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Ken Borland



Rayudu, Pollard snatch victory for Mumbai 0

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Ken

Ambati Rayudu further pressed his claims for international recognition as he steered the Mumbai Indians to a dramatic five-wicket victory over the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their Indian Premier League match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday.

 – http://www.supersport.com/cricket/indian-premier-league/news/120514/Rayudu_Pollard_snatch_victory_for_Mumbai

Chasing 172, it was Code Red for Mumbai as they slumped to 51 for five in the ninth over. But Rayudu stroked a wonderful 81 not out off 54 balls and, with strong support from Kieron Pollard, who bashed 52 not out off 31 deliveries, Mumbai snuck home with two balls to spare.

Pollard issued a strong warning that Mumbai weren’t giving up the chase as he hammered left-arm spinner KP Appanna for two sixes to end the 11th over. But the momentum was broken by a 12-minute delay after one of the four banks of floodlights failed – with the visitors facing defeat on the Duckworth/Lewis method if they couldn’t be restarted timeously.

Once play resumed, Rayudu and Pollard ensured that the result was in their hands and not left to any calculations as they extended their marvellous unbeaten partnership to 122 off 65 balls.

Their fiery approach saw off-spinner Chris Gayle’s darts being belted for 25 runs in two overs, while 16 runs came off Zaheer Khan’s 17th over that was really disappointing given the left-arm paceman’s wealth of experience.

But the 18th over was where Bangalore really lost the match. With Mumbai still needing 41 runs off 18 balls, Vinay Kumar bowled just where Rayudu likes it – outside off stump – and the 26-year-old blasted two sixes and a four.

That left 23 runs needed off the last two overs and Zaheer conceded nine off the penultimate over. Gayle then returned to defend 14 runs off the final over and could only cuss as Pollard smashed two fours and a six as Mumbai gatecrashed the party and stole an amazing victory.

Mumbai were in disarray at the start as the “infallible” Sachin Tendulkar was out first ball, dismissed by Zaheer thanks to captain Virat Kohli’s systematic field placing and his own sharp catch above his head at a short cover-point.

Three balls later, Herschelle Gibbs (2) was run out as he failed to focus on his running and was caught unawares by KP Appanna’s strong arm from the boundary.

Bangalore were especially pleased to remove Rohit Sharma, the scorer of a brilliant century in his last match, for just five in the fourth over as the batsman presented Vinay with an easy return catch.

Rayudu then joined Dinesh Karthik and the pair added 25 for the fourth wicket off 4.1 overs before Karthik (16) failed to make full contact on a sweep off Muttiah Muralitharan, Harshal Patel running around the backward square-leg boundary to take the catch.

The Royal Challengers were firmly in control when the impressive Harshal had Dwayne Smith caught at backward point for six, but the other West Indian in the Mumbai Indians team, big bad Pollard, then stepped up to the plate.

The skill of Rayudu and the power of Pollard combined perfectly as Mumbai snatched victory in the death overs.

The best bowlers for the Royal Challengers were the ones who bowled in the middle overs – Harshal (4-0-25-1) and Muralitharan (4-0-16-1).

Agarwal had earlier lifted the Bangalore Royal Challengers to 171 for six after they had been sent in to bat.

Overcast weather, a tinge of green on the pitch and plenty of moisture about after a 50-minute rain delay were the causes of Mumbai captain Harbhajan Singh’s decision, which paid off as the home side crashed to 47 for three.

The king of T20 batsmen, Gayle, was out of character and feeling for the ball, eventually dragging a Munaf Patel delivery back into his stumps to be bowled for six.

Kohli (3) will feel let down by opener Tillakaratne Dilshan after a mix-up saw the captain run out, but it was mostly thanks to a brilliant piece of fielding by South African Gibbs, who recalled his heyday by diving full-length at backward point to intercept a Dilshan cut and then showed great awareness to throw to bowler Munaf to complete the dismissal.

A rash of extras from Munaf – he bowled three no-balls and a wide in his third over- helped a little partnership develop between Dilshan and Saurabh Tiwary (21), the pair adding 36 before being separated by a dismissal you don’t see very often.

Tiwary went back to off-spinner Harbhajan, playing the ball into the leg side, but he then took another step backwards and trod on his middle stump, being dismissed hit wicket.

AB de Villiers for once didn’t come off, but his innings of 14 was important in stabilising the innings as he and Dilshan added 40 off 30 balls for the fourth wicket before Lasith Malinga took a sharp catch at deep extra cover after the South African had been duped by a Pollard slower ball.

Dilshan was not entirely convincing as he scored 47 off 50 balls before the innings came alive at the death thanks to Agarwal’s brisk intervention.

Dilshan’s dismissal, bowled by a Rudra Pratap Singh full toss, left the Challengers on a mediocre 133 for five in the 18th over, but Agarwal then took over.

The exciting 21-year-old prospect was up to the challenge posed by the great Malinga, hitting him for a four and a six as 13 runs came off the 19th over.

Agarwal then upped the ante in the final over as he rocketed Bangalore to a challenging total.

The dismal Munaf’s first ball was a full toss which was dispatched over long-off for six; a superb square-drive for four off the second delivery brought up Agarwal’s maiden IPL half-century off just 26 balls. The third ball was another full toss which was hit to long-off for four, before Agarwal hit another six over midwicket to finish with a haul of 24 runs off the final over.

 

Agarwal hit six fours and four sixes in all to mark himself as one of India’s brightest batting talents, taking Bangalore to a competitive total.

The hapless Munaf, whose third over was the longest in IPL history, was plundered for 44 runs in his last two overs and was also poor in the field.

The left-armer, Rudra, was the best of the Mumbai bowlers with one for 23 in his four overs, while the seam of Malinga (4-0-29-0), Pollard (3-0-20-1) and Smith (2-0-10-0) was also effective in keeping the run-rate down.

Gayle sets RCB off on right foot for victory 0

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Ken

Chris Gayle sent the Royal Challengers Bangalore off on the right foot and they maintained control to complete a 35-run victory over the Pune Warriors in their Indian Premier League match at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium on Friday.

 – http://www.supersport.com/cricket/article.aspx?id=1377831

Gayle was once again batting on another planet as his sensational opening onslaught of 57 off 31 balls steered the Royal Challengers to 173 for three, which was always likely to be enough after Zaheer Khan and Vinay Kumar knocked off the cream of the Pune top-order.

Zaheer switched from over the wicket to around and immediately earned an lbw decision from umpire Billy Bowden against Mohnish Mishra (4) and, two balls later, the left-armer showed his wonderful skills with a delivery that pitched off and hit off to remove Manish Pandey for a duck.

Australian captain Michael Clarke is no doubt unaccustomed to being affiliated with such a struggling side as the basement-dwelling Pune Warriors and he confidently hit out, stroking a couple of boundaries in his 13 off 10 balls before his heave to leg off Vinay found the hands of Manoj Tiwary at deep midwicket.

Pune were 22 for three but Anustup Majumdar then linked up with Robin Uthappa to add 50 for the fourth wicket off just 28 balls.

But the dismissals of both batsmen – Uthappa was stumped by AB de Villiers off Muttiah Muralitharan for 38 off 23 balls and Majumdar was well-caught by Zaheer off Harshal Patel for 31 – left the Warriors in need of a miracle with 72 needed off 35 balls and just four wickets left.

Wicketkeeper De Villiers also claimed the scalp of Angelo Mathews (4), who charged down the pitch and played the worst shot of the match to be stumped off left-arm spinner KP Appanna.

At 105 for six after 15 overs, it was obvious that the Challengers would be victorious and the brilliant bowling of Muralitharan, Zaheer and Vinay ensured that the victory would be comprehensive, the eighth-biggest in terms of runs in this year’s IPL.

The experience and class of Zaheer (4-0-21-2) and Muralitharan (4-0-16-2) spearheaded the Bangalore attack, while Vinay finished with the impressive figures of three for 32.

Gayle’s belligerence had earlier taken Bangalore to 80 for one in the ninth over but, despite Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 53, the visitors faded away in the second half of their innings. Coach Ray Jennings is an independent thinker, but his continued refusal to bat De Villiers higher than number five is an outrage and a major topic of discussion.

De Villiers was left in the dugout until the 18th over and could face just four balls, scoring nine not out, before the end of the innings.

The Indian newspapers will once again be full of another spectacular innings by Gayle, who was ruthless from the outset, hitting the first and last balls of the third over bowled by Krishnakant Upadhyay for six.

The left-hander then had no pity on seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar as he belted him for four sixes in the sixth over, reaching his half-century off just 24 balls, the fastest in this year’s IPL.

But the impressive Mathews greatly limited the damage as he had Gayle caught at long-on, flat-batting a slower ball, and the Challengers finished with a total that was under expectations given their start.

Captain Virat Kohli under-performed again as he was caught off the leading edge at short-cover off leg-spinner Rahul Sharma for just nine and Dilshan eventually fell for 53 off 44 balls as he was run out, backing up too far, by the quick-thinking Alfonso Thomas.

The last three overs were the only section of the second half of the innings in which the Bangalore batsmen dominated as Saurabh Tiwary finally threatened the crowd with two fours and a six and De Villiers hit the last ball of the innings for six as well.

Tiwary scratched around without much purpose for most of his innings, finishing with 36 not out off 30 balls, which didn’t bother the home crowd much. He was also unable to rotate the strike effectively, which meant De Villiers was not able to face anything more than a handful of deliveries.

Mathews was a cut above the other Pune bowlers, removing Gayle in full flight and conceding just three runs in the 16th over as he finished with one for 14 in three overs.

Gayle wins it with no alarms 0

Posted on May 09, 2012 by Ken

 

Chris Gayle carried the Royal Challengers Bangalore without any alarms to a nine-wicket victory with two overs to spare over the Mumbai Indians in their IPL match at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.

 – http://www.supersport.com/cricket/indian-premier-league/news/120509/Gayle_wins_it_with_no_alarms

Mumbai were defending just 141 and Gayle and fellow opener Tillakaratne Dilshan quickly foiled any hopes they had of putting pressure on the Bangalore batting by adding 48 for the first wicket.

Gayle was content to see off dangerman Lasith Malinga, who bowled his first three overs for 10 runs, and made a patient start against the new ball on a pitch that offered assistance to the bowlers. The left-hander scored just two runs off his first 10 balls and went to 30 off 30 deliveries before exploding into action.

The West Indian finished with 82 not out off 59 balls, another fine effort by Gayle that took him to the top of the run-scorer’s list and the Orange Cap. Anything short or wide was punished mercilessly by Gayle, who was able to use brute force or tremendous skill to collect five fours and six sixes with consummate ease.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha sparked Gayle’s rapid acceleration as he gave him plenty of material to work with in the 11th over, two full tosses being dispatched for six and the next ball being thumped over long-off to bring up his half-century off just 36 deliveries.

Dilshan’s 19 contained three fours as he contributed to the solid start, but the Sri Lankan was frustrated to be given out lbw sweeping at Ojha in the ninth over.

Virat Kohli looked back in good form as he helped Gayle finish the job as he went to a fluent 36 not out off 25 balls, hitting two balls into the crowd.

Malinga and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh were the Mumbai bowlers who put the ball in the right places most often, conceding 20 and 18 runs respectively in their four overs.

The overwhelming victory lifts Bangalore into the top four playoff places, after their bowlers had also dominated as they restricted the Mumbai Indians to 141 for six.

Having won the toss and elected to bowl first, Bangalore captain Kohli was rewarded by one of the better performances by the attack in the fifth season of the IPL.

The pace bowlers – Zaheer Khan (4-0-16-0), Vinay Kumar (4-0-34-2) and Harshal Patel (4-0-24-2) exploited the early moisture in the pitch and champion spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (4-0-24-2) then applied the finishing touches.

Vinay removed James Franklin (1) and Rohit Sharma (0) in the second over as Mumbai crashed to two for two and the first five overs were a real struggle for the home side, with Sachin Tendulkar failing to reproduce the form he showed in his last innings, when he blazed 74 off 44 balls against the Chennai Super Kings.

But Tendulkar reeled off three successive boundaries off Vinay in the sixth over, the million dollar man bowling repetitive half-volleys.

Tendulkar picked up one more boundary and reached 24 off 27 balls before he tried to pull Harshal from outside off stump and could only sky a return catch to the 21-year-old prospect.

Mumbai were 41 for three in the ninth over and floundering, but Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu consolidated with a stand of 44 in five-and-a-half overs, before Rayudu slapped Harshal to long-off to be dismissed for 22.

Karthik brought his usual clever adaptations to the crease in top-scoring for Mumbai with 44 off 39 balls, picking up three fours and a six, before an attempted slog-sweep was his undoing, the full length of Muralitharan preventing him from getting under the ball and presenting wide long-on with a comfortable catch.

The magic of Murali then claimed the important wicket of Dwayne Smith (2), the hero of Mumbai’s stunning win over Chennai at the weekend, with his next delivery, the West Indian slicing a doosra to point.

But there was another obvious dangerman still at the crease in Kieron Pollard (21*) and he hammered two sixes in the final over of the innings bowled by Vinay, sharing an unbroken stand of 41 in 4.1 overs with Harbhajan (20*).

AB snatches most amazing win 0

Posted on May 07, 2012 by Ken

AB de Villiers played one of the greatest Indian Premier League innings ever seen as his sensational onslaught took the Royal Challengers Bangalore to a five-wicket win over the Deccan Chargers and back to the brink of the playoff places at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.

 – http://www.supersport.com/cricket/indian-premier-league/news/120506/AB_snatches_most_amazing_win

The Challengers, chasing 182 for victory, were struggling to get on top of the persistent Chargers bowlers and they went into the last five overs needing 69 runs.

They almost immediately lost the top-scorer, Tillakaratne Dilshan, for a fantastic 71 off 54 balls, but De Villiers went on to steal the show with an astonishing innings of 47 not out off just 17 balls, with five fours and three sixes.

Whatever the reputation of T20 cricket, the onslaught De Villiers unleashed on countryman Dale Steyn in the 18th over was some of the best cricket one can ever hope to see.

To the man in the street, Steyn, who had earlier bowled a magnificent maiden over to Chris Gayle, is the best fast bowler in the world, and De Villiers is rapidly earning a reputation as the number one batsman.

Steyn’s bowling was accurate, putting every ball pretty much where he wanted to, but De Villiers was always a step ahead. The first ball of the over was short and imperiously pulled for six, the second delivery was an excellent yorker which De Villiers squeezed through square-leg for two runs.

De Villiers then clubbed a slower ball through wide mid-on for four, before playing the most extraordinary shot of them all, backing away and lifting another 146km/h yorker over extra cover for six. The South African limited-overs captain then stepped outside off stump and paddled another four, before keeping the strike as he calmy steered a lifter to third man.

Anand Rajan was the other bowler to suffer at the hands of De Villiers’s brilliance as he hit him for four, four and six off the first three balls of what turned out to be the final over, Bangalore winning with seven balls to spare.

The Challengers’ other big gun, Chris Gayle, was content to play second fiddle to Dilshan as he scored 26 off 22 balls in a first-wicket stand of 91 off just 64 balls.

Rajan gained the scalp of Gayle, bowling him the ball after the left-hander had launched him for a massive six out of the ground, and the match seemed to have turned in the favour of the visitors when leg-spinner Amit Mishra took two wickets in the 14th over.

The first was down to the brilliance of Steyn in the field as he leapt to pluck Virat Kohli’s sweetly-struck drive out of the sky at wide long-off and Steyn contributed to the second wicket as well when he caught Asad Pathan for four.

Dilshan, who had gone fluently to his half-century off just 29 balls, the bowlers having no answer to his commanding strokeplay, suddenly seemed to have doubts as he scored just 21 runs off his next 25 balls. He hit Veer Pratap Singh for four through square-leg but then missed the next ball aiming for the same place and was bowled.

Mayank Agarwal then came in and scored a priceless 18 off six balls, including a four and two sixes, before he missed a slog-sweep at Ashish Reddy and was given out lbw.

But then De Villiers took over and produced the most extraordinary and breathtaking of match-winning innings.

PAPER-THIN ATTACK

Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan and Cameron White were once again in fine form as they led the Deccan Chargers to 181 for two.

Opener Dhawan and White added 82 in 44 balls to boost the Chargers after a solid but unspectacular start on a good pitch and a small field in Bangalore.

White was spectacular as he plundered 45 off 24 balls, with three sixes, before skying a pull off Prasanth Parameswaran and being caught by the bowler in the final over.

Dhawan scored an elegant, fluent 73 not out off 52 balls, with 10 fours and a six. This is his third half-century of the season, but his highest score.

The big news of the day in terms of team selection was that Bangalore captain Daniel Vettori had dropped himself in favour of the more penetrative Muttiah Muralitharan and, even though the great Sri Lankan did not take a wicket, he was the home side’s best bowler, conceding just 18 runs in his four overs.

Despite the presence of international stars such as Muralitharan and Zaheer Khan, the Bangalore attack still looked paper thin with Parameswaran taking the only wicket to fall to a bowler as late as the final over.

Australian Daniel Harris, brought into the team as an opening batsman, scored a powerful 47 off 41 balls as he and Dhawan made a strong start, adding 86 for the first wicket off 71 balls.

The partnership was ended by a run out as Harris, charging off for a silly run, was beaten back to the bowler’s end as Kohli swooped wonderfully in the covers.

That was in the 12th over and White settled in well before hitting the ball hard and straight in his final onslaught.

Parameswaran’s last three overs cost 39 runs and Abhimanyu Mithun was hit for 6,4,4 by White as the 17th over ended disastrously for Bangalore. The last five overs of the innings brought 64 runs as the Challengers bowlers were hit silly.

Kumar Sangakkara hit a six and a four in the three balls he faced in the final over.

Left-arm paceman Zaheer was the next best of the Bangalore bowlers, conceding 32 runs in his four overs.

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