Jun 23 2009
Teams Evenly Balanced
At the time of writing 10 matches have been played and the teams look evenly poised at this stage. Deccan Chargers, who finished eighth last time is leading the table this time with two wins in as many matches and Kings XI Punjab are at the bottom with two losses.
Here’s the detail of the first 10 matches:
Match No. 1 - Tendulkar stars in Mumbai win over Chennai
Sachin Tendulkar hit an unbeaten half-century as he led the Mumbai Indians to a 19-run win against the Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of the Indian Premier League at Newlands.
Tendulkar’s 59 not out provided the foundation for Mumbai’s 165 for seven after they were sent in on a blustery, grey day.
Former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden hit 44 and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni 36 for Chennai but the 2008 runners-up could only manage 146 for seven.
Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga bowled superbly to take three for 15 in four overs for Mumbai.
Mumbai’s innings was anchored by Tendulkar, who largely played conventional cricket, punctuated by lofted off-drives.
Although he opened the batting he faced only 48 balls, hitting seven fours.
Tendulkar and Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya (26) put on 39 for the first wicket. He then shared a second wicket stand of 43 with Shikhar Dhawan (22).
Batting conditions were tricky under grey skies and Mumbai were struggling at 102 for four in the 15th over before the left-handed Abhishek Nayar lashed 35 off 14 balls in a fifth wicket stand of 46 with Tendulkar.
Nayar slammed three sixes in an over from Andrew Flintoff which cost 22 runs. Flintoff, who is on a 1.55-million dollar a season contract, was the most expensive Chennai bowler, conceding 44 runs in four overs.
Flintoff made 24 in Chennai’s reply as he helped Hayden put on 52 for the third wicket. He hit two fours and a six off 22 balls before he heaved a ball from Harbhajan Singh high in the air for the off-spinner to take a catch off his own bowling.
Hayden hit his 44 off 35 balls before Zaheer Khan took a stinging catch in the cover off a fierce drive against Jayasuriya’s left-arm spin.
Dhoni hit 36 off 26 balls before being bowled by Malinga in the final over.
Scores:
Mumbai Indians 166 for 7 (Tendulkar 59*, Nayar 35) beat Chennai Super Kings 145 for 7 (Hayden 44, Malinga 3-15) by 19 runs
Match No. 2 - Kumble, Dravid inflict Royal upset
Stripped of captaincy, Rahul Dravid batted with a vengeance to set up a 75-run win for Bangalore Royal Challengers against defending champions Rajasthan Royals in the second match on the opening day of the IPL at the Newlands.
After deciding to bat first, Royal Challengers recovered from a poor start with Man of the Match Dravid’s 66 to put up a modest 133 for eight in 20 overs.
In reply, another Bangalore veteran Anil Kumble picked up five wickets for just five runs to stun the defending champions, whose innings folded up for just 58 runs in 15.1 overs. It was also the lowest score in the IPL.
Dimitri Mascarenhas (3-20) raised hopes for Rajasthan Royals early in the innings when he picked up openers Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor in the first two deliveries to put Royal Challengers on the back-foot. Maverick Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne (2-18) then unfurled his tricks to do further damage by picking up wickets lower down the order.
Newly appointed skipper Kevin Pietersen (32) tried to show some resistance but didn’t last long. But it was the 48-ball innings from the experienced Dravid that set up the innings for the Bangalore team.
Dravid went about his job in his cool and calm way and kept on collecting runs in singles. He mixed his innings with both orthodox and inventive shots to give his bowlers a total to defend. Dravid’s 48-ball innings was studded with eight boundaries and one six.
In reply, Praveen Kumar (2-7) started the proceeding well for Royal Challengers by moving the ball both ways. He picked up opener Swapnil Asnodkar in the fifth ball off the innings to a rash stroke and caught by Virat Kohli. Graeme Smith (2) was his next victim in the next over as Rajasthan Royals were reduced to seven for two.
Next it was the turn of old warhorse Kumble, who even after his retirement from international cricket, showed that he is still a force to reckon with with his five-wicket haul.
Tyron Henderson, Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja were the only Rajasthan Royals who could get to double figures - 11 each.
Scores:
Bangalore Royal Challengers 133 for 8 (Dravid 66, Mascarenhas 3-20) beat Rajasthan Royals 58 (Kumble 5-5) by 75 runs
Match No. 3 - Vettori, Veeru stars as Daredevils win in style
New Zealand left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori took three for 15 as the Delhi Daredevils won a rain-shortened match against Kings XI Punjab by ten wickets at Newlands.
Vettori’s bowling was mainly responsible for restricting the Kings XI to 104 for seven in 12 overs in an overs-reduced game after rain delayed the start by more than an hour and a half.
Indian opening batsmen Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir made a revised target of 54 in six overs look easy, with Sehwag finishing the match with his fourth six in an innings of 38 not out off 16 balls.
Punjab made a flying start, reaching 67 before losing their first wicket off the last ball of the sixth over when Vettori caught Karan Goel at mid-on off Yo Mahesh.
Goel hit 38 off 21 balls with three fours and three sixes, including a massive hit off Mahesh which sailed out of the ground beyond mid-wicket.
Vettori came on to bowl the next over after the mid-innings break and trapped Ravi Bopara (22) leg before with his first delivery.
The Punjab innings never regained momentum as Vettori took two more wickets in his three-over spell and two run-outs contributed to the collapse.
Sehwag and Gambhir reached 24 in 1.5 overs before rain halted play. The revised target meant they needed only another 30 runs off 4.1 overs.
Scores:
Delhi Daredevils 54 for 0 (Sehwag 38*) beat Kings XI Punjab 104 for 7 (Goel 38, Vettori 3-15) by ten wickets
Match No. 4 - RP, Gibbs power Chargers to win against KKR
Fast bowler RP Singh took four wickets as the Deccan Chargers gained a comfortable eight-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders in match no 4 at Newlands.
Singh took four for 22 as Kolkata struggled to 101 all out on a lively pitch. The Chargers needed only 13.1 overs to clinch their win, with Herschelle Gibbs hitting 43 not out and Rohit Sharma 36 not out.
It was an encouraging performance by the Deccan side, who finished last of the eight teams in 2008.
With new captain Adam Gilchrist at the helm and former Australian batsman Darren Lehmann as coach, the Chargers kept the Knight Riders under pressure almost from the time Kolkata captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and decided to bat.
McCullum was out early, caught down the leg side off Singh, and Chris Gayle followed soon afterwards, hitting Singh for a four and a six before holding out to deep mid-off.
While Singh took the wickets, West Indian fast bowler Fidel Edwards conceded only two runs in a remarkable opening spell of three overs. Australian Brad Hodge was the only Kolkata batsman to shine, hitting 31 before falling to a stunning reflex catch by Gibbs at backward point off Scott Styris.
Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha took two for 14 in four accurate overs before Singh came back to finish off the tail.
Gilchrist and Gibbs gave Deccan a fast start, putting on 24 in 2.5 overs before Gilchrist was caught for 14. VVS Laxman was run out for 10 but Gibbs and Sharma saw their team through in an unbeaten stand of 69.
Scores:
Deccan Chargers 104 for 2 (Gibbs 43*, Rohit 36*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 101 (RP Singh 4-22) by eight wickets
Match No. 5 - Murali, Hayden combine for Chennai’s big win
Cricket ‘golden oldies’ Matthew Hayden and Muttiah Muralitharan powered Chennai Super Kings to a 92-run win over Bangalore Royal Challengers in match no 5 at St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth.
Australian Hayden, who departed the international scene recently at the age of 37, struck a sizzling 65 before being run out by Rahul Dravid.
The departure of Hayden, just one ball after fellow opener Parthiv Patel was out for 30, did slow down things for Chennai, who at one stage were 106-0 after 10 overs, but they still managed to score 179-5 to set Royals a challenging target.
Entered Sri Lankan wizard Muralitharan to cause havoc and snap up three wickets, including the prized one of skipper Kevin Pietersen for a duck, and all the damage was inflicted at the expense of just 11 runs.
Bangalore were in trouble from the start, losing opener Praveen Kumar in the third ball of the innings and quickly fell behind the nine-run-an-over victory target.
At the end of 10 overs the team slipped to 56-5. There was no miraculous turnaround as the Royal Challengers were bundled out for a mere 87.
Kallis (24) finished as top scorer and opener Robin Uthappa and Dravid contributed 20 runs each as Bangalore slipped from top spot after the opening round to fifth while 2008 runners-up Chennai climbed two places to third.
Chennai Super Kings 179 for 5 (Hayden 65) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 87 (Murali 3-11) by 92 runs
Match No 6 - Gayle powers Kolkata to win in rain-hit tie
Chris Gayle hammered an explosive 44 not out to power Kolkata Knight Riders to an 11-run victory over Kings XI Punjab in a rain-hit match at Kingsmead, Durban.
The West Indies skipper smashed four sixes in his 26-ball knock as Kolkata raced to 79-1 off 9.2 overs in reply to their opponents’ 20-over total of 158-6 when the game was called off due to rain.
Kolkata, who were 11 runs ahead on the Duckworth-Lewis method, posted their first win in two games. Punjab lost their second consecutive match.
Left-handed Gayle put his team on course for victory when he put on 57 off just 33 balls for the opening wicket with New Zealander Brendon McCullum, who cracked two sixes in his 16-ball 21.
Punjab paid dearly for letting off Gayle early in the innings, with Karan Goel dropping an easy catch at mid-wicket off South African left-arm seamer Yusuf Abdulla.
Yuvraj Singh and Kumar Sangakkara (26) helped Punjab post a respectable total with a 56-run stand for the fourth wicket after a double-strike from Kolkata seamer Sourav Ganguly.
Skipper Yuvraj, who smashed six sixes in an over at this venue against England in the Twenty20 World Championships in 2007, top-scored with a 28-ball 38 with the help of two sixes.
Former India captain Ganguly ended Punjab’s early flourish with two wickets in his opening over, having pinch-hitter Irfan Pathan (32) caught at deep mid-wicket and removing Ravi Bopara (15) caught behind.
Yuvraj and Sangakkara then steadied the innings before Mahela Jayawardene cracked a 19-ball 31 not out to help his team cross the 150-mark.
Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 79 for 1 (Gayle 44*, McCullum 21) beat Kings XI Punjab 158 for 6 (Yuvraj 38, Pathan 32, Ganguly 2-24) by 11 runs by D/L method
Match No. 7 - Rain washes off Rajasthan-Mumbai game
Persistent rain forced abandonment of game no 7 between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals.
Not even a single ball could be played due to steady drizzle.
Match No 8 - Gilchrist charge takes Deccan to top of IPL
Skipper Adam Gilchrist blasted 71 off 45 balls as the Deccan Chargers went to the top of the table with a 24-run win over the Bangalore Royal Challengers in match no 8 at Newlands.
Opening batsman Gilchrist and Rohit Sharma (52) propelled the Deccan team to 184 for six in their 20 overs.
The Challengers could score only 160 for eight despite a classy 48 off 27 balls by Rahul Dravid, who became the tournament’s top scorer, and 50 off 30 balls by Virat Kohli.
Deccan, who finished bottom of the table in 2008, kept a perfect record in the 2009 edition and became the first team to win two matches - equalling their total haul in 14 matches last year.
Skipper Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs (11) put on 46 in 3.5 overs to get Deccan off to an ideal start after Gilchrist won the toss and batted on a good pitch in warm weather, which was in contrast to the conditions for the tournament’s opening double headers at Newlands a week ago.
Gilchrist slammed six fours and five sixes. He and Sharma put on 61 off 36 balls for the third wicket. Sharma also hit five sixes, including three in an over from Anil Kumble, as well as a four in his 30-ball innings.
Fast bowler Fidel Edwards yorked Jesse Ryder with the first ball of the Bangalore innings and the Challengers were in a hopeless position when they slid to 38 for three after 7.2 overs.
Scores:
20 overs Deccan Chargers 184 for 6 (Gilchrist 71, Rohit Sharma 52, Steyn 1-21) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 160 for 8 (Kohli 50, Dravid 48, Styris 3-32, RP Singh 2-17) by 24 runs
Match No. 9 - De Villiers shines as Daredevils win thriller
AB de Villiers won the battle of the master blasters against Matthew Hayden to give Delhi Daredevils a nine-run win over Chennai Super Kings in a thrilling contest at Kingsmead.
South African De Villiers rode his luck to finish unbeaten on 105 as Delhi made 189-5 in their 20 overs and Australian Hayden hit 57 as he triggered a heroic run chase that ended at 180-9 after a late collapse.
Victory maintained the 100 percent record of Delhi while Chennai suffered their second loss in three matches.
“I kept it simple, hit the ball and enjoyed myself. I really had to work hard for my first 50 as my timing was a bit off, but the runs flowed from then on,” De Villiers said after the first ton of the 59-match tournament.
Daredevils lost their openers inside the first two overs and needed a hero. Entered De Villiers to gradually subdue his opponents and hit six sixes and five fours in a 54-ball masterclass. He did have a moment of luck after reaching 50 when compatriot Albie Morkel was guilty of sloppy fielding at the boundary to drop a simple opportunity of sending De Villiers packing. Dilshan’s contribution was also a big factor for the Daredevils big score. The Sri Lankan looked in prime form before getting out for a superb half-century off just 27 balls.
Hayden made a quickfire 57 in a reply that was on track until former England skipper Andrew Flintoff was caught by substitute David Warner to leave Chennai on 156-5 and two last-over run-outs settled the outcome.
Scores:
20 overs Delhi Daredevils 189 for 5 (de Villiers 105*, Dilshan 50, Balaji 3-19) beat Chennai Super Kings (Hayden 57, Raina 41, Sangwan 3-28) by nine runs
Match No. 10 - Rajasthan win thriller via Super Over
Yusuf Pathan hammered 18 runs off four balls as the defending champions,Rajasthan Royals snatched victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders in a ‘super over’ after their match ended in a tie at Newlands.
Kolkata needed only seven to win off the last over of the normal match, bowled by teenaged left-arm fast bowler Kamran Khan.
After starting the over with a wide, Khan, 18, dismissed former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly for 46 with his fifth ball.
With two needed to win off the last ball, Ishant Sharma hit a fierce drive which was parried by Royals captain Shane Warne at covers. The batsmen ran one but Sharma was run out attempting the winning run.
Khan was entrusted with the ‘super over’ and was struck for three successive fours by Chris Gayle as the Knight Riders scored 15 for one, with Gayle caught off the last ball.
Sri Lankan mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis, who took two for 19 in four overs in the match, bowled the ‘super over’ for Kolkata but Pathan hit him for 6, 2, 6, 4.
Chasing a modest total of 150 for six, Kolkata twice seemed headed for victory. Gayle was in imperious form as he hit 41 off 33 balls before falling to Warne.
The pendulum swung to the Royals with 44 needed off 25 balls.
But Ganguly slammed a no-ball from Munaf Patel for six, then made use of the free hit off the next ball to thrash another six.
With the target reduced to 31 off 24 balls, Ganguly seemed set to take Kolkata home before chasing a wide ball from Khan to be caught behind.
Pathan, who top-scored with 42 in his team’s full innings, was named man of the match.
Scores:
20 overs Rajasthan Royals 150 for 6 (Pathan 42, Mascarenhas 27, Mendis 2-19) tied with Kolkata Knight Riders (Ganguly 46, Gayle 41, Kamran 3-18)
Super Over:
Kolkata - 15 runs (Gayle 13, McCullum 1*, extra-1)
Rajasthan - 18 of 4 balls (Pathan 18*)
