After this win Mumbai Indians are safe, they are into finals without any doubt. They have 3 more games left before playing semi-finals.

Kings XI Punjab won the match by 7 wickets

Delhi Daredevils played their home match against the Kings XI Punjab today at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. They won the toss & elected to bat first. Delhi Daredevils started their innings with the openers, David Warner & Virender Sehwag. Right from the start of the Delhi Daredevils batting innings, batsmen failed to score aggressively, the run rate was very low. Virender Sehwag was out in the first delivery of the second over which was a big blow for the Delhi Daredevils. They even lost the skipper Gautam Gambhir in the 3.5 over & David Warner in 4.1 over. This made the Delhi Daredevils moral to go down, they started to play very slow & were loosing wickets regularly. Till Daniel Vettori got out, their run rate was just above 6 runs per over, After his fall, their run rate was started to getting lower & lower. By 19.4 overs, Delhi Daredevils lost all 10 wickets making a total of just 111 runs. Yuvaraj Singh was the most economical bowler for Kings XI Punjab in this match giving only 14 runs bowling 4 overs & picked up a wicket. Gautam Gambhir was the only batsman for Delhi Daredevils who had an batting strike rate more than 100. He scored 26 runs from 12 balls which included 5 fours.
Chasing the target of 112 runs, Kings XI Punjab started their batting innings with openers Mahela Jayawardena & Irfan Pathan. Irfan Pathan was out in the 7th over where Kings XI Punjab total had reached 41 runs. Mahela Jayawardena got out scoring 38 runs 35 balls which included 5 fours & a six. Kumar Sangakkara & Yuvaraj Singh contributed a good partnership which lasted till they reached the total of 110 runs. Kumar Sangakkara was out & Adrian Barath finished the match by getting a single to score a total of 112 for Kings XI Punjab. They finished their innings in 18.4 overs & won the match by 7 wickets. This was the 4th victory for Kings XI Punjab in this IPL season 3 playing 12 matches in total. Man of the match was Piyush Chawla.

Kings XI Punjab play their match for pride

Kings XI Punjab played their home match against Mumbai Indians, today at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali - Chandigarh. King XI Punjab have only 2 matches which has made impossible to get into IPL-3 semi-finals. They had to play this match against Mumbai Indians for pride. Mumbai Indians won the toss & elected to bat first.
Opening the innings with the openers Sachin Tendulkar & Shikhar Dhawan, Mumbai Indians gave a great start. But in the 1st ball of 2nd over, Shikhar Dhawan was bowled out in Irfan Pathan's over. Mumbai Indians, started to score at a run rate of 10 runs per over till the second wicket was gone. After this, Mumbai Indians started to play slowing where the run rate started to decrease & even they started to loose wickets in regular intervals. After 20 overs, Mumbai Indians managed to score 154 runs loosing 9 wickets. Kings XI Punjab's economical bowler was Piyush Chawla, whose economical rate was 6 runs per over taking 3 wickets.
Chasing the target of 155 runs set by Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab started their innings with an aggressive start. 1st wicket was gone in the 5th over, where Mahela Jayawardena got out. Punjab was looking good as they had scored 41 runs 4.3 deliveries. Right from the start Punjab team was on the positive go, they were loosing wickets in a very long intervals. Skipper Kumar Sangakkara scored 56 runs from 42 deliveries which included 6 fours & a six. Kings XI Punjab reached their target by 19.2 deliveries thereby winning the match by 6 wickets. This was Kings XI Punjab's 3rd victory & Mumbai Indians 3rd loss in this IPL edition 3.

Deccan Chargers won against Royal Challengers Bangalore

Deccan Chargers played their 10th IPL season 3 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. It was a home match for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Deccan Chargers won the toss & put Royal Challengers Bangalore to bat first.
Royal Challengers Bangalore started their batting innings with the openers Manish Pandey & the man with the orange cap, Jacques Kallis. Manish Pandey was out in the 3rd over scoring just 1 run from 6 balls. Rahul Dravid made a partnership of 42 runs with Jacques Kallis & got out scoring 26 runs from 25 balls. After this wicket, Bangalore lost 2 more wickets which was a big blow for the team. But, everything changed as Virat Kohli played a magnificent innings contributing 58 runs to the team which included 4 fours & 4 sixes. After 20 overs, Royal Challengers scored 184 runs loosing six wickets. Cameron White was unbeaten who scored 13 runs in just 3 balls which included 2 sixes. Deccan Chargers economical bowler was Pragyan Ojha whose economy rate was 6 runs per over taking 2 wickets.
Deccan Chargers started their chase of the target 185 runs with the openers Adam Gilchrist & Monish Mishra. Monish Mishra was out in the first delivery of 3rd over, he scored 9 runs from 11 deliveries. Adam Gilchrist & Thirumalsetti Suman made good partnership & contributed 77 runs to the team before loosing Adam Gilchrist in 11th over. Rohit Sharma did not survive as he was out in the 12th over. After this big blow, Andrew Symonds gave the entry to the stumps which was the only hope for Deccan Chargers. Suman & Symonds played their best till the end to win the match for Deccan Chargers. Deccan Chargers by 19.2 overs scored 186 runs thereby winning the match by 7 wickets. This was their 4th victory in the IPL season 3. Thirumalsetti Suman scored unbeaten 78 from 57 deliveries which included 6 fours & 3 sixes, meanwhile Andrew Symonds was unbeaten scoring 53 runs from just 24 deliveries which included 5 fours & 3 sixes.
Man of the match was Thirumalsetti Suman for his unbeaten 78 runs which helped Deccan Chargers to win the match.

Kolkata Knight Riders won the match by 14 runs

Kolkata Knight Riders played a home match against the Delhi Daredevils today at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Knight Riders won the toss & elected bat first.
Right from the start of the innings, Kolkata Knight Riders played aggressively. Openers Chris Gayle & skipper Sourav Ganguly played a good partnership of 94 runs in 10.2 overs. By 13.1 overs, Kolkata Knight Riders lost 3 wickets scoring 111 runs . After this, Manoj Tiwary & Angelo Mathews built a partnership of 70 runs & completed 20 overs. At the end of 20 overs, Kolkata Knight Riders made a total score of 181 runs loosing only 3 wickets. Teams top scorer was Sourav Ganguly who scored 56 runs from 46 balls which includes 8 fours & 1 sixes. No bowler from Delhi Daredevils was economical.
Delhi Daredevils started their chase of 182 runs with the openers David Warner & Virender Sehwag. There was a big blow for Daredevils as David Warner was out in the very first delivery of the innings which was bowled by Ashok Dinda. After this big blow, Delhi Daredevils came back from the big blow as skipper Gautam Gambhir & Virender Sehwag started to build their partnership. They both contributed 99 partnership runs for Delhi Daredevils before the fall of next wicket.Gautam Gambhir got out when Delhi Daredevils were at the score of 99 runs. After the loss of Gautam Gambhir, Delhi Daredevils started to loose wickets on regular basis which resulted in the increase of asking rate. By 18.2 overs, Delhi Daredevils lost 8 wickets scoring only 152 runs. Finally, Daredevils could not reach their target in 20 overs, they could score only 167 runs with the loss of 8 wickets. Delhi Daredevils lost the match by 14 runs, this gave more chances for Kolkata Knight Riders to enter into the semi-finals. Kolkata Knight Riders economical bowler was Ashok Dinda with the economy rate of 5.25 runs per over taking 2 wickets. Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Sourav Ganguly was the man of the match & also bagged the best catch of the match award.

Chennai Super Kings won against Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians played 9th match against Chennai Super Kings at Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk), Chennai today. It was a home match for Chennai Super Kings. Chennai Super Kings won the toss & elected bat first.
It was Mathew Hayden & Murali Vijay who opened the innings for Chennai Super Kings. Murali Vijay failed to give his best shot today as he was bowled in Harbhajan Singh's last delivery of the fourth over of the innings. The pitch was very slippery so batsmen could not connect the ball properly, hence players were not looking aggressive. CSK's biggie Mathew Hayden could play well due to the pitch conditions, he scored 35 runs from 31 deliveries. Similarly, other batsmen played moderately & contributed some runs to CSK's total. By the end of  20 overs, Chennai Super Kings made 165 runs loosing only 4 wickets. Team's top scorer was Mathew Hayden who scored 35 runs from 31 balls which included 2 fours & a six. Mumbai Indians economical bowler was Harbhajan Singh whose economy was 5.75 runs per over & took 1 wicket.
Mumbai Indians started their chase of 168 runs with the openers Shikhar Dhawan & skipper Sachin Tendulkar. Mumbai Indians gave a good start & started to score moderately. Shikhar Dhawan was out in the 1st ball of 7th over, Saurabh Tiwary & Sachin Tendulkar started to build a good partnership. After 9th over, Mumbai Indians got a big blow as skipper Sachin Tendulkar was retired due to illness. After this, Mumbai Indains started to loose wickets very quickly, wickets were falling in every over. Sachin Tendulkar was back in the 15th over when Ryan McLaren was out. Sachin did not play well this time, he got out in the 17th over. Harbhajan Singh could not reduce the pressure as the asking rate was almost impossible to achieve. At the end of 20 overs Mumbai Indians scored 141 runs loosing 9 wickets. Chennai Super Kings won the match by 24 runs. Sachin Tendulkar was the top scorer for Mumbai Indians. Chennai Super Kings economical bowler was Suresh Raina whose economy rate was 4.8 runs per over & picked up a wicket.

Rajasthan Royals won against Deccan Chargers by 2 runs

Rajasthan Royals played their home match against the Deccan Chargers today at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur. Rajasthan Royals won the toss & elected to bat first.
Rajasthan Royals started their innings with the openers Michael Lumb & Naman Ojha. They lost 2 quick wickets in first 15 balls. After this, Faiz Fazal & Shane Watson put up a partnership of 67 runs, which helped the Rajasthan Royals to put up a good total. After the fall of Faiz Fazal, Rajasthan Royals started to loose wickets regularly. By 19.5 overs, Rajasthan Royals put up a total of 159 runs loosing all 10 wickets. Rajasthan Royals top scorer was Shane Watson who scored 58 runs from 36 balls which included 3 fours & 3 sixes. Deccan Chargers successful bowler was RP Singh whose economy rate was just 4.25 runs per over & took 3 important wickets.
Gilchrist & VVS Laxman opened the innings for Deccan Chargers. Deccan Chargers needed 160 runs in 20 overs which was set by the Rajasthan Royals. VVS Laxman was out in 3rd ball of 3rd over, Deccan Chargers started to loose wickets in regular intervals. Only one man who played for Deccan Chargers was Rohit Sharma, he was playing nicely right from the start of his batting. But, his partners failed to build the partnership with him. Rohit Sharma, meanwhile started to ease the pressure which was on the Deccan Chargers. At one stage, Deccan Chargers needed just 6 runs from 6 deliveries & had 3 wickets left. But this did not go well for the defending champions, as they lost all 3 wickets in 5 deliveries. Deccan Chargers scored 157 runs in 19.5 overs & lost all 10 wickets. Thereby Rajasthan Royals won the match by 2 runs. Deccan Chargers top scorer was Rohit Sharma who scored 73 runs in 44 deliveries which included 8 fours & 2 sixes.
Shane Warne's team will be really proud after winning this crucial match as they not even lost a single match defending 150+ total in the Indian Premiere League.

Delhi Daredevils won the match by 37 runs

Delhi Daredevils played their home match against the visitors Royal Challengers Bangalore today at Feroz Shah Kotla. Delhi Daredevils won the toss & elected to bat first.
Opening their innings, Delhi Daredevils gave a ferocious start from the openers David Warner & Virender Sehwag. They played brilliantly right from the beginning but they lost Virender Sehwag & Gautam Gambhir in quick succession. But Paul Collingwood was the one who broke Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling skills, he scored 75 runs in 46 balls which included 3 fours & 7 sixes which helped the Delhi Daredevils to put up a total score of 184 runs loosing 5 wickets in 20 overs. David warner scored 33 runs 22 balls & David Warner scored 35 runs in 22 balls, both hit 2 sixes. Kotarangada Appanna was the economical bowler for Royal Challengers Bangalore, he bowled 4 overs with an economy rate of 6 runs per over & took one wicket.
Royal Challengers Bangalore started their chase of 185 runs with openers Cameron White & Jacques Kallis opening the innings. They started well, but the run rate was lower than the asking rate right from the beginning of their innings. First wicket fell in the 4th over, it was Cameron White who had scored 4 runs in 11 deliveries. Royal Challengers Bangalore started to loose wickets regularly & the asking rate started to increase. Players were forced to hit the ball as the asking rate was kept on increasing which resulted in the loss of wickets. By 20 overs Royal Challengers Bangalore lost 9 wickets & could score only 147 runs, thereby Delhi Daredevils winning the match by 37 runs. RCB's top scorer was Jacques Kallis who scored 54 runs in 42 balls which included 5 fours & a six. Meanwhile Delhi Daredevils economy bowler was Pradeep Sangwan whose economy rate was 5.5 runs per over & had took 3 wickets.
Man of the match was Paul Collingwood for his 75 runs in 46 deliveries. Delhi Daredevils after this win they have moved to the 2nd place in the IPL rankings table, meanwhile Royal Challengers Bangalore have slipped from 2nd place to 3rd place.

Kings XI Punjab chased the target of 200 successfully

Today, Kings XI Punjab won the match chasing 200 runs successfully. This was the 3rd successful chase of more than 200 runs in the IPL. Kolkata Knight Riders played their home match against visitors Kings XI Punjab at Eden garden. Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss & elected to bat first.

Opening the innings, Kolkata Knight Riders gave a brilliant start where openers Sourav Ganguly & Chris Gayle played nicely. First wicket fell in the 8th over, it was KKR's skipper Sourav Ganguly who got out after scoring 63 runs. Chris Gayle made a partnership with Manoj Tiwary scoring 101 runs which was contributed by both. This helped the Kolkata Knight Riders to reach 200 runs in total after completing 20 overs. Chris Gayle was the top scorer for KKR scoring 88 runs in 42 balls which included 6 fours & 8 sixes. Kings XI Punjab's economical bowler was Ramesh Powar whose economy rate was 5.75 runs per over.

Chasing the score of target 201 runs, Kings XI Punjab started their innings with Manvinder Bisla & Mahela Jayawardena. Bisla was out 5th over when KXIP was at 51 runs, but this did not drop the run rate of KXIP which was 10 runs per over. Kumar Sangakkara & Yuvaraj Singh gave their support to the team as well as to his partner Mahela Jayawardena to put his maiden IPL century. This helped Kings XI Punjab to chase the target of 201 runs in 18.2 overs. Teams top scorer was Mahela Jayawardena who scored 110 runs in just 59 deliveries. Kings XI Punjab won the match by 8 wickets, this was their 2nd victory playing 10 matches in IPL season 3.

Mumbai Indians continue their winning spree

Mumbai Indians played their home match against Deccan Chargers at Brabourne Stadium yesterday. Mumbai Indians won the toss & elected to bat first.
Mumbai Indians started their innings very well with the openers Shikhar Dhawan & the skipper Sachin Tendulkar. Mumbai Indians first wicket fell in the very first ball of the 7th over, even Sachin Tendulkar was out in the beginning of the 8th over where he got out for lbw bowled by Rahul Sharma. Sachin Tendulkar was out for 35 runs which was scored in 25 balls. Later on Mumbai Indians played well & their loosing wickets frequency was long, by the end of 20 overs, they lost 5 wickets & the fifth wicket fell in the last delivery of the 20th over. Teams top scorer was Ambati Rayudu who was unbeaten scoring 55 runs in just 29 balls which included 6 fours & 2 sixes. Deccan Chargers economic bowler was Pragyan Ojha whose economy was 6.5 runs per over taking 3 wickets.
Chasing the target of 179 runs which was set by the Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers started their innings. They started their batting moderately, where Herschelle Gibbs & the skipper Adam Gilchrist opened the innings for the Deccan Chargers. They lost Gibbs in the first delivery of the 5th over & with in 6.1 overs Deccan Charger lost 3 crucial wickets in total. It was Gibbs first then VVS Laxman & 3rd one was the skipper Adam Gilchrist. After this Andrew Symonds & Rohit Sharma started to build partnership, but eventually this did not work as Rohit Sharma was out in the first delivery of the 11th over. Deccan Chargers started to loose wickets & by 18.2 overs they lost all 10 wickets scoring just 115 runs at an run rate of 6.25 runs per over. Mumbai Indians most economical bowler in the match was Zaheer Khan with the economy of 5 runs per over taking 2 wickets.
Mumbai Indians won the match by 63 runs & this was their 7th victory in the 8 matches played in IPL edition 3. Mumbai Indians are still at the top in the IPL rankings table. while Deccan Chargers are in the 7th position in the table.

Chennai Super Kings create record in IPL

Chennai Super Kings played their home match in Chepauk Stadium at Chennai against Rajasthan Royals yesterday. Chennai Super Kings won the toss & elected to bat first.
Chennai Super Kings started their innings very brilliantly where they played aggressively right from the start. CSK did not loose any confidence when they lost Mathew Hayden in the sixth over. Murali Vijay cruised very fast to reach his IPL century in just 46 balls. He partnered with Albie Morkel who scored 64 runs in just 34 balls which helped Chennai Super Kings to create a record for total runs in the innings in the Indian Premier League. Murali Vijay was out in 19.4 over scoring 127 runs in just 56 deliveries which included 8 fours & 11 sixes.Chennai Super Kings scored a total of 246 runs after completing 20 overs loosing only 5 wickets.
Rajasthan Royals started their innings in aggressive manner, they lost their first wicket in 8th over where they had scored 69 runs. Later on Naman Ojha was playing nicely, but this time Yusuf Pathan failed to mark his big hits. Naman Ojha partnered with Shane Watson which had put up a partnership score of 97 runs. Shane Watson scored 60 runs in just 25 balls which included 5 sixes & 5 fours, then he got out in the 16th over. But, other players did not play well, hence Rajasthan Royals failed to reach their target in 20 overs. They scored 223 runs loosing 5 wickets. Teams top scorer was Naman Ojha, he was unbeaten scoring 94 runs from 55 deliveries which included 8 fours & 8 sixes.
Chennai Super Kings are in the 4th position in the rankings table, where as Rajasthan Royals have gone to 6th position in the table.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Won the match by 6 wickets

Kings XI Punjab played their home match against the visitors Royal Challengers Bangalore today at Mohali. Kings XI Punjab won the toss & elected to bat first. 
Openings their innings, Shaun Marsh & Manvinder Bisla were the opening batsmen for Kings XI Punjab. Things did not go well in the start for Kings XI Punjab as Shaun Marsh got out in the second over. But Kings XI Punjab batted well maintain good run rate throughout the innings. By the end of 20 overs Kings XI Punjab lost only 5 wickets & scored 181 runs in total. Yuvaraj Singh & Kumar Sangakkara scored 36 from 20 balls & 45 from 27 balls respectively. Dale Steyn was the economic bowler for Royal Challengers Bangalore giving 7.75 runs per over.
Royal challengers Bangalore started their innings chasing the target of 182 runs with the openers Jacques Kallis & Manish Pandey. Man in Orange Cap, Jacques Kallis was out in the fifth over scoring only 9 runs which made Royal Challengers Bangalore to tremble. Even Manish Pandey could not make where he got out when Kevin Pietersen hit the ball straight to bowler's hand which further hit on the wicket. After this, Virat Kohli & Kevin Pietersen played till RCB reached 130 runs. Virat Kohli got out in the 16th over, the required run rate got to 11 runs per over which was little difficult to score. But, it all changed in the 17th over where Brett Lee bowled the over. It was Robin Uthappa who batted brilliantly hitting 2 sixes & a four, in this over RCB scored 25 runs in just 6 balls where the pressure completely released for them. In 19.1 overs Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 184 runs loosing just 4 wickets & winning the match by 6 wickets. This was RCB's 5th victory in 8 matches played in this IPL edition 3. Man of the match was Kevin Pietersen for his unbeaten 66 runs from 44 balls. Royals Challengers Bangalore after winning this match moved from 3rd place to 2nd place in the rankings table.