Ken Borland

The Pune Warriors ran into Virender Sehwag at his best, losing their Indian Premier League match against the Delhi Daredevils by eight wickets at their Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium on Tuesday.

– http://www.supersport.com/cricket/indian-premier-league/news/120424/Pune_lose_to_Sehwag_scorcher

Sehwag was in hot form, hammering 87 not out off just 48 balls, his scorching strokeplay bringing him 10 fours and three sixes as Delhi cantered to their target of 147 with four overs to spare.

The Indian opener showed once again why he is such a class act, timing and placing the ball magnificently and working the bowlers with great skill through the on-side and being as ruthless as ever when he was given space outside off stump.

Sehwag laughed off his involvement in an awful mix-up with Mahela Jayawardena, who was run out for 18 when Luke Wright suddenly emerged from behind the square-leg umpire and fired in a quick throw to wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa.

The Daredevils were 22 for one in the third over, but Sehwag and Kevin Pietersen quickly banished any hopes Pune had of securing their second victory over Delhi as they added 89 for the second wicket in 8.2 overs.

Pietersen scored a comfortable 27 off 21 balls before he skied a drive off leg-spinner Rahul Sharma, but Sehwag stayed through to the end in a top-class innings, flatbatting Rahul for a straight six to end the match.

Rahul finished his four overs with 1-33 but, although none of the other Pune bowlers could take a wicket, South African seamer Alfonso Thomas (2-0-14-0) and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik (4-0-26-0) were economical.

It was not a good evening though for left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra (3-0-34-0) nor seamer Wright (2-0-24-0).

The Pune Warriors recovered to 146 for two because of a brilliant century stand between Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa.

Pandey and Uthappa added 120 for the third wicket off 112 balls, finishing not out on 80 and 60 respectively. They’re both experienced IPL campaigners, so they didn’t let the shock of Pune being reduced to one for two in the second over get to them as they sensibly built a partnership before lashing out in the closing overs.

It was not the best performance in the field by the Delhi Daredevils as Pandey was dropped three times, Pietersen missing a sitter at long-on off Pawan Negi on 20, and Shahbaz Nadeem and Negi dropping return catches on 44 and 56. Their ground fielding was also not faultless.

Pandey used beautifully-timed, classical strokes with a straight bat, plus some innovation, to strike seven fours and three sixes in his fine innings of 80 not out off 56 balls.

Uthappa played within himself, allowing Pandey to accelerate, but his 60 not out off 58 balls included six fours and was a great supporting act.

The Warriors had elected to bat first, but made a disastrous start as Irfan Pathan’s second ball kept low to bowl Jesse Ryder for a duck and Saurav Ganguly (1) sliced Morne Morkel’s second ball to third man.

Morkel finished with 1-34 in his four overs, but Pathan, with one for 24, and left-arm spinners Negi and Nadeem, who each conceded just 22 runs in their four overs, did the most to restrict Pandey and Uthappa.

The Deccan Chargers suffered another blow as the Kolkata Knight Riders beat them by five wickets in their Indian Premier League match at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday.

 – http://www.supersport.com/cricket/article.aspx?id=1351481

It was a struggle for the Knight Riders, however, as they needed 19 overs to chase down their mediocre target of 127.

It was mainly thanks to their bowlers and fielders, who operated as a slick unit in restricting the Deccan Chargers to 126 for seven, that the Kolkata Knight Riders claimed victory.

The Chargers, having been sent in to bat after an hour-long rain delay, made a bright enough start as they reached 35 without loss after five overs. But they then seemed to bat well within themselves and the whole innings came to a near standstill as the Kolkata bowlers and fielders tightened their strangulating grip.

The Knight Riders bowling system worked a charm with all-rounders Yusuf Pathan (2-0-19-0) and Jacques Kallis (2-0-16-0) getting their combined share of overs out the way early. Brett Lee (4-0-15-1) bowled tightly up front and then brilliantly at the death, while spinner Sunil Narine (4-0-26-2) was just an absolute handful throughout. Medium-pacers Lakshmipathy Balaji (4-0-22-2) and Rajat Bhatia (4-0-26-1) bossed the non-powerplay overs.

Balaji showed that he is no mug with the ball as he cleaned up the great Kumar Sangakkara, bowling him middle stump for 12, but Shikhar Dhawan made a brisk start as he and Parthiv Patel added 44 in 5.4 overs for the second wicket.

Parthiv was run out for 23 by a top-class piece of boundary fielding by Kallis, while Dhawan lost momentum and completed a battling half-century before he pulled a full toss from Bhatia straight to cow-corner to be out for 50 off 50 balls.

Dhawan’s dismissal meant the Chargers had slipped to 102 for four after 16 overs and they managed to add just 24 more runs in the last four overs, including just a four and a six. In fact, the whole innings featured just nine fours and two sixes.

VERBAL JOUSTING

JP Duminy ensured that Deccan weren’t bowled out within the 20 overs as he finished on 16 not out off 15 balls, while Dale Steyn scored seven, that included a lovely straight six off Narine off the first ball of the final over.

The Barabati Stadium pitch is clearly not the easiest to bat on and, with Steyn, the most lethal fast bowler in the world, taking the new ball, the Chargers wanted early wickets to have a chance.

New Zealander Brendon McCullum is always a threat and Steyn claimed his wicket after he had scored 10, trapping him lbw with a slower ball that kept low.

Fellow opener Gautam Gambhir made a fluent 30 before his innings had a sad end as he lamely drove seamer Anand Rajan straight to mid-off.

Leggie Amit Mishra accounted for Maninder Bisla (10), bowling him with a beautiful top-spinner and there was more disappointment for the misfiring Yusuf Pathan as he hit impressive slow left-armer Ankit Sharma (4-0-19-1) for a massive six but then missed a swipe at the next delivery and was bowled.

Kallis, however, played an important innings for the Knight Riders, scoring a composed 23 at a run-a-ball to lift them from 72 for four.

Steyn, the best of the Deccan bowlers with 2-24, won the personal battle with countryman Kallis as he had him caught behind with a fine delivery in the 17th over, and there were a few anxious moments thereafter for the Knight Riders as Manoj Tiwary allowed the situation to get to him.

Tiwary was nearly run out as he wandered down the pitch to engage in some verbal jousting with Steyn, and the choice of some of his strokes left a lot to be desired. Nevertheless, he finished the job with his 30 not out as the Knight Riders joined the other leaders on eight points.

The Rajasthan Royals attack called the tune as they dismissed the Kolkata Knight Riders for 142 to win their Indian Premier League match by 22 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday.

– http://www.supersport.com/cricket/indian-premier-league/news/120408/Rajasthan_Royals_bowlers_do_the_job

The Knight Riders were chasing 165 for victory, but a top-class opening burst by seamer Amit Singh and left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan saw them lose three wickets off three balls.

At eight for three in the third over, Kolkata were looking like fish out of water and, despite a classy, defiant half-century from Manoj Tiwary and a late onslaught from Brett Lee, the victory was a most comfortable one for the Royals.

Jacques Kallis (5) was the first to fall, driving a slower ball from Amit straight to deep mid-off. The 30-year-old followed up the wicket of South Africa’s greatest batsman by having Indian star Gautam Gambhir caught behind for a duck off the next delivery.

Brendon McCullum (2) then seemed oblivious to the crisis as he walked across his stumps to the first ball of the next over and was trapped lbw by Chavan.

The Rajasthan team needed to use just five bowlers as the Knight Riders continued to lose wickets at regular intervals.

Yusuf Pathan briefly threatened as he scored 15, but the big-hitting Gujarati is frustratingly inconsistent and he skied Siddharth Trivedi to midwicket to leave Kolkata on 66 for five in the 11th over.

Lee is a dangerous striker of the ball and he hammered a pair of fours and sixes in his 25 off 11 balls before being bowled by a good slower ball from Kevon Cooper.

Tiwary finished with 59 off 49 balls, with seven fours, but it was not enough to prevent the Knight Riders from being bowled out in the final over.

Chavan took 2-23 and Amit 2-30 to set the early tone, while Trivedi claimed 2-25 to undermine the middle-order.

Cooper then grabbed 3-28 to earn himself the Purple Cap for the leading wicket-taker, while South African Johan Botha eventually bowled Tiwary to end the innings and finish with 1-34.

Brad Hodge and Ashok Menaria were the inspiration earlier with the bat as the Rajasthan Royals posted 164 for five.

Rajasthan had been sent in to bat and were hampered by both their openers being run out as they reached 62 for three after nine overs, before Menaria scored 40 off 30 balls and Hodge 44 off 29 deliveries as they shared a fourth-wicket stand of 64 in 7.3 overs.

Ajinkya Rahane, the hero of Rajasthan’s comprehensive opening win over the Punjab Kings XI, surrendered his wicket in the second over when he was run out by Gambhir for a duck, before Rahul Dravid and Shreevats Goswami added 43 for the second wicket in five overs.

Their stand was ended, however, by Dravid’s run out, by Iqbal Abdulla, for 26 and Rajat Bhatia, their most economical bowler, then struck a major blow for the Knight Riders as he bowled Goswami for 23.

Menaria and Hodge owned the middle overs, however, giving the Royals a competitive total in the process.

Hodge was content to set off at his own pace, scoring at a run-a-ball for his first 13 deliveries, before getting stuck into off-spinner Pathan in the 14th over.

The Australian cooked up two sixes and a four in the over of pies and the run-rate continued to rise as he smashed Kallis for successive boundaries in the next over.

Hodge eventually fell trying to scoop compatriot Lee and being caught behind, but Englishman Owais Shah immediately got down to business, facing two balls before hitting two fours and a six off his next four deliveries.

Lee bowled Menaria in an eventful penultimate over that also included a six and a four by Shah, as well as a no-ball that just cost two more runs off the free hit by the Western Cape Cobras batsman.

The Kolkata bowlers stuck to their game plans well, with Lee taking 2-29 and spinners Sunil Narine, the IPL rookie from the West Indies, (4-0-29-0) and Bhatia (4-0-27-1) systematically stifling the batsmen.

The Pune Warriors bowlers were able to break through regularly as they limited the Mumbai Indians to 100 for nine to clinch a 29-run victory in their Indian Premier League match at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday.

– http://www.supersport.com/cricket/article.aspx?id=1329151

It was a shock victory for the Warriors, who finished last in their debut IPL season last year and were playing away from home at the daunting stadium of one of the tournament favourites, and especially since they were only defending 130.

But the Mumbai Indians were in trouble immediately as new T20 sensation Richard Levi was stumped by Robin Uthappa for a duck off the second ball of the innings bowled by left-arm spinner Murali Kartik.

Ashok Dinda then opened the bowling from the Garware Pavilion End and produced a performance to rival that of Mumbai Indians’ star Lasith Malinga.

Dinda produced a double-wicket strike in his first over, having Ambati Rayadu caught at slip and then having Rohit Sharma caught behind by Uthappa, both for singles.

Mumbai were five for three before James Franklin and Dinesh Karthik added 49 for the fourth wicket to stabilise the innings. But the required surge of runs never came, although an exciting ending still looked likely as the home side reached 48 for three after 10 overs.

But the Pune spinners tightened their grip to strangulation point, with Karthik (32) surprised by a quicker, big-turning delivery from Kartik and being stumped by Uthappa.

Debutant Suryakumar Yadav was then bowled for a duck by a fizzing arm-ball from off-spinner Marlon Samuels and Kieron Pollard (8) was bowled by a similar quicker delivery by leg-spinner Rahul Sharma.

The big-hitting Pollard had been left with too much to do by Franklin, who tried none of the big hits required in the closing stages of a T20 match when more than 10 runs an over are required.

It’s fitting that when Franklin did finally try and hit out, in the 18th over, the bat went flying from his hands and the ball was skied to Callum Ferguson at long-on to give Dinda his third wicket. The New Zealander initially did a good job for his team, but it was heartbreaking for the home crowd to see him pushing singles when so much more was required. Franklin finished with 32 off 42 balls and his dismissal ended Mumbai’s hopes.

Pune captain Saurav Ganguly said at the toss that he expected the pitch to turn more in the second innings, and his trio of spinners produced a top-class performance to back up a canny display of leadership in the field.

While seamer Dinda finished with a phenomenal 4-17 in four overs, it was the pressure exerted by the spinners that helped him to his success.

The merry tunes played by Kartik (3-0-14-2), Rahul (4-0-16-1) and Samuels (4-0-21-1) would see the Mumbai batsmen spellbound and frustrated as Pune pulled off an impressive mugging at a packed Wankhede Stadium.

South African left-armer Wayne Parnell bowled a couple of top-class deliveries as he finished with a creditable 1-18 in three overs, claiming a late wicket when he had Malinga caught behind by a slick Uthappa for five.

The fact that none of the Pune bowlers conceded more than 6.5 runs per over told the story as the Mumbai Indians showed the fragility of their batting line-up without the injured and talismanic Sachin Tendulkar, who has not recovered from the finger injury suffered in the opening game.

IPL’S LEADING WICKET-TAKER

Malinga had earlier become the leading wicket-taker in IPL history as the powerful Mumbai Indians attack restricted the Pune Warriors to just 129 for nine.

Malinga, the Sri Lankan star, led the way with outstanding figures of 2-16 in his four overs – the first runs scored by a batsman off his bowling came after 11 balls.

The unorthodox slinger now has 65 wickets in 44 matches, overtaking Rudra Pratap Singh’s 64 wickets in 56 games.

Malinga was magnificent up front after the Mumbai Indians had decided to bowl first, bowling Manish Pandey for a duck in a wicket-maiden first over and then conceding just three runs in his second over. The 28-year-old returned in the 17th over with almost the same effectiveness.

Despite the slog being on, he conceded just 13 runs in his last two overs and bowled the dangerous Samuels for four with another trademark swinging yorker.

With off-spinner Harbhajan Singh sharing the new ball and doing a great job as well, the Pune batsmen were feeling their way from the start and Uthappa (36 off 33 balls) and Steven Smith (39 off 32) were the only ones to bat with any authority.

Paceman Munaf Patel also produced a top-class display as he took 2-26 in four overs, nipping a delivery back into Parnell (11) and bowling the South African left-hander, and then having Smith caught off a slower ball in a marvellous final over that cost just five runs.

Mumbai captain Harbhajan was also impressive with 1-16 in three overs, dismissing opposite number Ganguly (3).

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha would come on later and also do a great job, taking 1-23 in four overs and turning the ball sharply.