IPL Season 5 - Match 41 - CSK Vs KKR

DLF IPL Season 5

Match 41   Chennai Super Kings Vs

Kolkata Knight Riders

at MAC Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai

Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to bat.  They had the worst possible start losing their in-form batsmen Du Plessis for 3 runs.  Hussey who joined CSK for this match could score only 18 runs.  Bravo fell for 12 runs.  Suresh Raina and M.S.Dhoni played very well.  But tight bowling from Iqbal Abdulla, Sunil Narine and Jacques Kallis never allowed the CSK batsmen to dominate and CSK posted a mediocre score of 139/5.

KKR lost Brendon McCullum for 2 runs.   But Gambhir and Kallis used their experience to accumulate runs in the typical slow track at Chennai.  Kallis fell after making 26 runs.  Gambhir looked to stay till the end.  But his fall after making 63 runs created tension as KKR found it difficult to force the pace.  The ball kept low and Dhoni used Ashwin as he would normally exploit the conditions.  But Debrata Das played well to score 11 off 4 balls and reach the target with 2 balls remaining.  KKR won the match by 5 wickets.  This win took them to the 2nd Spot in the Points Table with 13 points.

Man of the Match Gautam Gambhir requested that the award may be given to Debrata Das as he deserved the award for his clinical finish.

IPL Season - Match 38 - KKR Vs RCB

Match 38   Kolkata Knight Riders Vs
Royal Challengers Bangalore

at Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and chose to bat first, expecting some assistance to the spinners in the second session.

KKR had a dream start provided by their skipper Gautam Gambhir and Brendon McCullum, who played a neat innings for the first time this season.  McCullum was the first wicket to fall scoring 43 off 37.   Kallis joined Gambhir to form another useful partnership.  Gambhir fell making 93 off 51.  Kallis made 41 off 27.   With few balls remaining it appeared that Yousuf Pathan would remain unbeaten this time at least.  But he disappointed once getting out off the last ball of the innings scoring 7 off 4 balls with a big hit over the fence as usual.  KKR posted a mammoth total of 190/4.  Vinay Kumar, for the first time in this season, bowled well with a figures of 2/31 from 4 overs, which is attractive in the context of the match.

RCB had a poor start losing Dilshan for 1.  Kohi joined Gayle and looked promising for a while before getting out LBW for 18 runs.  He also tried to misguide the umpire, probably indicating that he nicked the ball, but the latter was very shrewd.  AB De Villers's wicket was the most disappointing aspect for RCB as he got out for a duck mistiming a shot.  After his fall Gayle kept attacking at one end.  His shots kept sailing over the boundary, though the required run rate was well beyond his reach.  He hit 7 fours and 6 sixes in his innings of 86 off 58 balls.  RCB could manage just 143/6 from 20 overs.  KKR won by 47 runs which enabled them reach the 2nd spot in the Points Table and also boost their NRR considerably.

IPL Season - Match 37 - CSK Vs KXIP

Match 37   Chennai Super Kings Vs Kings XI Punjab

at MAC Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai

Kings XI Punjab won the toss and without any hesitation chose to bat, understanding the conditions at Chennai and the typical Chennai wicket which might offer low bounce as the game progresses.

Mandeep Singh and Shaun Marsh provided an excellent start.  Marsh got out for 32 off 22 balls.  Azhar Mahmood joined Mandeep and played some brilliant shots but got out soon scoring 18 off 12 balls.  David Miller also played extremely well.  Like Azhar Mahmood he too got out after scoring some runs.  He made 19 off 15 balls.  Mandeep who was holding the other end also fell for a well made 56 off 50 balls.  Thereafter it was a total collapse for KXIP as the remaining batsmen fell for paltry scores.  At one stage KXIP were poised to reach a score of 180 plus.  But the late order collapse enabled them to post just 156/8.  Albie Morkel was the most successful bowler claiming 3 wickets.  Bravo captured 2 wickets.

CSK started their chase in a brilliant manner, their openers Du Plessis and Badrinath playing some attacking shots.  Du Plessis got out after scoring 29 off 20 balls.  Badrinath was the next to go making 25 off 18.  Raina could not contribute much getting stumped after scoring 15 off 17. Saha played a reckless shot and was bowled by David Hussey for 6.  Ravindra Jadeja played some good shots and got out making 17.  Dhoni ran without any idea when the ball was just behind him and was run out.  Bravo played well to score 30 off 21.  But there was little support from the other end.  CSK fell short by 7 runs.

Azhar Mahmood was the pick of the KXIP bowlers capturing 3/25.  Piyush Chawla bowled economically and captured 2/20.

IPL Season 5 - Match 36 - Delhi Vs Mumbai

Match 36   Delhi Daredevils Vs Mumbai Indians

at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

Yet another crucial match because Mumbai Indians would jump to 2nd spot if they win today's match.

Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field.  Blazing start from Jayawardene and Sehwag enabled Daredevils to form a century partnership for the first wicket.  Jayawardene fell for a well made 55 off 42 balls when the total score was 135.  Pietersen joined Sehwag and continued to attack the bowling.  Sehwag continued his good form making 73 off 39 balls.  After his wicket, Pathan got out for a duck.  Ross Taylor looked comfortable for sometime but fell for 15 from 7 balls.  Nagar got out for duck.  But Pietersen was going great guns at the other end.  He remained unbeaten on 50 facing 26 balls.  Delhi Daredevils amassed 207/5 which is a formidable total.  Robin Peterson captured 3 wickets and Malinga captured 2 wickets.  Pollard conceded 23 runs in the only over he bowled.

Mumbai started in a pathetic manner, losing Blizzard for a duck.  Tendulkar followed soon getting out for 7 off 7 balls.  Rohit Sharma could not continue his magic touch getting out for 12.  At 19/3 things looked very bad for Mumbai Indians.  But a brilliant partnership between Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu took the score to 115/4 in the 13th over when Karthik got out for 40 off 28 balls.  Rayudu made 62 off 39 balls.  Required run rate kept climbing and the Mumbai batsmen after Rayudu could not face the challenge and kept losing wickets.  Mumbai scored 170/9 in 20 overs.  Delhi Daredevils won by a comfortable margin of 37 runs.   Mumbai dented their already poor NRR further.

IPL Season 5 - Match 35 - Pune Vs Deccan

DLF IPL Season 5

Match 35   Pune Warriors Vs Deccan Chargers

at Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium, Pune

Deccan Chargers won the toss and elected to bat. Parthiv Patel and Shikhar Dhawan gave a reasonably good start.  Shikhar Dhawan fell for 16.  Parthiv Patel, Sangakkara, Duminy and Jaggi contributed some runs.  But it was Cameron White who stole the show with some magnificent batting.  He scored 78 off 46 balls.  At one stage the Chargers were poised to reach not more than 150.  But White's extra efforts enabled them reach a challenging total of 177/4. 

Chasing a stiff target of 178, Pune Warriors opened with a new combination of Manish Pandey and Jesse Ryder.  But they had a poor start losing Ryder for 7.  It was a soft dismissal as Ryder offered a simple catch to get out.  Ganguly came in at No.3 as usual and played some good shots.  He looked to consolidate the innings when Manish Pandey got out bowled by Juan Theron trying to guide the ball to third man.  Ganguly got out for 23 and the score read 73/3 in the 10th over.  Needing over 100 runs from 10 overs, Pune needed to step up the run rate from that point.  Unfortunately Uthappa played a sluggish innings once again and Samuels wasted 8 deliveries to get out for 3 runs.   This brought Steven Smith at the crease with the required run rate over 15.  Smith tried his best hitting 3 big sixes.  But he got out making 26 off 13 runs.  Manhas and Alphonso Thomas tried their best but it was too much form.  Pune Warriors lost the match by 18 runs.  It was a great shock for them having lost to Deccan Chargers, the weakest team this season.  In fact this is the first win for the Chargers.  Had Pune won this match, they would have gone up to the 2nd spot in the Points Table.  They still stay at the same No.6, but their NRR took a beating and are slightly better than Mumbai Indians.   Tomorrow Delhi meets Mumbai and if Mumbai lose badly against them this margin will widen further.  But a bad loss for Pune indeed.  If they need to improve their chances of making it to the Top 4, they have to drop Marlon Samuels and include Tamil Iqbal as opener with Jesse Ryder.  Smith should be sent in at No.3 to keep the run rate healthy right from the start, at least when they are chasing huge targets.  Even if Smith and Ryder get out, they can consolidate with enough depth in  batting.  Some serious thinking is needed and stern action has to be taken before it becomes too late.

IPL Season 5 - Match 34 - CSK Vs RCB

Match 34 Chennai Super Kings Vs

Royal Challengers Bangalore at

Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Intermittent rains upset the spectators and brief stoppage in between raised hopes of possibility of the match.  However rain started again and continued for a long time to eradicate any possibility of the match.  As a result CSK and RCB shared one point each to end up with 9 points apiece and move up in the Points Table leaping over Rajasthan Royals and Pune Warriors who have 8 points each.  We have KKR, CSK and RCB tied at 9 points each and rain played its part in maintaining a tough competition among the teams.

IPL Season 5 - Match 33 - KXIP Vs Mumbai

Match 33   Kings XI Punjab Vs Mumbai Indians

at PCA Stadium, Mohali

Crucial match for both KXIP and Mumbai Indians as both the teams struggle at the bottom of the table.  A win in this match would help in joining the teams with 8 points each. 

Kings XI Punjab won the toss and elected to bat.  Saini and Mandeep gave a good start.  Mandeep got out for 22 when the total was 35.  Saini departed soon.  Shaun Marsh could contribute only 17 runs.  But a great knock of 68 off 40 balls from David Hussey and his partner  David Miller's 34 off 17 balls enabled KXIP to post a decent total of 168/3. 

Franklin and Sachin provided fine start for the Mumbai Indians.  But the wickets of Franklin, Sachin and Dinesh Karthik fell in quick succession and the Mumbai Indians struggled at 66/3.  Pollard also fell for just 3 runs.  But a fine partnership between Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu took the score closer to the victory mark.  Rohit Sharma made 50 off 30 balls and got out.  Harbhajan followed him immediately scoring a duck.  32 runs were needed from the last two overs and KXIP looked like winning the match comfortably.  But Robin Peterson had different ideas.  Penultimate over from Piyush Chawla was targeted by Peterson and Rayudu as they scored 27 runs off that over.  Things became easy for them as they needed just 5 runs off the last over.  Mumbai won the match by 4 wickets with 1 ball remaining. 

We must compare this with earlier match between Pune Warriors and RCB in which the RCB's batsmen AB De Villiers and Saurabh Tiwary played Ashok Dinda's penultimate over cautiously and punished Aashish Nehra's last over scoring 21 runs to win the match.  Here the penultimate over itself was punished.  This clearly shows the unpredictable nature of T20 games and the pathetic condition of the bowlers.

IPL Season 5 - Match 32 KKR Vs Deccan

Match 32   Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Deccan Chargers
at Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Due to heavy rain and thunderstorm the match was called off without a ball being bowled.  This must have been a blessing for Deccan Chargers as they open their account with one point.  However KKR must be hugely disappointed as they are the favourites to win this match and garner two solid points.  This one point might make a huge difference towards the end as the remaining 7 teams are equally strong and you might see two or three teams ending up with same number of points and NRR would be the deciding factor.  If KKR lag behind by one point and fail to reach the top 4 then they would remember this match and regret.

IPL Season 5 - Match 31 Pune Vs Delhi

Match 31   Pune Warriors Vs Delhi Daredevils 
at Subrata Roy Stadium, Pune

Table topper Delhi took on the Pune Warriors, having lost the first encounter against them at home.  The match gained momentum having been termed as Delhi’s revenge match against Pune. 

Pune Warriors included Luke Wright in place of Angelo Mathews.  Pune Warriors won the toss and elected to bat.  Ryder fell for a duck bowled by Irfan Pathan, who has been bowling very well in this season so far.  Ganguly followed soon getting out for a solitary run, Mornie Morkel being the successful bowler.  Manish Pandey and Uthappa steadied the innings and remained unbeaten till the end.  Though they were successful in preventing Pune Warriors from losing any other wicket, they could not step up the run rate at the right moment.  In fact the score read around 50 after ten overs and acceleration from Pandey could enable Pune Warriors reach just 146 runs in the allotted 20 overs.  This target would no way trouble the Delhi Devils.  Robin Uthappa could not hit boundaries frequently and could score just 60 off 58 deliveries.  Manish Pandey however had very good strike rate scoring 80 off 56 deliveries.  But for his heroics the Warriors would not have reached this score.

Delhi chased the target very easily, in spite of losing opener Mahela Jayawardene for 18 runs.  Sehwag and Pietersen played fluently and the run rate was hovering around 9 to 10 throughout.  In fact the Warriors tried to delay the inevitable so that their NRR is not damaged hugely.  Pietersen was out for 27.  Sehwag remained unbeaten on 87 off 48 deliveries.  Pune Warriors bowlers didn’t trouble Sehwag at all.  Delhi Daredevils won the match by 8 wickets with 4 overs remaining.

Delhi maintained their top position in the Points Table, whereas Pune Warriors dropped down by one place to stay at 4^th position.

IPL Season - Match 30 - Rajasthan Vs Bangalore

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 30

Rajasthan Royals Vs Royal Challengers, Bangalore

at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field.  Kohli and Dilshan opened the innings for RCB.  Kohli suffered another failure and got out for 16 runs.  Dilshan continued to play his shots.  Mayank Agarwal and Chris Gayle got out at the other end to disturb his flow of runs.  But the moment AB De Villers joined Dilshan there was no further hurdle and the pair garnered runs at a tremendous pace.  Dilshan remained unbeaten on 76 from 58 balls and AB blasted 59 off 23 balls and remained unbeaten.  Thanks to their effort RCB could post a mammoth score of 189/3.  Not a single Rajasthan bowler was spared by the RCB batsmen which is evident from their expensive bowling figures.

Dravid and Rahane started the chase well.  Dravid was looking very fluent.  Rahane got out making just 13 runs.  Losing Owais Shah and Goswami for paltry scores, Dravid ran out of support and finally got out making 58 runs off 42 balls.  Batsmen who followed him could not manage the increase in required run rate and they finally surrendered a huge win to RCB by 46 runs.  Appanna was the pick of the bowlers for RCB claiming 4/19 from 4 overs.  This huge win enabled RCB to get 2 points and become the 6th team with 8 points.  Royals slipped down to the 4th position elevating the KKR to the 2nd Spot and Pune Warriors to the 3rd Spot. 

IPL Season 5 - Match 29 - Deccan Vs KKR

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 29

Deccan Chargers Vs Kolkata Knight Riders at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack

Showers after the toss delayed the start of the match.  Match started at 21:05 hrs. IST without any reduction in the number of overs.

KKR won the toss and elected to field.  Sangakkara failed once again for Deccan Chargers getting out for 12.  Shikar Dhawan and Parthiv Patel took the score to 81 when Parthiv Patel fell for 23.  Dhawan made a fine 50.  But Cameron White and Duminy didn't succeed in stepping up the run rate and also got out for poor scores.  Deccan Chargers posted a paltry score of 126/7 in front of the strong KKR batting line up.  Sunil Narine and L.Balaji captured 2 wickets apiece.  But the pick of the bowlers was Brett Lee who bowled a tight line to concede just 15 runs off 4 overs capturing 1 wicket.

KKR lost their out-of-form batsman Brendon McCullum for 10 runs.  Bisla also left making 10 runs.  Opener Gambhir and Kallis played well briefly.  But after their fall, Yousuf Pathan hit a six and got bowled the very next delivery, once again proving his careless attitude towards the game.  But a timely innings from Manoj Tiwary and Debrata Das took KKR to the finishing line.  It was an unimpressive chase by KKR.  But this win took them to the 3rd spot in the Points Table and Deccan Chargers suffered their 5th defeat in succession to remain pointless in the tournament.

IPL Season 5 - Match 28 Mumbai Vs Punjab

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 28

Mumbai Indians Vs Kings XI Punjab at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Troubled by Malinga's absence and motivated by Sachin Tendulkar's return, Mumbai Indians took on the unpredictable KXIP.  Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to bat.  James Franklin and Tendulkar provided a solid start.  Tendulkar was run out for 23 runs off 23 balls.  Rohit Sharma came and went out in a flash.  Dinesh Karthik joined Franklin and took the score to 131 before getting out for 35 runs.  Thereafter Pollard and Bajji got out for poor scores.  Franklin was the major contributor scoring 79 runs off 51 runs.  Mumbai Indians posted a decent score of 163/6.  Praveen Kumar and Parvinder Awana of KXIP took 2 wickets apiece.

Chasing 164, KXIP had a good start from their openers Saini and Mandeep.  Saini fell for 30 and soon after that Mandeep fell for 24.  But Shaun Marsh and David Hussey played sensibly and took the score to 119.  Hussey fell for 21 and Azhar Mahmood could contribute only 10 runs.  But Shaun Marsh stood like a rock at one end and saw KXIP through.  He was unbeaten on 68 off 40 balls.  KXIP won by 6 wickets with 3 balls remaining to make the competition more interesting.

IPL Season 5 - Match 22 KXIP Vs KKR

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 22

Kings XI Punjab Vs Kolkata Knight Riders at PCA Stadium, Mohali

Kings XI Punjab won the toss and elected to bat.  Gilchrist and Valthaty opened the innings.  Valthaty failed to come out of his miserable form and got out for just 8 runs.  Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh steadied the innings.  Gilchrist had to retire hurt after a hamstring injury.  Mandeep Singh replaced him but left immediately scoring just 6 runs.  After David Hussey got run out after making 10 runs, there was miserable collapse from the KXIP batsmen.  Shaun Marsh made 33 off 30 balls and Gilchrist who came out to bat again remained not out on 40 off 30 balls.  Poor batting effort resulted in a non-impressive total of 124/2 from KXIP.  Bret Lee and Sunil Narine bowled well to capture 2 wickets apiece. 

Chasing a paltry score of 125, KKR lost their out of form batsman Brendon McCullum once again very cheaply, this time making 15 runs.  Bisla looked comfortable but got out after making 11 runs.  Kallis joined Gambhir and they batted splendidly without taking any risk and sailed across the target in just 16.3 overs.  Their combined effort enabled KKR won by 8 wickets with lot of deliveries remaining.  This improved their NRR and KKR jumped to the 3rd place in the Points Table, pushing Pune Warriors to the 4th place. Chawla was the successful only successful bowler for KXIP claiming 2/19.

IPL Season 5 - Match 21 Pune Vs RCB

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 21

Pune Warriors Vs Royal Challengers, Bangalore
at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Pune Warriors won the toss and elected to bat.  In-form openers Uthappa and Ryder provided the ideal start for the Warriors.  Ryder fell for 34 trying to hit a six.  Ganguly joined Uthappa and stayed away from strike most of the deliveries, taking a single and allowing Uthappa to get the strike.  Uthappa continued to attack the bowling.  Ganguly fell for 6 off 8 deliveries trying to hit a six on the off side.  Samuels joined Uthappa and played some attacking shots.  Uthappa fell for 69 off 45 balls.  Star batsman Steven Smith came in next.  He could not score much and was run out.  There was some tight bowling from RCB at this stage.  Pune Warriors didn't take risk though they had some wickets left.  Warriors' inability to use the last 5 overs resulted in a score of 182/6 from 20 overs.  Proper approach would have taken them close to 200.

RCB lost Dilshan early trying to play an improvised shot.  Mayank Agarwal could contribute only 9 runs.  Kohli and Gayle played quite cricket for sometime.  When Kohli got out for 16, the score was 72/3 in the 12th over.  Things were looking bright for the Warriors.  But 5 consecutive sixes by Gayle in one over from Rahul Sharma changed the match and RCB came back into the match.  Gayle got out making 81 off 48 deliveries.  Saurabh Tiwary and AB De Villiers continued playing their shots.  De Villiers in particular played some improvised shots including one six off reverse sweep.  28 runs were required off the last two overs.  Dinda bowled a magnificent penultimate over conceding just 7 runs.  21 runs were required off the last over and Ganguly had the option of bowling either Nehra or Samuels.  Ganguly decided to go with Nehra considering his experience under similar circumstances in the past.  But Nehra bowled a very bad over and RCB achieved the target off the last ball.  3 runs were required off the last ball.  Tiwary hit a six to win the match for RCB.  RCB won by 6 wickets and tasted success after 3 successive losses prior to this match.

IPL Season 5 - Match 20 Deccan Vs Rajasthan

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 20

Deccan Chargers Vs Rajasthan Royals at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Japur

Deccan Chargers won the toss and elected to bat.  Sangakkara and Dhawan provided an excellent start.  Sangakkara fell at the total score of 94 scoring 44 off 32.  Daniel Christian joined Dhawan and the Chargers continued to accumulate runs.  Dhawan fell after making a fine 50.  J.P.Duminy replaced him and played a blasting innings of 58 off 26 balls.  Siddharth Trivedi and Botha bowled economic spells for the Royals.  Deccan Chargers amassed 196/2 posing a challenging total for the Royals.

Royals chased in a spirited manner.  Dravid was the dominating partner scoring runs at a great pace, timing the ball really well.  Rahane gave him a nice company.  Dravid fell for 42 from 24 balls, when the total score was 62.  Menaria came in at No.3 and contributed 22 runs.  Much was expected from Owais Shah.  But he disappointed getting out for 12 runs.  Brad Hodge played the required knock scoring 48 off 21 balls and he remained unbeaten.  Rajasthan Royals won by 5 wickets, reaching the target with 2 balls remaining.  Amit Mishra was the pick of the bowlers capturing 3/32.

IPL Season 5 - Match 19 Mumbai Vs Delhi

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 19

Mumbai Indians Vs Delhi Daredevils at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Spectators were hoping that Sachin Tendulkar would play today.  But he didn't want to take risk as he has not fully recovered. 

Delhi Daredevils won the toss and elected to field.  Delhi spinner Shahbaz Nadeem who bowled the second over clean bowled Davy Jacobs for a duck.  Jacobs struggled for 10 deliveries before getting out.  Nadeem also captured the wicket of dangerous Richard Levi.  Rohit Sharma made a brisk 29 off 27 balls but did not care to stay till the end.  Wickets kept tumbling at the other end too.  Harbhajan scored 33 off 22 balls but did not try to carry on till the last over. Relentless bowling attack from Irfan Patha, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mornie Morkel and Umesh Yadav didn't allow Mumbai Indians to recover.  Agarkar was the most expensive bowler of the lot.  All the bowlers of Delhi Daredevils team were among the wickets.  Mumbai were bowled out for 92 runs in 19.2 overs.

Needing 93 to win, Delhi Daredevils had a reasonable start.  Naman Ojha scored 13 runs and got out  when the total was 34.  Pietersen could score only 9 runs.  Sehwag played well scoring 32 off 36 balls.  After his fall, Jayawardene and Ross Taylor played cautiously and achieved the victory in 14.5 overs.  A convincing victory for the Delhi Daredevils took them to the top of the table.

IPL Season 5 - Match 18 RCB Vs Rajasthan

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 18

Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Rajasthan Royals at Bengaluru

Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bat on this excellent batting track.  Surprisingly it was a cautious start from the Royals as they scored runs at a snail's pace.  Dravid got out for 25 off 32 balls in the 11th over, when the score was 62.  Owais Shah joined Rahane and thereafter there was a run feast and both of them carted the RCB bowlers all around the park.  Rahane completed the first century of the season remaining unbeaten on 103 off just 60 deliveries.  Owais Shah played equally well scoring 60 off 26 deliveries  and their combined effort enabled the Royals post a mammoth total of 195/2 in the allotted 20 overs.  In such a high scoring game, Zaheer Khan had an impressive figures of 1/15 and Daniel Vettori was also good with attractive figures of 1/20 in their full quota of overs.  RCB's efforts to use Gayle as a bowler backfired as he went for 21 runs in his solitary over, which clearly showed that nothing is working well for the RCB right now.  It was Kohli's forgettable over against CSK and it is Gayle's turn to upset RCB's plans.

RCB's chase was brisk with Mayank Agarwal taking majority of the strike.  He fell after scoring 34 off 21 deliveries.  Gayle was clean bowled in the same over scoring just 8 off 9 deliveries.  This impressive over was bowled by Pankaj Singh.  Kohli played well briefly before getting out for 22 off 18 deliveries.  But AB De Villiers disappointed getting out for 4 runs.  Saurabh Tiwary and Kaif tried to steady the innings.  But the required run rate was climbing all the time.  Tiwary and Kaif could not provide the necessary impetus to bring down the required rate.  There was no resistance from the other batsmen once Tiwary and Kaif got out.  Rahane's golden fingers sealed RCB's fate as he took the catch to dismiss the last man Murali.  Siddharth Trivedi, for the first time in the series, bowled brilliantly capturing the wickets of Kohli, De Villers, Saurabh Tiwary and Daniel Vettori. He achieved excellent bowling figures of 4/25 in his quota of 4 overs. Royals won by 59 runs damaging RCB's Net Run Rate considerably.

Ironically three teams from neighbouring states i.e. CSK, RCB and Deccan Chargers languish at the bottom of the table, coinciding with the shape of India map narrowing towards its south.  KXIP however decided to give them company staying at the 7th Place. Hopefully things will improve for them from now on and enable them to climb up to a better position.

IPL Season 5 - Match 17 KKR Vs Punjab

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 17

Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Kings XI Punjab at Eden Gardens, Kolkata

KKR won the toss and elected to field.  Gilchrist fell early for 5 runs and hero of the previous match against Pune Warriors Shaun Marsh was foxed by an excellent delivery from Sunil Narine.  Manvinder Singh and David Hussey steadied the innings and took the score to 73 when Manvider got out.  Hussey got out soon after that and there was no significant contribution from the other batsmen.  But Chawla blasted 13 off 8 deliveries and remained unbeaten.  Harmeet Singh took a leaf out of his book scoring 14 off 6 deliveries.  These two innings proved to be very useful and enabled KXIP post a challenging target of 135 on this turning track.  Equally important was Bhargav Bhatt's 6.  Sunil Narine was the pick of the bowlers for KKR capturing 5/19 off 4 overs and Rajat Bhatia bowled a tight line capturing 2/14 from 4 overs.

KKR had a shocking start losing Kallis for 1 run.  Gambhir, Tiwary and Bisla contributed significantly taking the score to 4/80 in the 13th over.  Shakib Al Hasan's failure and Yousuf Pathan's careless batting lead to a batting collapse and KKR soon struggled at 6/88.  Debrata Das played a fighting innings remaining unbeaten on 35 off 23 delivers.  But there was not enough support at the other end and KKR lost the match by just 2 runs.  Chawla captured 3/18 and Bhargav Bhatt took 2/24, both of them successfully finishing their full quota of overs. 

IPL Season 5 - Match 15 KKR Vs Rajasthan

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 15

Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Match was hanging in a balance as weather forecast predicted rain for the day.  Luckily the rain stayed away and match took place without any hiccup. 

Rajasthan Royals won the toss and decided to bat first as the pitch was expected to turn as the game progresses.  Dravid and Rahane provided a good start before Rahane got out for 19 off 16 balls.  Maneria joined Dravid and got out immediately.  Dravid departed for 28 and a very useful partnership between Goswami and Owais Shah enabled the Royals reach 100 at a reasonable run rate.  But excellent bowling from Shakib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine restricted the flow of runs and the Royals ended their innings at 131/5.  Shah was the top scorer with 31 from 33 balls.  Shakib Al Hasan was the pick of the bowlers capturing 3/17 from 4 overs.

KKR lost their skipper Gambhir for 11 when he got run out.  The total was 22 at that time.  Bisla who joined Kallis steadied the innings.  Kallis was out for 31 when the total was 70 in the 11th over.  Bisla got out for 29.  Manoj Tiwary and Shakib batted sensibly.  But veteran Brad Hogg's splendid bowling saw them struggle for runs.  Both got out trying to step up the run rate.  Doeschate and Yousuf Pathan stayed till the end saw KKR through with 4 balls remaining.  In a spinner friendly wicket, sensible batting and experience of KKR helped them win the match.

Points Table clearly shows tough battle this season as 5 teams are tied at 4 points each below the leader Mumbai Indians with 6 points.  We can expect a tough fight in the forthcoming matches from all the teams.

IPL Season 5 - Match 16 Pune Vs CSK

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 16

Pune Warriors Vs Chennai Super Kings at Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium, Pune.

On paper CSK looked very strong and were clearly the favourites to win this match.  But with Dada leading Pune, you can never take things for granted.  CSK chose to include Yo Mahesh in place of Jakati and Nuwan Kulasekara in place of injured Doug Bollinger.  Pune Warriors strengthened their bowling by including Murali Kartik in place of out of form Manish Pandey.

Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to bat first.  Du Plessis took majority of the strike and scored at will.  But Murali Vijay was out early as usual, this time making just 8 runs off 11 deliveries.  Raina joined Du Plessis and made brisk 20 runs before getting out trying to hit a six.  After the fall of Du Plessis, Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja steadied CSK innings.  Dhoni was very slow managing a strike rate of around 100 when much was needed from him, that too when CSK had lot of wickets and big hitters waiting outside.  Dhoni was sluggish in his approach.  Ravindra Jadeja however played beautifully, making for Dhoni's sluggishness.  When Albie Morkel finally arrived at the crease after Dhoni's departure, the match was almost over.  Bravo managed to get a boundary off the last delivery.  Poor planning from CSK resulted in a gettable total of 155/5.  Little bit of acceleration after 15 overs would have enabled CSK reach 175-180 runs which could have been a winning total.  Rahul Sharma bowled brilliantly to capture 2/16 from 3 overs in an innings dominated by batsmen.

Pune started their chase brilliantly.  Robin Uthappa was promoted up the order to join Jesse Ryder.  They were going brilliantly at around 10 runs per over when a needless second run cost Robin Uthappa's wicket.  Ganguly joined Ryder.  He opened his account with a brilliant cover drive and was going well scoring 16 off 16.  While trying to go for a second after a misfield at the deep, Ganguly was also run out.  Samuels joined Ryder and was never comfortable.  He was bowled for for 8 after struggling for 15 deliveries.  Big hitting Steven Smith joined Ryder and they kept building the innings by hitting boundaries at crucial juncture.  But brilliant bowling and fielding from CSK increased the required run rate to 11 and even 12.  It needed big hitting from Steven Smith to seal the match in favour of Pune Warriors.

Pune Warriors won by 7 wickets to climb to the top of the Points Table.  CSK went down further to the 6th spot as a result of today's defeat.

IPL Season 5 - Match 14 Pune Warriors Vs Kings XI Punjab

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 14

Pune Warriors India Vs Kings XI Punjab at Mohali

Pune Warriors needed to work hard to keep their unbeaten record in this tournament so far.  Angelo Mathews replaced Murali Kartik considering the grass in the Mohali pitch.  Pune also included the experienced Mithun Manhas.  Kings XI Punjab won the toss and elected to field expecting some bounce and movement in the pitch.  Ganguly and Ryder opened the innings for Pune Warriors.  Ganguly looked comfortable at one end while Ryder was struggling to pick singles.  Ryder was run out for 7 trying to go for a quick single and sent by back by Ganguly.  Ganguly got out after scoring 16 runs off 8 deliveries.  Marlon Samuels looked uncomfortable right from the first delivery and was out for 2 facing 12 deliveries.  Uthappa, Mathews and Smith could not contribute much.  It was Mithun Manhas who cared to stay at the wicket scoring 31 off 28 balls.  After his departure the batsmen who followed showed little discipline getting out trying to play rash strokes.  Pune were bowled out for 115 runs in 19 overs, wasting one full over.   Dimitri Mascarenhas bowled beautifully reading the conditions well and was rewarded with 5/25 from 4 overs. 

Kings XI Punjab had the worst possible start losing Paul Valthaty for a duck off the first delivery of the innings bowled by Dinda.  Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh steadied the innings.  Gilchrist managed to score runs in the midst of struggle whereas Shaun Marsh batted fluently.  Gilchrist got out for 21 runs.  Mandeep Singh got out for 10.  Piyush Chawla was sent ahead of David Hussey.  He provided good support to well settled Shaun Marsh.  Chawla remained unbeaten on 21 and Marsh was unbeaten on 64 to enable KXIP reach the target comfortably winning by 7 wickets with 14 balls remaining.

It was the first defeat for the Pune Warriors in this season and it was very much on the cards after the lethargic manner in which they batted, bowled and fielded in this match.  With this defeat all the teams in this Season are beaten at least once.

The Points Table looks completely different with Pune Warriors and Rajasthan Royals losing their first match in the series.  They were pushed to 3rd and 4th position.  These two need to pull up their socks if they want to remain in the top four.

IPL Season 5 - Match 13 CSK Vs RCB

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 13

Chennai Super Kings Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chennai

Royal Challengers won the toss and chose to bat first.  Mayank Agarwal and Chris Gayle opened the innings for RCB.  Agarwal faced majority of the deliveries and scored at quick pace.  He fell after making useful 45 runs off 26 balls.  Then Gayle took over hitting the ball with power.  Gayle left making 68 off 35 runs.  Kohli made 57 off 49.  Top 3 batsmen making bulk of the runs meant a score in excess of 225 for RCB.  But it was not the case.  Some good bowling towards the end saw RCB managing 205/8 from 20 overs.  Bollinger took 3/24.  Albie Morkel and Ravindra Jadeja picked 2 wickets apiece.

Murali Vijay and Du Plessis opened the innings for RCB.  Du Plessis was on strike for most of the deliveries and Vijay provided him good support.  Murali was once again out for a poor score, this time scoring 11 runs.   But the opening partnership of 56 off 6.5 overs is the ideal start for CSK.  Good contribution from Raina, Dhoni and Albie Morkel kept CSK in the hunt throughout.  Bravo remained unbeaten on 25 facing 15 deliveries.   But high voltage last over saw Ravindra Jadeja hitting the winning short off the last delivery.  Muttiah Muralitharan was the only bowler shown some respect by the CSK batsmen.  He captured 3/21 form 4 overs.  CSK won by 5 wickets and it was a thrilling victory for them.

IPL Season 5 - Match 12 Mumbai Vs Rajasthan

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 12

Mumbai Indians Vs Rajasthan Royals at Wankhade Stadium, Mumbai

Royals aim to maintain their position at the top of the table and Mumbai Indians try to displace them and improve their own performance especially after the last ball finish against Deccan Chargers.  Royals included Brad Hogg, young at 41, in their line-up.

Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field.  Levi and T.Suman provided a blazing start for Mumbai Indians.  But T.Suman departed after making 10.  Rohit Sharma joined Levi and scored a quick 21 off 13 balls.  Rayudu made 47 off 32.  But it was Pollard who played the crucial innings of 64 off 33 balls which provided necessary pace to reach a challenging target of 197/6, the highest total in the series so far.  Harbhajan played his role to perfection scoring 18 off just 6 deliveries.  Amit Singh and Brad Hogg captured 2 wickets apiece.

Rajasthan Royals lost their captain Dravid in the second over itself.  Dravid made just 3.  Goswami departed for a duck.  Rahane and Owais Shah however played well to pose a threat the Mumbai Indians by hitting the ball at will.  Rahane made 40 off 31 and Owais Shah had even better strike rate scoring 76 off 42.  But after their departure other batsmen could not keep up the momentum.  The asking rate kept mounting and wickets kept tumbling.  Rajasthan Royals were bowled out for 170.  Mumbai Indians won by 27 runs. Pollard impressed as a bowler too and captured 4/44.  Munaf Patel took 4/24 to grab the purple cap from Kevon Cooper and Lasith Malinga was deadly as ever taking 2/13 from 4 overs.

IPL Season 5 - Match 11 CSK Vs Delhi

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 11

Chennai Super Kings Vs Delhi Daredevils

Delhi team looks healthy after the arrival of two key players Kevin Pietersen and Mahela Jayawardene. 

Delhi Daredevils won the toss and elected to field.  Still fresh from the massive victory against Deccan Chargers, CSK looked to be complacent as they batted without intensity.   More than that there was mad running between the wickets. Murali Vijay added run out to his already poor form in this series.  He was out for a duck.  There was no significant contribution from any of the CSK batsmen.  Surprisingly 22 was the highest individual score in their line up, which is a clear indication of the way they batted.  As expected CSK made a poor score of 110/8 in the allotted 20 overs.  To add to their worries there were 4 run outs in the innings.  Mornie Morkel was the top bowler for Delhi Daredevils, who took 2/19 from 4 overs.  The match seemed to over and only a miracle could save CSK.

Making mockery of the poor target Delhi Daredevils attacked right from the first delivery.  Naman Ojha struck 3 fours in succession off the first 3 deliveries in the first over bowled by the traditionally expensive Albie Morkel.  Doug Bollinger also suffered severe attack from Sehwag.  CSK's "fair play" tag might also be in jeopardy if the match referee pays attention to Bollinger's unwarranted act of trying to block Naman Ojha.  Luckily Ojha could make his ground without any trouble.  Ojha got run out a little later trying to go for a non-existent second run.  Sehwag was unfortunate to be caught at deep off Ashwin after making a fine 33 off 21 deliveries.  But thereafter CSK had nothing to cheer about as Pietersen and Jayawardene batted fluently scoring 43 and 20 respectively.  They also remained unbeaten to finish the game at 13.2 overs. 

A match CSK would like to forget in a flash for their poor batting, bowling and Bollinger's negative tactics.  They also lost the initiative they gained in the previous outing winning by a huge margin, as the target was achieved by Delhi Daredevils in 13.2 overs to affect CSK's NRR considerably.

IPL Season 5 - Match 10 KKR Vs RCB

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 10

Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

For this crucial encounter RCB inducted the big hitting Chris Gayle and KKR responded by including all rounder Shakib Al Hasan.

RCB won the toss and elected to field.  KKR had a blazing start with openers Kallis and Gambhir striking the ball freely.  KKR were cruising along at around 10 runs per over when Kallis got out for 22.  Good opening partnership of 60 in the seventh over is the best possible start KKR would have prayed for.  Bisla joined Gambhir and the pair continued the good work.  Bisla made 46 out of 29 and the total was comfortable at 125/2 in the 14th over.  Then there was a sudden collapse as KKR lost wickets in quick succession.  Ironically all the batsmen who batted after Bisla were out for single digit scores.  However Gambhir's 64 off 39 balls and the useful contribution from the top 3 batsmen enabled KKR to post a fighting total of 165/8 in 20 overs.  Zaheer Khan, Vinay Kumar and Muttiah Muralitharan captured 2 wickets apiece.  

Needing 166 to win RCB started pathetically losing Pujara, Gayle and Kohli cheaply.  Score read 20/3 in the 6th over.  De Villiers, Tiwary and Agarwal also didn't stay for long.  Only Vettori and Vinay Kumar provided some resistance.  But poor run rate and quick fall of wickets resulted in RCB making just 123/9 from 29 overs, surrendering a win to KKR by 42 runs.  L.Balaji was the pick of the bowlers taking 4/18.  It was a much needed win for KKR as they open their account in the Points column.  However it is a clear warning bell for the strong RCB team.

IPL Season 5 - Match 9 Mumbai Vs Deccan

DLF IPL Season 5 - Match 9

Mumbai Indians Vs Deccan Chargers

Kumar Sangakkara's arrival strengthened the team, as they took on the mighty Mumbai Indians in a crucial match.  Deccan Chargers won the toss and chose to bat first.   Chargers opened the innings with Parthiv Patel and Shikhar Dhawan.  Patel went in a hurry scoring just 1 run and Bharat Cipli followed his heroics getting out for a solitary run.  Dhawan and Daniel Christian steadied the innings scoring 41 and 39 respectively.  Sangakkara could score only 14 runs, though much was expected from him.  Craig White scored 30 runs.  Chargers posted 138/9 in 20 overs setting an easy target of 139 runs to the Mumbai Indians.  Munaf Patel was impressive taking 4/20.  Malinga was deadly as usual capturing 3/27 and Pollard took 2/33. 

Mumbai Indians started badly unable to face the fearsome Dale Steyn who took the wickets of openers T.Suman and Richard Levi stunning the Mumbai Indians, who struggled at 2/10 after 4 overs.  Rohit Sharma took his time to build a strong innings with some support from Rayudu and Pollard.  What looked like an easy target for Mumbai Indians proved to be an uphill task as the tight bowling from Steyn and Ankit Sharma didn't allow Mumbai Indians to step up the run rate.  Few fours and sixes here and there could not allow them to feel comfortable as there were too many dot balls.  The match reached an interesting climax after a fantastic penultimate over from Dale Steyn.  Mumbai Indians needed 18 runs from the last over.  Rohit reserved his strokes for the last over as he hit two huge sixes one of them off the last ball when Mumbai Indians needed 3 to win from 1 ball.  Mumbai Indians won by 5 wickets.  Steyn was deadly taking 3/12 from 4 overs.

Last ball finish has always been full of tension and this match is no different.  Mumbai managed to win the match off the last ball but it should have been huge heartbreak for the Deccan Chargers who are searching for the elusive victory in this Season. 

IPL Season 5 - Match 8 Pune Vs Punjab

Pune Warriors Vs Kings XI Punjab

Gaining a lot from the experience of their skipper Sourav Ganguly, Pune Warriors started with a bang to skittle out the Mumbai Indians in their opening match.  To sustain that momentum, they had to win this clash against Kings XI Punjab.

Pune won the toss and the skipper Ganguly immediately shouted "We would like to bat first" dominating the crowd's noise in the newly built Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium at Pune.  With a slice of luck Ganguly hit two boundaries followed by a good shot towards fine leg.  But he could not control the innings as he got out trying to force the pace.  Jesse Ryder at the other end was trying his best to get run out but finally succeeded when he was at 8, Praveen Kumar throwing at the stumps after fielding the ball of his own bowling.  Samuels and Uthappa played fluently, but the run rate was around 7 by around 15 overs.  It was Smith's 25 off 12 balls and Manish Pandey's 12 of 4 balls which helped Pune post a fighting total of 166/6 from 20 overs.  Harmeet Singh was the pick of the bowlers who took 3/24.  But he was unfortunate having taken off the attack after bowling 2 beamers in his 4th over which might have been the turning point in the match.

Punjab's reply was unimpressive with openers Valthaty and Gilchrist getting run out cheaply.  Mandeep Singh and Abishek Nayar steadied the innings.  But they failed to step up the run rate as Pune bowled and fielded magnificently.  The asking rate kept climbing and the late assault from Chawla and Bipul Sharma could not help Punjab reach anywhere near the target.  Pune Warriors won by 22 runs.  Dinda and Samuels bowled splendidly and Rahul Sharma was the most successful bowler claiming 2/34.

It is nice to the two under-rated teams i.e. Rajasthan Royals and Pune Warriors occupying the top two spots in the Points Table, though we are in the very start of a long tournament and there is much cricket left.  Another interesting fact is that these two teams are lead by Dravid and Ganguly, two seasoned campaigners who are criticized for their age and agility, but proved their mettle through their wise thinking and brilliant bowling change, etc.