All-round Irfan stars for Punjab

Kings XI Punjab 139 for 6 (Sangakkara 60, Irfan 39) beat Rajasthan Royals (Jadeja 37, Abdulla 3-21, Irfan 2-26) by 27 runs

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

How they were out

Irfan Pathan launches one over midwicket, Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI Punjab, Cape Town, April 26, 2009

Irfan Pathan's contribution with the bat was followed by a superb outing with the ball © Associated Press

Two pairs of left-handers played key roles as Kings XI Punjab steamrolled Rajasthan Royals in Cape Town. Punjab struggled after early losses and it was left to Kumar Sangakkara to weigh in with his first half-century of the tournament and the star of the day, Irfan Pathan, to provide the momentum for a fightback. Then, defending a total of 139, Punjab were indebted to double-wicket overs from Irfan and Yusuf Abdulla at the start.

Both left-arm seamers did a sterling job under the Newlands lights, mixing their line and length impressively to check a shaky batting line-up. Rajasthan, who had set themselves a realistic chance of victory in the field fell 27 runs short.

Rajasthan's chase of 140 wasn't a tall order, but their fate was sealed by a rampant left-arm seam attack who snaffled four wickets in the first five overs. Having contributed with the bat, Irfan grabbed two wickets in his opening over. He drew a top edge from Swapnil Asnodkar with a short ball and produced a thin edge off Graeme Smith's bat with a fuller, away-swinging delivery. Rajasthan were 9 for 2.

Yuvraj Singh had opened the bowling with Ramesh Powar but Irfan's success encouraged him to go for an all-pace attack. Adbulla's first over was tidy, costing just six, and his second was disastrous for Rajasthan. Rob Quiney got a faint tickle on one down the leg side and a leaden-footed Dimitri Mascarenhas heard the death rattle second ball when he played around an offcutter.

That left Rajasthan 27 for 4, anxiously needing a partnership and Yusuf Pathan - Man of the Match in their last game - to fire. Yusuf began by picking his brother for a couple fours only to perish sweeping in Piyush Chawa's first over. Another bowling change had worked and Punjab were all over Rajasthan.

Chawla tossed it up and was rewarded with another wicket. The asking-rate kept increasing and it proved too much for Ravindra Jadeja (37) and Shane Warne, who scampered smart singles but couldn't find the boundaries during their 60-run association. Abdulla came back with Rajasthan needing 38 from two overs and cleaned up Jadeja first ball. Irfan gave just six in the last over to cap a great game. That Rajasthan didn't manage one six told a story.

Irfan's two early wickets were crucial defending a small total but that could have been smaller without his contribution with the bat when Punjab were four down for not much. Karan Goel was run out first ball - the second time in the day a wicket had fallen in that manner - before Kamran Khan and Munaf Patel struck. Warne's decision to use each of his pace bowlers in one-over bursts worked wonderfully. There were no consecutive overs for any bowler from the Wynberg end and each time Kamran and Munaf came back they struck first ball. 

Read more »

Dilshan guides Delhi to victory

Delhi Daredevils 150 for 4 (Dilshan 67*) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 149 for 7 (Pietersen 37, Nehra 2-34) by six wickets

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

How they were out

Tillakaratne Dilshan celebrates Delhi's win, Bangalore Royal Challengers v Delhi Daredevils, IPL, Port Elizabeth, April 26, 2009

Tillakaratne Dilshan scored his second rapid half-century in a row, this one completing a comfortable win © AFP

For a while it looked like Delhi Daredevils' batsmen had been a tad complacent while chasing a modest target, which Bangalore Royal Challengers' bowlers defended tenaciously, but an unbeaten half-century from Tillakaratne Dilshan completed their third consecutive win in the tournament. The six-wicket victory took Delhi level with Deccan Chargers on top of the points table, with six each.

The only highlight for Bangalore, who suffered their fourth consecutive defeat, was the performance of their weak bowling attack, who kept them in the game longer than most people expected. Their top-order batsmen, despite changes to personnel and order, disappointed once again. Their overseas players failed to fire, and their fielding went to pieces just when they had a sniff at pulling off an upset win.

Delhi lost their openers, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, early and Dilshan and AB de Villiers went about chasing the target of 150 calmly. They hardly attempted expansive shots, preferring instead to play the ball into gaps and run swiftly between the wickets. The spinners, Anil Kumble and KP Appanna, bowled a tight line and length and conceded few boundaries. As a result Delhi had scored only 64 for 2 after 10 overs but the equation - 86 runs off the last 10 - was manageable.

Dilshan was perhaps lucky to survive a run-out appeal soon after the tactical time-out. He was short of his crease when Ross Taylor's throw hit the stumps, but the third umpire was not convinced that Boucher had not broken the stumps with his glove before the ball found its target. de Villiers, however, fell soon after, bowled by a delivery from Appanna that turned past the bat from outside leg to hit leg stump. Dinesh Karthik started brightly, clouting a four and a six, but fell soon after, caught by Jacques Kallis at deep cover, and left Delhi at 106 for 4.

At this point Bangalore had 43 runs to defend in the last four overs. That was when they needed to raise their game but their fielding let them down during the 17th over, which was bowled by Kallis. Dilshan took a single after smashing the third ball out of St George's Park, and Mithun Manhas lofted the next towards long-on. Robin Uthappa, who's having a nightmare of a tournament with the bat, misjudged the catch: he came in too far only for the ball to fly over his head for four. Manhas pulled the next ball to deep midwicket where Appanna mis-fielded to allow another boundary. Delhi scored 19 runs off the over, needed only 24 off the last three, which they managed with ease.

Delhi's batsmen have been their strength so far in the tournament, but today their bowlers laid the platform for victory by restricting Bangalore to 149. They were challenged by Pietersen and Taylor during an aggressive partnership, but the two spinners, Daniel Vettori and Amit Mishra, struck on either side of the strategic time-out to throw Bangalore off course. 

Read more »

Rain forces abandonment without any play

April 25, 2009

Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings - Match abandoned without a ball bowled

Persistent Cape Town rains made sure that Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders didn't get onto the park for their match. The rain was intermittent all day, and the umpires decided to call it off close to three hours after the scheduled start. Both teams will now share a point.

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

Chennai and Kolkata would have started the game level at two points, and they now have three points each, from four matches each. 

Read more »

Chargers win to make it three in a row

The Chargers are looking unstoppable in South Africa. What a turnaround from last time. They have now won three in three games. They held their nerves against Mumbai Indians to win by 12 runs. Gilchrist, Gibbs and Smith set up the game, posting 168. Mumbai chase was well on course with Tendulkar and Duminy striking it with uncanny ease. But after the 10-over break, wickets fell and the Deccan spinners pushed back Mumbai. In the end, the Mumbai chase fell short by 12 runs.

Read more »

Bopara scripts easy win for Punjab

It's all over folks! Kings XI Punjab have beaten Bangalore Royal Challengers by seven wickets and posted their first win in this year's IPL. Punjab did it easily in the end; they were not even threatened by the Bangalore bowlers at any stage, even though they chased a decent target. But Ravi Bopara played the perfect anchor, and he stayed there for enough number of overs to see his side through. Bangalore lose their third game on the trot, and need to get their act together.

Over 19: It could be over in this over! Bopara has 84 already but only 11 are needed, so he won't reach a century here! But he could be out here, and is! OUT! He hit it straight up and Ryder takes a smart catch! Jayawardene is there with Yuvraj as the batsmen take two. Mahela off the mark. And Yuvraj blocks out a yorker for FOUR! And SIX! It's all over! Yuvraj seals it with a straight six with an over to spare.

Bopara c Ryder b Kallis 84 (59b)

Runs: W,2,1,1,4,1wd,6

Read more »