In the Rain interrupted match between Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils held at Feroz Shah Kotla (Delhi), the Kings XI Punjab were declared as the winning team by Duckworth-Lewis method. Punjab are now at the second place in the IPL points table with 14 points.

Delhi Daredevils won the toss and elected to bat. Gautham Gambhir scored 40 runs off 28 balls (7 boundaries). The team’s skipper Virendra Sehwag played an excellent Innings by scoring 51 runs off 26 balls (2 boundaries and 5 sixers). Due to the interruption of rain, the match was reduced to 11 overs for each Team. The Delhi Daredevils scored 118 runs for the fall of 4 wickets in 11 overs.

Chasing the target of 119 runs (in 11 overs), the Kings XI Punjab started their Innings. Shaun Marsh and James Hopes were dismissed for meager scores. The team’s skipper Yuvraj Singh scored a fast 23 runs off 8 balls (1 boundary and 3 sixers). Jayawardene  (36) and Pomersbach (25) made a good partnership and guided their team to victorious path. As the rain started interrupting the game once again, the Kings XI Punjab were declared as the winner under the Duckworth-Lewis method. In 8 overs, Punjab team had scored 94 runs for the fall of 3 wickets. Jayawardene was declared the Man of the Match.

Posted on May 18th, 2008 by Cricket
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Rajasthan Royals headed by Shane Warne defeated the Bangalore Royal Challengers by 65 runs and also secured a place in the IPL semi-finals. Bangalore Royal Challengers won the toss and elected to field first. Rajasthan Royals started their Innings thru their openers Graeme Smith and Swapnil Asnodkar. Asnodkar played a fine innings by scoring 50 runs off 44 balls (7 boundaries and 1 sixer). Graeme Smith stood unbeaten for a brilliant 75 runs off 49 balls (8 boundaries and 2 sixers). At the end of 20 overs, the Rajasthan Royals scored 197 runs for the fall of 1 wicket.

Chasing the huge total of 198 runs, the Bangalore Royal Challengers started their Innings with a poor start. Dravid was the only batsmen in their team who played well by scoring 75 runs off 36 balls (6 boundaries and 6 sixers) but his efforts ended up in vain.

At the end of 20 overs, the Bangalore Royal Challengers scored 132 runs for the fall of 9 wickets. The Rajasthan Royal won the match by 65 runs and Graeme Smith was declared the Man of the Match. Rajasthan Royals are now the leading team with 16 points in the IPL points table.

Posted on May 18th, 2008 by Cricket
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The Kolkatta Knight Riders’ batsmen were all beaten by the Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack. Most of the batsmen were dismissed for single digit score. Mumbai Indians marked a history in the IPL Cricket by winning the match in just 33 balls.

Mumbai Indians won the toss and chose to bowl first. The Kolkatta Knight Riders really had a nightmare since they lost their first wicket of Salman Butt (13 runs). The team’s skipper Saurav Ganguly was dismissed for a meager 15 runs and Agarkar also scored 15 runs. All other batsmen were dismissed for single digit scores. In 15.2 overs, the Kolkatta Knight Riders were all out and scored 67 runs which is the lowest ever total in the IPL Cricket.

Chasing the low total of 68 runs, the Mumbai Indians started their Innings. There was much expectation in this match about Sachin vs. Shoaib. Shoaib dominated the game and Tendulkar was dismissed for a duck which would have really frustrated his fans. Sanath Jayasuriya scored 48 runs off just 17 balls (6 boundaries and 3 sixers). In 5.3 overs (33 balls) the Mumbai Indians won the match by 8 wickets. Shaun Pollock was declared the Man of the Match.

Posted on May 17th, 2008 by Cricket
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Amit Mishra’s spell of 5 wickets including a hat-trick helped Delhi daredevils to dominate the game. This is the second hat-trick in the IPL tournament following the Chennai Super Kings’ Lakshmipathi Balaji.

The Deccan Chargers headed by stand-in skipper Adam Gilchrist won the toss and elected to field first. The Delhi Daredevils started their Innings thru their openers – Gambhir and Sehwag (team’s skipper). Sehwag was dismissed for a duck. Gambhir played an excellent knock of 79 runs off 48 balls (7 boundaries and 3 sixers). Dhawan played a brilliant unbeaten knock of 68 runs off 52 balls (8 boundaries). At the end of 20 overs, the Delhi Daredevils posted a total score of 194 runs for the fall of 4 wickets.

Chasing the challenging target of 195 runs, the Deccan Chargers started their Innings thru their openers Adam Gilchrist and Shahid Afridi who scored 14 and 33 runs respectively. Rohit Sharma scored 35 runs off 18 balls (3 boundaries and 2 sixers). Venugopal Rao scored 34 runs off 18 balls (3 boundaries and 2 sixers). In the last over, the Deccan Chargers required 15 runs to win. This is when Amit Mishra took his hat-trick wicket (Teja, Ojha and R.P. Singh). Deccan Chargers were able to score only 182 runs for the fall of 9 wickets at the end of 20 overs. Delhi Daredevils won the match by 12 runs. Amit Mishra was declared the Man of the Match.

Posted on May 16th, 2008 by Cricket
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Sanath Jayasuriya slammed the Chennai Super Kings bowling attack and led his team Mumbai Indians to victory. Sachin Tendulkar made his IPL debut in this match who was ruled out in earlier matches due to his groin injury.

Mumbai Indians won the toss and chose to field first. Chennai Super Kings started their Innings thru their openers Vidyut and Fleming who scored 16 and 26 runs respectively. Badrinath and Dhoni made a good partnership to increase the team’s score. Badrinath made a brilliant knock of 53 runs off 33 balls (7 boundaries and 2 sixers). The team’s skipper M.S. Dhoni made 43 runs off 35 balls (6 boundaries and 1 sixer). At the end of 20 overs, the Chennai Super Kings made 156 runs for the fall of 6 wickets.

Chasing the modest total of 157 runs, the Mumbai Indians started their Innings thru their world class batsmen – Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar. Jayasuriya was literally firing the bowling attack and showering sixers all over the ground. The Chennai Super Kings bowlers were clueless and the fielders were helpless to Jayasuriya’s amazing hits. He stood unbeaten for 114 runs off just 48 balls (9 boundaries and 11 sixers). Tendulkar was dismissed for 12. In 13.5 overs, the Mumbai Indians met their target. Sanath Jayasuriya was awarded the Man of the Match.

Posted on May 15th, 2008 by Cricket
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Shoaib Akhtar’s debut in IPL match was indeed impressive where he crashed the top batting order of the Delhi Daredevils and paved the way for his team’s victory. The Kolkatta Knight Riders defeated the Delhi Daredevils by 23 runs. Kolkatta has now won in 5 matches outta the 9 matches played so far. Delhi Daredevils have won 4 outta 9 matches played so far.

Kolkatta Knight Riders won the toss and chose to bat first. Salman Butt scored 48 runs off 44 balls. The team’s skipper Saurav Ganguly failed to play to his mark as he scored only 7 runs. David Hussey scored 31 runs. At the end of 20 over, the Kolkatta Knight Riders scored 133 runs for the fall of 6 wickets.

Chasing the modest target of 134 runs, the Delhi Daredevils started their Innings. Shoaib Akhtar in his opening 3 overs spell crashed the top order batsmen of Delhi Daredevils. He claimed the wickets of Gambhir (10), Sehwag (0), Ab de Villiers (7) and Tiwary (9). Dilshan and Mishra played to their best to reach the target but their efforts ended up in vain. In 17.5 overs, the Delhi Daredevils were all out for 110 runs. The Kolkatta Knight Riders won the match by 23 runs and Shoaib Akhtar was declared the man of the match.

Posted on May 14th, 2008 by Cricket
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Shaun Marsh led Kings XI Punjab to defeat the Bangalore Royal Challengers and also moved their team to the second place in the IPL points table. Kings XI Punjab have now won 6 matches in the 9 matches played so far and have 12 points in their belt. Bangalore Royal Challengers are certainly in dismal as they have lost 7 matches in the 9 matches played so far.

Bangalore Royal Challengers headed by Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to bat first. Mark Boucher scored 39 runs off 32 balls (4 boundaries and 1 sixer) which was the highest score in their team’s score card. Kohli and Misbah-ul-Haq scored 21 runs each. The team’s skipper Rahul Dravid scored 29 runs off 26 balls. At the end of 20 overs, the Bangalore Royal Challengers ended up scoring 143 runs for the fall of 8 wickets.

Chasing the target score of 144 runs, the Kings XI Punjab started their Innings and made a strong foundation. James Hopes scored 27 runs off 19 balls (3 sixers). Pomersbach scored a quick 34 runs off 24 balls (3 boundaries and 2 sixers). Shaun Marsh stood unbeaten at 74 runs off 51 balls (9 boundaries and 2 sixers) and made sure his team wins the match. In 15.4 overs, the Kings XI Punjab met their target for the fall of only 1 wicket. Shaun Marsh was declared the Man of the Match and Kings XI Punjab won by 9 wickets.

Posted on May 13th, 2008 by Cricket
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Shane Watson’s brilliant knock of 74 runs led Rajasthan Royals to defeat the Delhi Daredevils and maintain their team’s position at No.1 in the IPL points table. Rajasthan Royals have now won in 7 matches out of the 9 matches played so far. Delhi Daredevils have won 4 matches out of the 8 matches played by them.

Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field first. Delhi Daredevils started their Innings thru their openers – Gautham Gambhir and Virendra Sehwag who scored 31 and 17 runs respectively. Ab de Villiers scored 20 runs and Maharoof played a quick knock of 39 runs off just 16 balls (2 boundaries and 4 sixers). At the end of 20 overs, the Delhi Daredevils made a modest total of 156 runs for the fall of 7 wickets.

Chasing the modest target of 157 runs, the Rajasthan Royals started their Innings. The openers Yusuf Pathan and Graeme Smith scored 8 and 24 runs respectively. Shane Watson’s excellent innings of 74 runs off 40 balls (5 boundaries and 5 sixers) helped their team to reach the target score. At the crucial point of the game, there was a controversy when Shane Watson’s run-out appeal was rejected by the Umpire. Sehwag, the Delhi Dardevils’s skipper wanted the decision to be given by Third Umpire. The third umpire’s decision of run-out was favorable for the Delhi daredevils. However, the Rajasthan Royals won the match by 3 wickets and Shane Watson was declared the Man of the Match.

Posted on May 12th, 2008 by Cricket
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Saurav Ganguly, the prince of Kolkatta led his team to an all round performance victory by defeating Deccan Chargers, by 23 runs. Dada hasn’t proved his metal in the IPL series and has been getting out for cheap and moderate figures with average strike rate. But in the Match against Deccan Chargers one saw the vintage aggressive Saurav Ganguly who ripped apart the bowling attack of the Deccan Chargers.

The Knight Riders who batted first played upto their caliber with their captain Saurav Ganguly scoring a brilliant knock of 91 runs off 57 balls (11 boundaries and 5 sixers). He was supported well by David Hussey who scored his half-century (57 runs) in a classy way. At the end of 20 overs, Saurav’s boys scored a huge target of 204 runs.

In reply to such a huge target, IPL’s very powerful team – the Deccan Chargers backed by powerful hitters failed to a larger extent. Adam Gilchrist the stand-in skipper had brisk knock of 24 runs of 17 balls (5 boundaries) but failed to capitalize on the brisk knock. The local lad Venugopal Rao played a supportive knock (unbeaten 71 runs) and ensured his team reaches somewhere near the target score. On the other hand, Kolkatta Knight Riders’ bowled economically and restrained the run flow. At the end of 20 overs, the Deccan Chargers were restrained for 181 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. Kolkatta Knight Riders won by 23 runs and Saurav Ganguly was declared the Man of the Match for his all-round performance.

Posted on May 12th, 2008 by Cricket
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IPL is said to be a boon and an opportunity for budding and former players who are waiting to be reselected in the International squad. The match between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab was a perfect stage for Lakshmipathi Balaji to prove his talent. Once admired by Pakistan’s president Pervez Musharraf for his tremendous performance in Pakistan tour was overlooked by the selectors because of Balaji’s injury worries. Balaji declared himself match fit and bagged the IPL’s first hat-trick wicket and sent strong signals to the Indian Cricket Selectors.

Chennai Super Kings headed by M.S. Dhoni started their Innings and piled up 181 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. The opening batsmen failed to give a big boom to the team but the middle order stood tall and resisted the bowling attack of Kings XI Punjab and enriched the runs. Suresh Raina mostly compared with Sachin made a quick 26 runs off 17 balls (4 boundaries). Badrinath, the local lad and the team’s skipper Dhoni had a solid partnership and built a firm foundation for the team. Badrinath blasted 64 runs from 47 balls (6 boundaries and 3 sixers). The World Twenty-20 Champion M.S. Dhoni scored 60 runs outta 43 balls (2 boundaries and whopping 4 sixes). Kings XI Punjab’s bowling was fairly decent. Sreesanth bowled 4 overs, gave away 29 runs and took 2 major wickets.

In reply to this good total, Yuvi’s boys had a fairly good opening. Marsh and Hopes brought a meager hope for the team’s victory which was cut shot by the local lad and the comeback hero – Lakshmipathi Balaji. Balaji varied his pace and bowled lot of slower balls and managed to pick 5 wickets in 4 overs by giving away 24 runs. Pathan’s cameo Innings of 40 runs off 18 balls (3 boundaries and equal sixers) ended up in vain. The Punjab team ended their quota of 20 overs by scoring 163 runs for the fall of 9 wickets. Chennai Super Kings won the match by 18 runs and Lakshmipathi Balaji was declared the Man of the Match.

Posted on May 11th, 2008 by Cricket
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