Zaheer Khan, Shreyas Iyer Help Delhi Daredevils Shock Chennai Super Kings by 6 Wickets

Opener Shreyas Iyer struck an unbeaten 70 after veteran pacer Zaheer Khan led a brilliant bowling show as Delhi Daredevils notched up a comprehensive six-wicket win over table toppers Chennai Super Kings in their IPL match on Tuesday. Electing to bat, Chennai scored just 119/6 with Zaheer returning with superb figures of 2/9 from his four overs and Albie Morkel chipping in with two wickets as Delhi produced a disciplined bowling show at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium. Despite the defeat, Chennai Super Kings still remain on top of league table with 16 points from 13 matches with one match left to play, while Delhi is second last in IPL 2015 points table. 

Read more ...

Jadeja, McCullum lift Super Kings to No.1

Chennai Super Kings almost confirmed themselves in the playoffs with a comfortable 12-run win against Rajasthan Royals that took them to the top of the table with 16 points. They still have two games at hand. Royals, on the other hand, were now placed precariously, needing a win from their last league game against Kolkata Knight Riders to qualify.

The positions the teams were in the table had an air of "I told you so", so had the pattern the game followed after Super Kings decided to bat on a sluggish pitch. The batsmen generally struggled for timing but Brendon McCullum, the only batsman to make a half-century in the match, braved the sapping heat to set up Super Kings for another sub-160 total. Then Ravindra Jadeja picked a bagful of wickets after a 15-day barren spell to derail Royals' chase.

It hasn't been a high-scoring season in Chennai this year. The home team batted first in each game, but only twice were able to go past 160. Still, such has been their control on this ground that except Mumbai Indians, no one else was able to breach the target.

After the early losses of Dwayne Smith and Suresh Raina, McCullum played an innings slightly out of character: it did not feature all-out aggression. He would hit a six, a boundary, then go back to nurdle the ball in the gaps. And such was the necessity, too, as the ball did not come onto the bat. That he found success was not surprising, his fast hands allowing him to generate pace on the ball.

McCullum reached his half-century, his third 50-plus score this season, in 44 balls despite five fours and two sixes. The run-rate at that stage - the 13th over - hovered just above six an over. Despite fatigue setting in, he ensured Super Kings accelerated by picking up 31 more runs in the next 17 balls. By the time he was dismissed, in the 18th over, the score had swelled to 132. MS Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo then pushed it to 157 with late hitting.

Royals knew they needed runs early on before the onset of spin. Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson started well, but once Mohit Sharma had Rahane top-edge a pull, Royals' innings lost steam. Jadeja, then, ran through the middle order in a spell that read 4-0-11-4, the highlight being the gravity-defying catch by Bravo at the long-on boundary.

Royals were left needing 65 to win from the last five overs. There were a few flashes of aggression from Sanju Samson, but the team slowly caved in to fall well short. That Dhoni did not use R Ashwin at all reiterated Super Kings' control.

The loss was Royals' first under Steven Smith's captaincy this year.

Read more ...

Chawala Got 4, Yuvi Made Duck - KKR Beat DD by 13 Runs

Piyush Chawla took four wickets as defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders beat Delhi Daredevils by 13 runs in their return leg clash of the IPL at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday. 

Chasing a stiff 172-run target, Delhi managed 158/6 in their 20 overs as Chawla spun a web to outshine his tweaker teammates Sunil Narine and Brad Hogg. 

Delhi got off to a fine start with Manoj Tiwary and Shreyas Iyer putting up a 63-run opening stand before Chawla broke the stand by dismissing Tiwary (25). 

Hogg then clean bowled Iyer (40) before Chawla cleaned up Kedar Jadhav (25), Yuvraj Singh (0) and Jean-Paul Duminy (10) in two successive overs. 

Chawla finished with impressive figures of 4/32 but Gambhir might be pondering if playing four spinners was a bit too much. 

With this victory, Kolkata move up to the third spot with 13 points, ahead of Royal Challengers Bangalore. 

On the other hand, Daredevils languish at the seventh place, with eight points and almost out of contention for a place in the playoffs. 

Kedar Jadhav meant business but fell immediately after the second strategic break. 

Yuvraj's dismal IPL 8 continued, falling for a third-ball duck and it was all but over for the Daredevils. 

Duminy, Angelo Mathews and Saurabh Tiwary threw their bats around, but it only helped reduce the margin of defeat. 


Pathan held Kolkata's innings together and struck three fours and three sixes. (PTI Photo)

Earlier, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders rode on Yusuf Pathan's 42 from 24 balls to post a competitive 171/7. 

Pathan once again held KKR's innings together and struck three fours and three sixes even as DD picked wickets at regular intervals. 

Imran Tahir (2/46) dismissed Pathan in the penultimate over of the innings but Johan Botha blasted 17 from five balls in the last over to fire up the total after KKR elected to bat for the first time this season. 

Playing with an extra bowler after Sunil Narine got a clearance from the Board, a relieved KKR rejigged their batting order and sent Piyush Chawla at No. 4. 

The KKR leg spinner looked unconvincing but his cameo of 22 from 19 balls (1x4, 1x6) kept the run-rate ticking, even as Mishra bowled a tight spell conceding two runs with one wicket from his first two overs. 

Chawla almost fell on the wickets after losing his balance trying to get away an Angelo Mathews bouncer as he looked out of sorts but nevertheless KKR kept the run-rate ticking even as Mishra (1/20) bowled a tidy spell. 

Earlier, DD were severely let down by their fielding and Uthappa benefited the most after being dropped twice during his 31-ball 32 run innings. On both the occasions, the ball slipped in between the fielders' hands. 

Manoj let one slip over the boundary when Uthappa was on 15, while Yuvraj who was employed at short midwicket dropped a sitter when the KKR opener was on 23. 

Gambhir (12 from 10 balls) had given KKR a typical flying start putting on 38 runs with Uthappa from 4.3 overs before Zaheer Khan gave DD the first breakthrough inducing an outside edge from the KKR skipper. 

Aided by the two reprieves, Uthappa and Pandey (22) capitalised on the start as KKR coasted to 50/1 from six overs before Mishra put brakes on the run-rate conceding one run from his first over. 

Uthappa looked tentative against Mishra who finally brought an end to his innings after dismissing him lbw with a ball that went straight after pitching in the middle stump line. 

After being cleared again with a final warning by the BCCI hours before the match, Narine was back to lead the pack as KKR opted for a four-spin attack with Brad Hogg, Piyush Chawla and Johan Botha. 

Delhi made two changes with local lad Manoj Tiwary and Albie Morkel replacing Mayank Agarwal and Nathan Coulter-Nile respectively. 

Read more ...

Kolkata Knight Riders bounced back in the home leg in style by notching up a comprehensive 35-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket in Kolkata on Monday. 

Defending a fighting total of 167, KKR were given a rollicking start by their speedster Umesh Yadav, who castled dangerman David Warner (4) and Naman Ojha (0) in the first over, and the visitors failed to recover from the double blow to finish at 132 for nine. 

Read more ...

Rajasthan Royals beat Delhi Daredevils by 14 runs

Ajinkya Rahane and Karun Nair helped Rajasthan Royals get their campaign back on track as they defeated Delhi Daredevils by 14 runs in IPL 8 match at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday.

Chasing a massive 190-run target, Daredevils could all manage 175/7 in stipulated 20 overs.


Prior to this victory, Rajasthan slumped to their third loss in their last five games (including two rain wash out matches) with a eight-run defeat against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday.

With this win, Royals surpassed Chennai Super Kings to reclaim top spot in the points table with 14 points in 11 matches.

James Faulkner and Stuart Binny were the pick of the bowlers for Rajasthan as they claimed two wickets apiece to dash Delhi hopes of making an upset.

For Daredevils, JP Duminy continued his good form with 39-ball 56 runs knock but faltered in the tensed chase.

Earlier, Rahane and Nair hit sparkling half centuries and got involved in a century stand to power Rajasthan Royals to an imposing score of 189 for 2 wickets.

Rahane warmed up slowly before tearing into Delhi bowling to post his fourth half century of the season as well as reach to 430 runs in his 10th game while making an unbeaten 91 -- his highest this season -- from 54 balls, studded with three sixes and nine fours. He claimed the orange cap for being the highest run scorer till now.

Nair, promoted to number three at the fall of captain Shane Watson (21), gave his senior partner Rahane splendid support by making a quick-fire 61 off 38 balls, laced with two sixes and six fours, before being dismissed in the 19th over.

The duo's second wicket stand worth 113 off 69 balls helped Rajasthan up the ante further after Rahane and captain Watson had put on 52 for the first wicket in 6.5 overs.

Delhi started off well the 500th match of the IPL but then their pace-oriented bowling became wayward and the fielding rugged as three catches, two off Rahane and one off Nair, were put down and they also conceded runs through misfielding. The visiting side conceded 75 runs in the last five overs.

In the beginning, Delhi kept Rahane and captain Watson on a leash on the Brabourne Stadium track that offered good bounce till the end of the fourth over by conceding 23 runs.

However, the fifth over bowled by Zaheer Khan yielded 13 runs when Rahane struck him for a four to the cover region and then Watson slashed and clipped the bowler for two fours when he erred in line.

When Rahane flicked Nathan Coulter-Nile bowled on his pads, Rahane gleefully dispatched it for another four that helped Royals end the six-over power play with 43 on board without losing a wicket.

Zaheer was replaced after a three-over spell that yielded 21 runs by Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews who gave width to Watson to be hit for two fours before taking his revenge by having the Australian caught behind with a rising ball.

But Watson had the satisfaction of giving Rajasthan a good start of 52 with Rahane who was dropped by IPL debutant Gurinder Sandhu when on 34 off Mathews.

Rahane then got involved in the century stand with one-down Nair, promoted ahead of last game's batting hero Sanju Samson, and the Karnataka Ranji batsman utilized the faith shown by playing some clever shots and giving good support to his senior partner.

Nair was put down on 35 off Coulter-Nile at third man by Saurabh Tiwary. In the same over, Rahane pulled a short ball from the tall Australian pacer over square leg for the first six of the innings to reach his fourth half century in 10 games before completing the 400th run of the season with a six and a four off leggie Amit Mishra.

Nair then took over the attacking reins and smashed Sandhu for a six and two fours to reach his 50 in 33 balls after Zaheer and Mishra got into a tangle and grass Rahane earlier in the over that yielded 19 runs.

Finally, Nair fell to Coulter Nile who finished with one for 38 while the most economical spell came from Mathews (1 for 27). But Rahane and promoted James Faulkner hit a few more boundaries towards the end to remain unconquered.

Read more ...

KKR Beat Chennai by 7 Wickets in IPL 2015.

Kolkata got off a fine start with captain Gautam Gambhir (19) putting up a 33-run opening stand with Uthappa before getting dismissed by Mohit Sharma.

Manish Pandey (3) and Suryakumar Yadav (2) were dismissed in successive overs as Chennai tightened their stranglehold over the hosts till Russell joined Uthappa at the crease and the two brought up their 100-run stand off 56 balls.

Uthappa (80*) constructed his knock really well. The opener started his innings by exploring every nook and corner of the ground to rotate the strike. It was in the 15th over when Uthappa decided to up the ante and reeled off a series of fine shots off Ashish Nehra.

During that over Uthappa even showed deft touch to open the face and guide the left-arm pacer through third man for a couple of fours.

At the other end, Russell (59*) played power-packed shots and gave Uthappa valuable support. The big West Indian showed his class by thumping Dwayne Bravo for two sixes in a single over.

It got a bit tense in the end before the hosts won with one ball to spare.


Negi played a fine cameo and smashed a wayward Cummins for three boundaries in an over. (PTI Photo)

Earlier, despite a stunning four-wicket haul by veteran Brad Hogg, Chennai set a 166-run target for Kolkata.

Put into bat, CSK were off to an explosive start, courtesy Brendon McCullum's 12 ball 32 (3x4s, 3x6s) and Faf du Plessis' 11-ball 20 (5x4s), but the 44-year-old chinaman bowler, who had come in as replacement for Sunil Narine, lived up to the faith by returning with magnificent figures of 4/29.

Hogg claimed the prized scalps of McCullum and Du Plessis in his first over and completed his spell with the wickets of Ravindra Jadeja (24 from 30 balls; 1x4, 1x6) and Pawan Negi (27 from 13 balls; 4x4s, 1x6) as Chennai finished at 165/9.

With McCullum looking ominous at a strike rate that almost touched 300, CSK had stepped on the gas very early after the first ball dismissal of Dwayne Smith, who was brilliantly caught by a diving Ryan ten Doeschate at point off Pat Cummins.

There were raining sixes and fours all over the park with McCullum at his murderous best as CSK were 52/2 after Gambhir bowled his two pacers Cummins and Yadav in tandem.

He brought in Chawla in the fifth over with Du Plessis on strike and the South African matched his explosive Kiwi partner by smashing the leggie for three boundaries as KKR bowlers looked ordinary without Narine, who was ruled out off the tournament after being called for suspected bowling action for a second time.

T20 format's prized score of 200 was looking inevitable for CSK but a 44-year-old Australian turned around the fortunes for KKR striking twice in his first over.

Hogg dismissed McCullum LBW with his first ball after the latter tried to go for an expansive pull but failed to read the bounce and then in the fifth ball Du Plessis stepped out only to be stumped by wicket-keeper Robin Uthappa.

All pumped up, KKR employed four fielders -- slip, leg slip, silly point and forward short leg -- around CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the next delivery.

Dhoni (1) could survive just four balls before being castled by a Chawla wrong one as KKR bounced back in the game, even as CSK were 72 for five after 7 overs.

Bravo and Jadeja ensured that there was no further damage as they batted sensibly putting on 50-run together in as many balls.

After the duo's dismissals, Negi played a fine cameo when he smashed a wayward Cummins (1/54) for three boundaries in an over before Hogg once again made his presence felt.

Earlier, Dhoni handed Ronit More an IPL debut bringing him in place of Ishwar Pandey while left-arm spinner Negi replaced the injured Ravichandran Ashwin.

Read more ...

Chennai Vs. Kolkata - Chennai Beat KKR by 2 Runs, Bravo was The Hero

Two-time winners Chennai Super Kings pulled off a sensational last-ball two-run victory over defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders with some brilliant bowling and fielding effort which saw them defend a low score in their thrilling IPL match, here on Tuesday.

Put into bat, Chennai found the going tough against Kolkata Knight Riders, who produced a disciplined bowling performance to restrict the hosts to 134 for six in their stipulated 20 overs.

However, the Super Kings returned with a clincal bowling and fielding performance, led by Dwayne Bravo (3/22) and R Ashwin (2/5), to restrict Kolkata to 132 for nine and continue their domination at home.

Needing 17 runs off six balls, Ryan ten doeschate (38) blasted a six and a couple of fours but it proved too little and too late as Kolkata fell short by two runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Chasing 134, Kolkata had a disastrous start as their skipper Gambhir (0) was dismissed by Ishwar Pandey in the second ball of the innings.

Other opener Robin Uthappa (39) then shared a 51-run partnership with Manish Pandey (15). The duo blasted eight boundaries and one six in their 29-ball second wicket partnership.

However, CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni soon introduced Ashwin into the attack and the spinner got him a wicket with the very first delivery, dismissing Uthappa with Brendon McCullum pulling off a smart catch at short midwicket.

In his second over, Ashwin took another wicket in his first ball, sending Pandey back into the hut with Bravo taking the catch at the deep midwicket area as KKR slipped to 61-3 in 7.1 overs.

Yusuf Pathan (13) and Suryakumar Yadav (16) tried to steady the innings but with Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja bowling in tandem, the boundaries dried up.

With the required runrate mounting, Yadav tried to pull a quick Mohit Sharma ball but Bravo pulled off a stunning low catch with one hand running in from long-on as Kolkata slumped to 76 for 4 in 12.2 overs.

Needing 47 off 31 balls, Pathan went for a big shot off Bravo, only to see his inside edge disturb the stumps as KKR looked down the barrel at 91 for five in 15.2 overs.

Andre Russell (4) was the next to depart when his pursuit to take a second run ended with a run out, while Pat Cummins was holed out by Jadeja off Bravo at deep midwicket.

Next man Piyush Chawla (0) too departed without disturbing the scoreboard after he was decieved by a slower delivery from Bravo.

Read more ...