1st Test: Strauss ton puts England on top on Day 2

London Andrew Strauss hit his first century in 26 innings to lead England to 259 for 3 against West Indies at stumps on day two of the first Test, surging into a lead of 16 on Friday. Strauss' unbeaten 121, which came from 249 balls with 19 boundaries, was jubilantly received by the Lord's crowd and put England in charge.
Jonathan Trott made 58, with six fours from 134 balls on a frustrating day for West Indies, for whom Marlon Samuels was the most effective bowler with 1 for 34. Earlier, West Indies was all out for 243 to the first ball of the day when Stuart Broad, who took a career-best 7 fro 72, dismissed debutant Shannon Gabriel to give England the best possible start. 
Broad's previous best performance was 6 for 46 against India at Trent Bridge in 2011. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was left stranded on his overnight score of 87 not out, after Broad had debutant Gabriel caught at second slip by Graeme Swann for a first-ball duck.

England advanced to 47 before Alastair Cook dragged a Kemar Roach ball onto his stumps and was bowled for 26. Strauss played the occasional ugly shot, but grew in confidence alongside Trott, who looked characteristically unflustered until he survived an lbw call by the slimmest of margins early in the afternoon session.
In the 25th over Trott was rapped on the pad by West Indies captain Darren Sammy. Umpire Aleem Dar ruled Trott not out, but Sammy asked for a referral, which showed that a fraction less than half the ball would have hit the stumps — meaning the decision couldn't be overturned.
England went half an hour after lunch without scoring a boundary, but Sammy then conceded 22 runs from successive overs as Strauss moved up a gear. Strauss passed 50 with his ninth four but nerves seemed to affect him in the evening session as he moved towards his century.

On 95 he had a double reprieve when he swished at a ball from Fidel Edwards and edged it straight to Chanderpaul, who dropped an easy chance just as umpire Dar was signalling a no-ball. West Indies got an urgently needed wicket when Sammy had Trott caught behind in the 64th over — ending a 147-run stand — but Strauss brought up his century, from 213 balls, when he cut Sammy through backward point.
Having failed to score a ton since November 2010 Strauss had been under increasing pressure from sections of the British media, but the admiration of England's fans and his own teammates was seldom in doubt. Strauss was given a standing ovation by the crowd and his colleagues on the dressing room balcony, an almost suffocating bear hug from his batting partner Kevin Pietersen, and he even received sporting handshakes from his opponents.
Pietersen was in punchy form for 32 but he was caught behind trying to cut Marlon Samuels in the 77th over, after a single from Strauss from the previous delivery had brought up the 50 partnership and taken England into the lead.
West Indies' frustration was compounded when Edwards pulled with an apparent leg injury after bowling just two deliveries with the new ball, but with the light fading play was immediately suspended and then abandoned for the day.



IPL 5: Deccan end Rajasthan hopes of playoff spot

An all-round performance helped the bottom-ranked Deccan Chargers to thrash Rajasthan Royals by five wickets and put them out of contention for the playoffs on Friday.
For Deccan Akshath Reddy top scored with 42 runs and with some valuable contributions from JP Duminy (24) and Shikhar Dhawan (26) in the middle overs. Although Rajasthan had some hope of defending their modest total of 126 after some quick wickets but Parthiv Patel and Ashish Reddy saw Deccan through without any further hiccups. Rajasthan’s Siddharth Trivedi took two wickets, while Johan Botha, Ajit Chandila and Stuart Binny chipped in with a wicket each.
Coming on for the chase, Deccan openers Dhawan and Reddy gave their team a great start from the first over itself. Going by the slow nature of the track, Dravid decided to start the proceedings with Chandila but the tall legspinner went for 11 runs which included a six and a four.

The runs kept coming thick and fast for Deccan as Rajasthan looked for their first breakthrough and that time came in the 9th over when Dhawan was dismissed by Botha for 26. But the wicket came tad too late for Rajasthan when Deccan were on course to an easy win with wickets in hand. But two quick wickets in the form of Reddy (42) and Cameron White (1) in successive overs brought Rajasthan back into the game.
These two wickets somehow applied brakes on their scoring rate and the wicket of Chris Lynn in the 16th over brightened Rajasthan’s chance of sneaking in a win with Deccan requiring 23 runs off 24 balls.
Earlier, Rajasthan skipper Rahul Dravid won the toss and opted to bat and this decision of his backfired as his team managed to put up a modest score of 126 for 8. The pitch had purchase for both spinners and the seamers and they made good use of the conditions.

In a crucial match like this where Rajasthan are fighting to stay alive for the playoff failed to read the pitch and kept losing wickets at regular intervals that hampered their chance of putting up a decent total on the board.
Dravid was the leading scorer with 39 off 36 balls, which included five hits to the fence while Owais Shah (28) and Ashok Menaria (20) made useful contribution. The Deccan spinners were getting grip and turn from the track, especially Amit Mishra (2 for 20) who scalped Shane Watson (13) in his first ball and returned to get rid of Stuart Binny (7) off two ripper of deliveries.
After getting a reprieve, Ajinkya Rahane (6) failed to capitalise as Dale Steyn (2 for 16) got the ball to swing away a bit to induce an edge of Rahane to the wicketkeeper. With regular wickets Deccan managed to keep Rajasthan under check and the visiting team was happy with singles and twos. With Dravid and Shah at the crease, Rajasthan still had hope but Dravid charged Manpreet Gony and slashed hard over point to hand an easy catch to the fielder.



England in awe of Chanderpaul's fight

London: Stuart Broad urged England to learn from the example of West Indies star Shivnarine Chanderpaul after the two men dominated the opening day's play in the first Test at Lord's here on Thursday. Fast bowling all-rounder Broad took 6 for 72 as West Indies closed on a total of 243 for 9 built upon 87 not out from Chanderpaul, officially the world's best Test batsman.
Broad's return meant he became only the seventh player in history to both take five wickets in a Test innings at Lord's and score a Test century at the ground - his Test-best knock of 169 against Pakistan was achieved at 'the home of cricket' two years ago.
Now Broad, whose current Test-best bowling innings return of 6 for 46 came at his Nottinghamshire home ground of Trent Bridge last year, could take seven wickets for the first time if he dismisses either Chanderpaul or debutant number 11 Shannon Gabriel on Friday. Broad is only the fifth Englishman to get his name on both Lord's batting and bowling honours boards, following in the path of Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff.

"To follow Fred (Flintoff) and Beefy (Botham) in the England dressing room is a huge honour but more importantly we got nine wickets on the first day," Broad, the 25-year-old son of former England opening batsman Chris, said.
"But we talked at the start that Lord's is never like that and it's a bit of a patience game. We aimed for seven wickets in the day. We probably didn't start as well as we could have done by the standards we set - certainly myself. I probably got driven too much - but that probably came from the wicket being a lot slower than we imagined, so we searched for a nick. As the wicket got a bit quicker, you could settle into a better length and to pick up nine, we are delighted but Shiv has played very well and we don't want him to get a hundred."
Left-hander Chanderpaul, just the 10th man in history to score 10,000 Test runs, has so far batted for over four hours, facing 175 balls with a dozen fours in a trademark display of obdurate defiance. "He plays it so late in swinging conditions," Broad said. "That's something we can learn as a batting group, although we have a great record here as a batting group. He's very hard to draw into a shot which is why he's No. 1 in the world...He gets to 20-30 without you really realising."

Adrian Barath's 42 was West Indies' second-top score on Thursday, and the 22-year-old opener - playing his first Test in England - was disappointed to have been caught in the slips off Broad shortly after lunch. "Unfortunately, I didn't carry on and get a bigger score," said Barath, 36 of whose runs Thursday came in boundaries. "I need to take it step by step and carry on to the second innings and help West Indies win the game."
Trinidad's Barath said he had tried to learn from Guyana great Chanderpaul. "He has talked about leaving the ball a bit later, picking the areas you are looking to score and having a lot of patience." Reflecting on Chanderpaul's innings, Barath added: "It was fabulous to look at. While he is playing himself in, he still knocks the ball around and picks up singles, twos and so; and before you know it, he is 20 or 30.
"That is the sort of approach young guys have to look at and learn. Ninety per cent of his game is mental. He does not want to come and blast the bowling around. It is waiting for the deliveries and having the patience. He has the right set-up to make runs in these conditions. Everyone can take a page out of his book."



IPL 5: Gayle ton guides RCB to easy win vs DD

Riding on Chris Gayle’s unbeaten knock of 128 off 62 balls and then a brilliant bowling performance helped Royal Challengers Bangalore to beat Delhi Daredevils by 21 runs to keep their playoff hopes alive on Thursday.
The Feroz Shah Kotla crowd got the worth of their money by some blazing batting by both sides. Ross Taylor and Andre Russell’s late surge gave Delhi a chance for a win, but Bangalore well led by Virat Kohli managed to pick up wickets at regular intervals to leave them at 194 for 9. For Bangalore, Zaheer Khan took 3 for 38, Prasanth Parameswaran claimed 3 for 30 and Vinay Kumar chipped in with 2 for 35.
Chasing a huge total of 216, Delhi’s hope rested on David Warner (15), who started with two successive boundaries off Tillakaratne Dilshan, but in the second over Zaheer had the better of him. Warner trying to pull one short delivery off Zaheer loses his bat while playing the shot and the ball balloons to mid-off.

After that youngster Unmukt Chand (18) showed some spark by hitting two fours and a six, but then perished in the fifth over to Vinay Kumar. However, Bangalore continued to take wickets at regular intervals to keep Delhi on the back foot in their chase.
Coming on to bowl his first over, left-arm pace bowler Parameswaran induces an edge off Jayawardene (9) and AB de Villiers does the rest. When Taylor arrived at the crease he got into action straightaway and with Venugopal Rao tried to repair the innings. But Rao (36) couldn’t resist a tossed up ball from Muttiah Muralitharan and played straight down the throat of Harshal Patel at long-off.
With Taylor going ballistic in the middle overs that definitely gave Bangalore some scare, who made a quick-fire 55 off 25 balls which included seven fours and two sixes. Until Taylor was out there in the middle, Delhi sensed an outside chance of sneaking in a win but the fall of Taylor in the 17th over ended all hopes.

Earlier, Mahela Jayawardene made the mistake by asking Bangalore to bat and from then it was all Gayle show. The big West Indian batsman was in different mood at Kotla as he slammed an unbeaten 128 of 62 balls which was studded with 13 sixes and seven fours to take the visiting team to a mammoth 215 for 1.
Jayawardene who was in charge of Delhi in the absence of Virender Sehwag was at his wit’s end how to control Gayle. At the start, Gayle took some time to settle down and played 17 balls for his first 10 runs, but after that he got 90 in just 35 balls.
With Kohli (73 not out), Gayle put up a 204-run stand to go into the record books as the highest partnership in this season of IPL. Kohli looked in great touch and his unbeaten knock included 10 fours and one six.
All the Delhi bowlers went for runs and they surely missed the services of Morne Morkel, who was rested. Varun Aaron was the only successful bowler for Delhi, who claimed the lone wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan (10) caught at mid-on by Irfan Pathan.
Delhi failed to put on brakes on Gayle whirlwind, as the left-handed batsman scored three sixes off Pathan and Pawan Negi, as Bangalore plundered 78 runs in the last five overs.




IPL 5: Punjab dismiss Chennai by 6 wickets to stay afloat

Returning after a long lay-off, Adam Gilchrist led from the front to take Kings XI Punjab to a comfortable six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings at the HPCA Stadium on Thursday. Punjab’s eighth victory in 15 matches kept alive their hopes of making the IPL play-offs this season, while Chennai, having played all their matches and finished on 17 points, stay fourth in the standings but will now have to depend on other results going their way to make it through.
A hamstring injury had kept out Gilchrist for the most part of this tournament, but he showed no signs of rustiness in his unbeaten 64 as Punjab chased 121 with 21 balls to spare. Together with Mandeep Singh, the Australian got the hosts off to a brisk start, with fifty runs up in the seventh over itself. Though Mandeep was then bowled by Albie Morkel for 24 and Dwayne Bravo – the only Chennai batsman to make a substantial contribution earlier – got Nitin Saini and David Hussey out cheaply soon after, the total was too little to allow any pressure to build on Punjab.

The 40-year-old Gilchrist, meanwhile, rolled back the years and Yo Mahesh in particular suffered, going for 22 runs in the 15th over. He thrashed Mahesh for two sixes over square leg and two more fours – over fine leg and then over mid-off – and from then on, the game as a contest was over, Azhar Mahmood finishing things off with a boundary off Morkel to also improve his side’s run-rate somewhat.
Earlier, Punjab’s pacers repaid the faith put in them by Gilchrist, who sent in Chennai to bat on a green pitch in overcast conditions in Dharamsala. Praveen Kumar made full use of the swing on offer, and dismissed both openers – Murali Vijay (10) and Michael Hussey (7) – in consecutive overs, both edging simple catches behind to the wicketkeeper. He could have had a third one as well, but Piyush Chawla put down a simple catch at slip off Suresh Raina with Chennai struggling at 25 for 2 at the end of the Powerplay overs, and Kumar finished with still impressive figures of 2 for 18.

Briefly, it looked as if Punjab might have to pay a high price for the dropped catch, with Raina launching two sixes off Mahmood soon after. However, he was gone two deliveries later, Gilchrist taking another easy catch after Raina needlessly chased a wide delivery and only managed a thick outside edge. And when captain MS Dhoni was caught at third man by Saini off Parvinder Awana, Chennai were left in dire straits at 46 for 4 at the end of the 11th over.
Bravo, however, fought back with a gritty 43-ball 48, picking Chawla for 12 runs off his only over, and his 32-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (13) and then a 34-run partnership with Morkel (14) – the biggest of the innings – ensured Chennai reached a total that at least gave their bowlers something to defend. Although David Hussey was smashed for two consecutive sixes by Bravo and Mahmood gave away a four and a six to Morkel in the 18th, Awana (2 for 12) and Ryan Harris (1 for 24) did well to keep Chennai to 120 for 7, a total their batsmen eventually chased without much fuss.



IPL 5: KKR close in on playoffs with win over MI

Kolkata Knight Riders put one foot in IPL 5 playoffs with a 32-run win over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. It was their ninth win in 15 matches and took them to the second spot in the table ahead of Mumbai, who despite the loss can advance to the next stage if they win their last game against Rajasthan Royals on May 20.

Chasing 141 to win, Mumbai openers Herschelle Gibbs and Sachin Tendulkar got off to a very slow start before the former was sent back by Iqbal Abdulla for 13 in the sixth over with only 26 runs on the board. Karthik joined Tendulkar but the scoring rate remained a concern with both scoffing a lot of balls.
Tendulkar however played a few delightful strokes during his innings of 27 off 24 balls, one upper cut in particular that sailed over the wicketkeeper’s head for a six. Just when he was getting ready to cut loose, West Indian spinner Sunil Narine cleaned him up in the 11th over with an unplayable off-break. Karthik (21 off 26 balls) followed suit two overs later with just 66 runs on the board. Last-match hero Ambati Rayudu took on an aggressive approach straight away with the required run-rate creeping up but he could not contribute much and fell for 11.


Jacques Kallis turned the match absolutely in Kolkata’s favour with back-to-back wickets of the dangerous Kieron Pollard (8) and Dwayne Smith (0) in the 17th over - the visitors still needing 44 to win. Narine soon disposed of Harbhajan Singh and Rohit Sharma to put them out of the contest. Last year's runners-up folded for 108 in the 20th over with Narine returning with figures of 4 for 15.

Earlier, after being put into bat, KKR started their innings on the wrong foot with Brendon McCullum (1) and Kallis (0) back in the hut inside two overs. RP Singh accounted for both batsmen on back-to-back deliveries in the second over of the innings. The Kiwi was trapped lbw, while the South African allrounder was bowled neck and crop. Gambhir (27) kept on playing some good shots at the other end but was out before long, with Pollard getting through his defences with only 44 runs on the board.

Manoj Tiwary and Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan then began the repair work and added 45 runs for the fourth wicket to bring some semblance of normalcy to the Kolkata innings. Tiwary did the bulk of the scoring in the partnership, but the visitors gained the upper hand again with the departure of both batsmen in the space of five balls. Smith cleaned up Shakib for 13, while Tiwary holed out to Lasith Malinga off the bowling of Munaf Patel after scoring 41.

Next batsman Debabrata Das did his team no good as he ran himself out for 2. Yusuf Pathan remained unbeaten on 21 and with his 29-run stand with Rajat Bhatia (12), he ensured the hosts got to a fighting 140 for 7 on a pitch conducive to spinners.

IPL 5: Delhi beat Punjab to seal playoff berth

Mahela Jayawardene's scored a match-winning 56 to help Delhi Daredevils beat Kings XI Punjab in the 64th match of the Indian Premier League at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi. Delhi managed to reach the target with an over to spare as they consolidated their position at the top of the table with 20 points and become the first team to seal the playoff berth.

Parvinder Awana (3 for 22) was exceptional with the ball for visitors, especially early on, when they had slumped to 37 for 4, but Naman Ojha (34 off 29) and Irfan Pathan (19 off 10) provided enough support to help Jayawardene confirm Delhi's place in the last four.
This was after the DD top-order failed once again as both Virender Sehwag (9) and David Warner (14) promised a lot of fireworks as 21 runs came off the first two overs but Praveen Kumar gave Punjab early breakthrough in the third over when he dismissed David Warner (14). But Praveen Kumar gave Punjab breakthrough in the third over when he dismissed David Warner.


Soon Awana also struck with the very first ball to dismiss Sehwag in the fourth over as the hosts were reduced to 28 for 2. Then Awana struck twice in the sixth over to dismiss Ross Taylor (0) and Venugopal Rao (7). Awana's effort rocked Delhi run chase. But the gritty Sri Lankan batsman consolidated Delhi's innings as he added 58 runs for the fifth wicket with Naman Ojha (34).

Piyush Chawla dismissed Naman Ojha in the the fourteenth over to reduce Delhi to 95 for 5. But Jayawardene and Pathan added 45 runs for the sixth wicket to help the home team clinch a superb victory.

Earlier, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron produced a fantastic bowling effort for Delhi as they restricted Punjab to a modest 138 for 8. Yadav (3 for 21) and Aaron (2 for 19) shared five wickets between them, while the fielders took some sharp catches as well as inflicting two run-outs.

Punjab's skipper David Hussey top-scored for the visitors with an unbeaten 40 off 35 balls, but he lacked any real support from his teammates. There were no significant partnership as Hussey was the only batsmen trying to take the attack back to the opposition.


Opting to bat first, Punjab were dealt an early blow after Shaun Marsh fell in the fourth over for 13. He tried to flick Aaron on the leg side and instead sent a fine edge to wicketkeeper Naman Ojha. Mandeep Singh (21) hit a few streaky boundaries but he soon fell to Aaron as he was smartly caught by Sehwag.

Punjab were then dealt another blow as Nitin Saini (15) took a long walk back to the pavilion as he edged a ball that moved away from Yadav to Sehwag at first slip. Punjab were struggling at 54 for 3 at this stage. David Miller (4) was then run out by a Pawan Negi direct hit to leave Punjab on 63 for 4 at the halfway stage.

Hussey and Azhar Mahmood (9) tried to do a repair job, but all went in vain as Umesh send back Mahmood courtesy of a stunning catch at wide long-off by Irfan Pathan. Last match's hero Gurkeerat Singh Ahluwalia (8) hit two boundaries but then a classical left-arm spinner's delivery from Negi got better of him. Piyush Chawla (10) helped the Kings past 100 in a 29-run stand with Hussey, but after he fell, the visitors battled and eventually set 139 for victory.

IPL 5: Bravo's last-ball six pulls CSK through

Dwayne Bravo struck a six from the final delivery as the Chennai Super Kings kept alive their play-off hopes in the Indian Premier League with a tense five-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday. The West Indian allrounder struck Rajat Bhatia over the long-on fence. Chasing a modest score of 159, openers got Chennai off to a flying start as Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay stitched 97-run opening stand.

Mystery spinner Sunil Narine then struck twice in the tenth over to end the Hussey-Vijay partnership. Narine double-strike helped Kolkata reduce Chennai to 97 for 2 in 9.4 overs. Soon a terrible mix-up saw Suresh Raina perish for eight. Faf du Plessis and MS Dhoni then got down to the task of guiding Chennai to victory. Dhoni (28 off 21) set up the match nicely, taking 18 runs from the penultimate over bowled by Marchant de Lange

But the captain fell off the second ball in the last over, with just three coming from the next four, before Bravo's last-ball maximum stunned the home crowd into silence.


Earlier, Chennai bowlers put on a inspired show to restrict Kolkata for 158 for 6. Put into bat, Gautam Gambhir struck an aggressive half-century but then watched his team falter thanks to some brilliant bowling by Chennai bowlers. Gambhir blasted 62 off just 43 deliveries and put on a 99 run opening partnership with Brendon McCullum (37 off 29).

From 99 for no loss in the 12th over, the KKR were reduced to 128 for 5 in the 18th over as Jacques Kallis (4), Manoj Tiwary (12) and Yusuf Pathan (11) failed to make any impact. McCullum was the first to go courtesy of a needless run out. Then in the very next over Shahdab Jakati got one to slip one through Gambhir's defence to have his stumps castled.


Kallis (4) fell attempting to reverse-sweep to Jakati, while Pathan started explosively for a huge six over long-on but his run of woeful form continued as he mistimed a delivery in the very next over as he fell to R Ashwin. Soon Tiwary was caught in the deep off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja. The hosts were struggling at 128 for 5 at that stage.

In the end, late charge by Debabrata Das (19 not out off 10 balls) make sure that the hosts set a competitive target for the defending champions. Das hit a six and two fours in his late blast.

IPL 5: Rayudu, Pollard snatch victory from RCB

In a nail-biting finish, Mumbai Indians beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Despite losing half the side for just 51, Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard held their nerve to chase down 172-run target and snatch a sensational victory in the last over.

Chasing 172 to win, Mumbai were off to a disastrous start as as Zaheer Khan dismissed Sachin Tendulkar for a duck in the first over. In the second over, Gibbs was sent back following a brilliant piece of fielding by KP Appanna with scoreboard reading 4 for 2. Rohit was then dismissed for five in the fourth over and Mumbai were tottering at 19 for 3. Mumbai

wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik showed early signs of aggression but Muttiah Muralitharan had him caught at the fine-leg boundary for 16. Harshal Patel gave Mumbai fifth blow in the form of Dwayne Smith just after the visitors crossed 50-mark.

Rayudu and Pollard started constructing a fighting partnership and revived hopes of a Mumbai victory. The duo went berserk in the middle and started hitting the bowlers all around the park. Mumbai needed 57 for a win from the last four over. Zaheer bowled went for 16 in the 17th over as the Mumbai duo started to up the ante. In the next over of Vinay Kumar, Rayudu smashed two sixes and a boundary to turn the equation in favour of Mumbai.


The duo hit nine runs in the penultimate over off Zaheer, leaving Mumbai to score 14 in last over. Pollard then smashed Gayle for a six and two fours to seal the match for Mumbai.

Earlier, Mayank Agarwal's 64 off 30 balls powered the Royal Challengers Bangalore to 171 for 6. Rain delayed the start of play by 50 minutes and left the pitch a touch sluggish, but Agarwal rose to the occasion to strike his highest Twenty20 score.

Put into bat, Bangalore's hopes of a good start were jolted when Chris Gayle was bowled by Munaf Patel in the third over for six runs. Virat Kohli soon followed Gayle as he was run out after being involved in a mix-up with Tillakaratne Dilshan. At that stage Bangalore were 11 for 2. Saurabh Tiwary then Bangalore recover from a poor start before being dismissed for 21.

Suddenly, the hosts were in trouble at 47 for 3 by the seventh over. Dilshan and AB de Villiers had a brief partnership until the South African was dismissed by Kieron Pollard in the 12th over with the scoreboard reading 87 for 4. Agarwal's arrival at the crease up the ante for RCB and shared a crucial stand with Dilshan. The crucial stand of 46 ended when RP Singh bowled Dilshan for 47 in the 18th over.

Agarwal then took Malinga to the cleaners, collecting 13 runs in the penultimate over. He then went berserk as he took Munaf Patel to the cleaners in the 20th over. Agarwal stroked two sixes and two fours in a calculated assault in the last over as RCB picked up 24 runs in the last over.

IPL 5: Chennai thrash table-toppers Delhi

Chennai Super Kings bowlers exposed the vulnerability of the Delhi Daredevils' top-order as the defending champions thrashed the current table toppers by nine wickets in an Indian Premier League match, here on Saturday. With this Chennai moved to fourth on the points table of the IPL.

Chasing 115-run target, Chennai Super Kings lost Michael Hussey (38) after he put on a 75-run opening stand with Murali Vijay. From there, Vijay and Suresh Raina guided the hosts to an easy victory and finished the match well within 16th over.

Irfan Pathan struck in the eleventh over to give Delhi a crucial breakthrough but it seem too little too late. Hussey hit a six and five boundaries in his quick 32-ball innings as he laid a solid platform for the hosts to win the match comfortably.

Earlier, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to bowl first after winning the toss enjoyed great success as the Delhi were restricted to a modest total of 114 for 5. Ben Hifenhaus snaffled 3 for 27 and also received great support from Albie Morkel (1 for 15) and R Ashiwn (1 for 17) to put the skids on the home side.


Put into bat, Delhi lost Virender Sehwag (4), last match's centurion David Warner (8) and Naman Ojha (3) early thanks to brilliant bowling by Hilfenhaus. In another couple of deliveries, it was four down with Mahela Jayawardene (8) also back in the dug-out courtesy Albie Morkel. Delhi were tottering at 24 for 4 in just six overs.

Delhi Daredevils had to rebuild the innings from there, and Yogesh Nagar (43 not out) chalked up a crucial stand of 48 with Venugopal Rao (27). But the going was slow, and the Delhi side had to content themselves with adding only 42 more runs in their last seven overs. Venugopal did try his bit as he lofted Ravindra Jadeja for a straight six --- the first of the match in the ninth over. The duo mainly played in singles and doubles but boundaries were hard to come by.

However a brilliant piece of work by Albie at short cover saw the back of Venu and it slowed things down further. Irfan Pathan (13 not out) hung around with Nagar to help Delhi post 115 on board.

IPL 5: Rohit's hundred makes Mumbai Indians No. 3

Rohit Sharma hammered a whirlwind century as the Mumbai Indians beat the Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs at Eden Gardens in their Indian Premier League match on Saturday. Chasing a mammoth total of 183, the hosts managed 155 for 4 in their quota of overs.

Kolkata's innings got off to a disastrous start when they lost captain Gautam Gambhir and Manvinder Bisla in the first two overs. Munaf Patel and Pragyan Ojha dismissed Gambhir and Bisla respectively to give KKR early jitters. Jacques Kallis and Manoj Tiwary then got down to rebuilding the with a half-century stand.
Then, Kolkata lost their third wicket in the form of Tiwary (27) when Kieron Pollard scalped for him. Then Kallis and Yusuf Pathan continued to push KKR towards the target but, with the increasing run-rate defeat looked inevitable. The duo's 91-run stand for the fourth wicket was not enough for Kolkata to their seventh consecutive victory in the tournament.

Earlier, Rohit racked up a quickfire ton and Herschelle Gibbs a half-century as the Mumbai Indians reached a formidable total of 182 for 1. Rohit scored 60-ball unbeaten 109 which included twelve boundaries and five sixes. He was ably supported by Gibbs who notched a 58-ball 66. The duo also added 167 off 106 deliveries for the second wicket.


Opting to bat, Mumbai recovered brilliantly after the early loss of Sachin Tendulkar with Sharma in murderous mood while Gibbs made a fine debut in Mumbai colours. Tendulkar was drawn forward to drive, but the left-arm spinner Shakib al-Hasan managed to get enough away movement from a quicker delivery to beat the bat and wicketkeeper Manvinder Bisla had the bails off in a flash.

But the mighty blow hardly affected the Mumbai with Gibbs and Sharma taking charge of the proceedings. Gibbs smashed three beautiful boundaries off Brett Lee's first over, and Rohit quickly marked himself as the star of the show. He hit Shakib for two fours and a six in his third over as Mumbai reached 50 in 6.1 overs. Sharma notched his half-century in 29 balls and MI past the 100-mark in just 12 overs.

The duo were also sensible in their approach as they negotiated mystery spinner Sunil Narine watchfully while attacking the other bowlers. Sharma brought on his maiden IPL century off just 52 balls. Gibbs went to his fifty, off 48 deliveries, off the next delivery as Mumbai went to 156 for 1 after 17 overs. But they managed to score just 26 runs off the last three overs as Lee and Kallis conceded just 12 runs in the last two overs.

IPL 5: Bangalore thrash Pune by 35 runs

Superb batting by Chris Gayle and disciplined bowling gave the Royal Challengers Bangalore a 35-run victory over the Pune Warriors India in their Indian Premier League match at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium on Friday. Chasing 174 to win, Pune's pursuit was effectively doomed from the start. Zaheer Khan struck twice in one over, first ge got better off 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 skipper Michael Clarke (13) yet again came a cropper. Robin Uthappa's 38 and Anustup Majumdar's 31 in the middle order kept their side in the hunt but once the duo departed it was just a formality. Steven Smith's unbeaten 24 did nothing more than delay the inevitable. R Vinay Kumar (3 for 32), Muttiah Muralitharan (2 for 16) and Zaheer (2 for 21) all contributed in Pune's rout by striking intermittently.

While Bangalore are now placed third in the table with 15 points, the Warriors slumped to their seventh straight defeat and continue to languish at number eight.


Earlier, Chris Gayle unfurled a whirlwind half-century as Bangalore posted 173 for 3. Gayle hammered 57 off 31 balls to take Bangalore to 80 for 1 in the ninth over but, despite Tillakaratne Dilshan's 53, the visitors faded away in the second half of their innings. 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.

Sri Lankan paceman Angelo Mathews was the most economical and successful bowler as he gave away just 14 runs in his three overs. Mathews brought relief for the hosts when he had Gayle caught at long-on, where Manish Pandey took a simple catch. RCB still maintained a good run-rate and were 88 for 1 at half-way stage.

But skipper Virat Kohli under-performed again as he was caught off the leading at short-cover off legspinner Rahul Sharma for just 9 and Dilshan eventually fell for 53 as he was run out. Once Dilshan departed, Tiwary hit some lusty blows towards the end, finishing with 36 not out off 30 balls. AB 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.

IPL 5: CSK beat RR to remain in playoffs hunt

With 43 runs needed to win from the final four overs, Albie Morkel and Anirudha Srikkanth played some sensational shots to pull the match from under the noses of Rajasthan Royals to earn Chennai Super Kings a much needed four-wicket win with 11 balls to spare.

Chasing 127-run target, Chennai lost wickets at regular intervals and looked in trouble as they were tottering at 84 for 6 at one stage. However, Anirudha and Albie changed the gear for the visitors and tore apart the Australian duo of Shane Watson and Shaun Tait to notch up the required runs in 18.1 overs. By virtue of this win, CSK moved up to the fourth position in the standings with 13 points from as many games, while Rajasthan have slipped to the sixth spot with 12 points from 13 games.
Chennai lost opener Vijay for nought in the very first over. Suresh Raina (23 off 17) played a cameo before he was caught by Ajinkya Rahane off Pankaj Singh. Once Raina departed, Rajasthan looked to claw back into the match with quick wickets. Needing 30 off the last three overs, Morkel and Anirudha scored identical six-ball 18 and stitched undefeated 43 runs for the seventh wicket to guide CSK to the vital win.


Earlier, a brilliant opening spell from Ben Hilfenhaus proved key as Chennai restricted the Rajasthan to 126 for 6. Hilfenhaus scalped two vital wickets of Rajasthan skipper Rahul Dravid and Shane Watson early during his breathtaking opening spell of four overs which yielded just eight runs.

Put into bat, Rajasthan's innings was halted by rain just one ball into the match. There were 55 minutes lost due to on-off drizzle. Once they did get going, only one delivery was possible, before the rain returned and once play resumed, Hilfenhaus struck to remove captain Dravid, miscuing a pull to Michael Hussey at mid-off.

Then Watson was brilliantly caught by a diving R Ashwin at the third-man boundary as the batsman went for a huge heave over square-leg only to get a leading edge. Ajinkya Rahane, dropped on 14 by Suresh Raina atfirst slip, lost his patience after facing 22 deliveries and top-edged Mahesh to Ashwin at mid-on for 17. Rajasthan slipped to 43 for 3 in the ninth over.

Stuart Binny, however, tried to force a comeback with a fierce counter-attack and thrashed Dwayne Bravo for two boundaries and a six to pick up 18 runs off his opening over. But Binny (27) then fell when he pulled Mahesh to Raina at short midwicket, before Johan Botha (12) and Hodge combined for a 32-run fifth-wicket stand. For Rajasthan, Hilfenhaus and Yo Mahesh bagged two wickets each.

IPL 5: Warner ton buries Deccan Chargers

Hyderabad: David Warner scored a brilliant ton and was involved in a record second wicket stand for Delhi Daredevils (189 off 100) to smash the Deccan Chargers all over the park as Delhi chased down Deccan's total in 16.4 overs. Naman Ojha also found his form back as he smashed the first half-century of the season.

Chasing 188-run target, Delhi got off to a worst possible start as they lost Virender Sehwag in the very first over with just four on the board. Warner and Ojha then took the attack to the opposition. Warner powered Delhi past 100 in just nine overs to set the tone. Warner, who smashed seven fours and three sixes in his quick-fire fifty, added unbeaten 100 runs stand with Naman Ojha in just 55 balls to put Delhi on top. The duo then went on to add a record 189 runs for the second wicket.

Warner lathered as many as seven sixes and ten boundaries to remain unbeaten on 109, which came from just 54 balls. Ojha, who had mixed success with the bat this IPL season, chipped in with a fluent 64 off 46 balls, which included five sixes and two boundaries.


Earlier, Cameron White and Shikhar Dhawan each hammered a brisk half-century to take the Deccan Chargers to a formidable total of 187 for 4. Dhawan scorched to 84 off 49 balls with his dashing innings that included nine boundaries and five sixes while White was equally as effective as he bludgeoned his way to 65 off 40 deliveries as the pair put on 126 runs for the third wicket off just 11.4 overs.

Opting to bat first, Dhawan and Daniel Harris (19) gave Deccan a soldi start as the duo dealt in fours right from the beginning but soon Deccan were reeling at 33 for 2. Morne Morkel made the initial breakthrough when he had Daniel Harris caught as mid-off. First down Kumar Sangakkara was also back into the hut quickly after his miscued pull off Varon Aaron ended up in the safe hands of Shahbaz Nadeem at short mid-wicket.

Then, Dhawan and White then joined hands and brought up the fifty in eight overs. Dhawan notched up 37-ball fifty to lead Deccan innings that was studded with four fours and four sixes. It was raining boundaries as Dhawan and White hammered boundaries all over the park which suddenly turned the momentum in Deccan way. Duo took DC past 100 runs in 13 overs with their powerful batting display.

The 26-year-old Dhawan's fine innings was finally ended when he was run out at the keeper's end attempting a second run thanks to a superb direct hit from Shabaz Nadeem at fine-leg. White continued on his merry way and reached his half-century off 33 balls but was dismissed in the final over. JP Duminy ended the innings with a flourish as he ended not out on 13 off nine balls.

IPL 5: RCB ride on Gayle's blitz to hammer MI

Mumbai: Chris Gayle's powerful hitting helped Royal Challengers Bangalore crush Mumbai Indians by nine wickets in the 54th Indian Premier League match season five at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Gayle scored 82 off 59 balls and along with Virat Kohli (36 off 25) ensured that RCB won with 2 overs to spare. The emphatic win takes RCB to fourth position in the points table while Mumbai Indians occupy the third spot.

Chasing 142 runs to win, Gayle remained quite in the early part but exploded later on, hitting five fours and six sixes. Gayle was though lucky early in his innings as he was dropped by Dwayne Smith off the bowling of R P Singh when he was on 21.
Skipper Kohli, remained not out on 36 while Tillakaratne Dilshan, with whom Gayle shared 48 runs for the first wicket, scored 19. Gayle and Kohli ensured the visitors' victory with an unbeaten second wicket partnership of 94 runs in just 58 balls. Gayle's 59-ball blitz was his fourth 80-plus knock this IPL season. Gayle reached his fifty with a huge six of Pragyan Ojha in the 11th over. He struck Ojha for three successive sixes in that over.


Earlier, Bangalore bowlers dominated in the first innings as they restricted the Mumbai Indians to 141 for 6 in their quota of overs. Opting to bowl first, Bangalore struck two early blows to Mumbai as Vinay Kumar got rid of James Franklin and Rohit Sharma in the second over of the innings with scored board reading 2 for 2.

Dinesh Karthik then joined Sachin Tendulkar in the middle and the duo then tried to stabilise the batting as Tendulkar, who hit four fours in his knock shared 39 runs with Karthik. But Tendulkar's knock of 24 off 27 balls came to an end when he tried to pull Harshal from outside off stump and could only sky a return catch to the 21-year-old. Mumbai were tottering at 41 for 3 in the ninth over.

But 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. Soon Karthik had to take long walk back to the pavilion as he was dismissed by Muttiah Muralitharan in the sixteenth over after making valiant 44 runs. Hero of the last match, Dwayne Smith was sent back in the next delivery as he gave a catch to Vinay Kumar and Mumbai were in deep trouble at 100 for 6.

But from there Kieron Pollard (21 not out) hammered two sixes in the final over of the innings. He shared an unbroken stand of 41 in 4.1 overs with Harbhajan Singh (20 not out) to help Mumbai Indians post a respectable total of 141 on the board.

IPL 5: Punjab thrash listless Deccan by 25 runs


Hyderabad: An all-round show helped Kings XI Punjab to thrash listless Deccan Chargers by 25 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Tuesday.
Deccan were left stranded at 145 for 8 after the completion of 20 overs. There was some fight back offered by Akshath Reddy (24) and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (19), but not enough to take them through. For Punjab - Praveen Kumar, David Hussey and Parvinder Awana claimed two wickets each.

The run-chase for Deccan didn’t get off to a great start as Punjab struck in the second over to remove the in-form Shikhar Dhawan (8) cheaply caught at first slip off Praveen. In the fifth over, Awana got the better of Parthiv Patel, who has been quite inconsistent this season. After scoring a six and four in the same over, Awana made a great comeback to clean up Patel for 17 off 13 balls.
With Daniel Harris still at the crease and Cameron White joining him at the middle and seemed to do some repair work, but David Hussey had other plans. In his first over, Hussey scalped Harris first and then White to reduce Deccan to 72 for 4. Deccan were looking down the barrel and expected their captain to do a rescue act, but Kumar Sangakkara (4) fell in the very next over. The Deccan skipper got a gem of a ball going away a bit that took the edge and was taken beautifully by wicketkeeper Nitin Saini diving to his left. 

Earlier, Mandeep Singh smashed a 48-ball 75 to help Punjab post a dominating 170 for 5 after put into to bat first. The young opener continued with his good run and scored eight fours and three sixes to set the tone for his team at the start. Moreover, Mandeep stitched in 55 runs for the opening wicket with Shaun Marsh.
However, Marsh (22) looked in good touch but was not able to capitalise on the start and was bowled while stepping out to Dhawan off a flighted delivery. Soon after Saini fell to leave Punjab at 58 for 2 in 7.4 overs. But these wickets didn’t deter Mandeep and he kept the scoring rate going along with David Hussey, who hit one six and a four in his 16 runs off equal number of balls.
When Punjab were going steady at 130 in 15 overs, Ashish Reddy got rid of Mandeep when he had his off-stump pegged back while the opener was looking for a big slog. While Azhar Mahmood played a handy nine-ball 14 which included two hits to the boundary before getting run out in the 17th over. But David Miller’s late surge of 28 runs at the end helped Punjab to a big total. For Deccan, Ashish took two wickets while Dhawan and Veer Pratap Singh chipped in with one wicket each.

IPL 5: Watson powers Rajasthan to big win over Pune


Pune: Riding on a splendid unbeaten 90 from Shane Watson, Rajasthan Royals notched up a seven-wicket win over Pune Warriors India with 22 balls to go at the Sahara Subrato Roy Stadium on Tuesday.
Watson was fluent and looked at ease in his 51-ball 90 which was studded with 10 fours and four sixes. Wayne Parnell, Michael Clarke and Bhubaneshwar Kumar claimed a wicket each.

Chasing a modest target of 126, Rajasthan lost in-form Ajinkya Rahane (0) in the second over off Wayne Parnell caught at backward point where Steve Smith took a brilliant diving catch.
The new ball was doing a bit earlier on and Rahul Dravid struggled to connect, but with Shane Watson got a good partnership going before falling to a slower ball off Parnell caught at covers by Clarke. Dravid scored a 16-ball 14 which included two hits to the boundary.
Then Watson took charge and stitched in a 56-run stand with youngster Ashok Menaria to take Rajasthan close to win. But when Menaria fell in 13.4 over, Rajasthan were 105 and after that Watson ensured no further hiccups. 

Earlier, Pune Warriors' skipper, Sourav Ganguly won the toss and elected to bat and managed only 125 for 6.
Right from the start, Pune batsmen struggled to score freely as Rajasthan bowlers maintained a tight line and length. Anustup Majumdar making his IPL debut scored a quickfire 30 off 20 balls, which included one four and two sixes. Even their man in crisis, Smith was unable to accelerate the scoring and got 18 off 22 balls.
For Rajasthan, Shaun Tait was the pick of the bowlers and returned with figures of 3 for 13, while Johan Botha and Stuart Binny chipped in with one wicket each.
However, Ganguly's bad run with the bat continued as the former India captain failed to revive the batsman of the old and scored 14 off 18 balls. While Clarke on the other hand looked scratchy and could not survive for long before he fell to Binny leg before for 16.

IPL 5: Rajasthan thump Punjab to stay alive

Rajasthan Royals produced an all-round show as they thumped Kings XI Punjab by 43 runs to end their four-match losing streak in the Indian Premier League here on Saturday. Chasing 178 for a win, KXIP were in the game only for a brief while when opener Shaun Marsh (34) was going great guns with some lusty hits but once he was out in the ninth over it was all over for the home side as they lost wickets at regular intervals.
Chasing a competitive 178, Punjab got off to shaky start losing opener Mandeep Singh in the second over to Shane Watson. Marsh then up the ante with some big shots but soon Punjab lost their skipper David Hussey and Punjab were reduced to 55 for 3 in eight overs. But just when Marsh looked settled, Johan Botha unleashed a peach of a delivery to clean bowled the left-hander. 
Azhar Mahmood and Gurkeerat Singh tried to stabilise the innings but with the run-rate rising with every passing over, Punjab's defeat looked inevitable and the home team managed 134 for 8 in their allotted overs.

Earlier, the Rajasthan Royals compiled a challenging 177 for 6 in their IPL encounter with the Punjab. Skipper Rahul Dravid crafted a classy 46 and was ably complimented by Shane Watson, Ashok Menaria and Brad Hodge. Having won the toss and elected to bat first, Dravid lost his opening partner Ajinkya Rahane (5) in the second over, as he was caught behind off Ryan Harris' second ball.
Dravid and the powerful Shane Watson then shared a 71-run stand, with Watson scoring 36 off just 17 balls, including two massive sixes. But the legspinner scalped him, as he was caught in the deep by Harris. Dravid then follwed back to the pavilion in the fourteenth over. Dravid hit eight four in his 39-ball innings. He had added 41 with Menaria (34) for the third wicket before he took long walk back. Maneria carried on the tempo with some lusty hits. He was though lucky as he was dropped near the boundary by Mandeep Singh. He was eventually in the 16th over and became Chawla's second victim.
Brad Hodge then played a cameo of 36 off 23 balls, with a pair of sixes and fours. Johan Botha chipped in with a couple of fours himself, as Rajasthan set a testing target. Harris, however, had the last laugh as he claimed Hodge's wicket in the final over. For Punjab, Ryan Harris and Piyush Chawla picked up two wickets apiece. Praveen Kumar once again remained wicketless and went for 32 runs. Awana gave away 34 runs and Mahmood proved expensive giving away 37 in the four overs he bowled.



IPL 5: Kolkata hold nerve to beat Ganguly's Pune

Marchant de lange picked up three wickets to help Kolkata Knight Riders beat Pune Warriors India by seven runs in their Indian Premier League match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday. Chasing a competitive target of 151 runs to win, Pune managed only 143 for 8 to hand KKR their seventh win this year's IPL.
Pune made a disastrous start losing opener Michael Clarke in the second over, who fell to the de Lange for just one. de Lange struck in his very next over to send backs Robin Uthappa for 17, which put the KKR on top. And then Sunil Narine accounted for the in-form Steven Smith when he had the Australian controversially adjudged lbw

Struggling at 55 for 5, Pune were in deep trouble, but Sourav Ganguly and Angelo Mathews shared a 73-run stand to put the visitors back on track. However Rajat Bhatia's dismissal of Ganguly sparked another collapse, and Narine allowed just 13 runs from his four overs to leave Pune needing 18 from the final over. De Lange ensured that wouldn't happen as he claimed the wicket of Mathews, leaving Pune 143 for 8 at the end of their 20 overs.
Earlier, Kolkata squandered a brilliant start provided by openers Gautam Gambhir and Brendon McCullum as they were restricted to 150 for 5 by Pune Warriors India. The hosts raced to 98 for 0 after ten overs and a surely 200 were on the cards. The pressure was clearly palpable in the Pune camp as Dinda dropped an easy sitter, giving McCullum a reprieve on 28
Gambhir smashed 56 off 36 balls that included four fours and two sixes and his opening partner, McCullum, scored a patient 42 off 43 deliveries with five fours and a six as they powered the hosts to 113 in the thirteenth over. But from then some brilliant fielding and great bowling by Angelo Mathews inspired a magnificent comeback.



IPL 5: Chennai Super Kings climb after win over Deccan Chargers

Chennai: Cameron White’s 53-ball 77 went in vain as Deccan Chargers slumped to a ten-run defeat, their seventh in ten matches, against Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League match here on Friday.
White, with his nine fours and two sixes, led Deccan’s chase of Chennai’s 160. But his effort proved insufficient at the end as the visitors could only manage 150 for 5 in their 20 overs. White was supported well by Shikhar Dhawan, who contributed with 36 before being unfortunately rut-out at the non-strikers’ end. 
After an early dismissal of Parthiv Patel (1), who was bowled by Albie Morkel, both White and Dhawan strung 68 runs for the second wicket. But with 29 to get in the last two overs, White was run out when he attempted to challenge the left arm of Ravindra Jadeja, whose strong throw from deep cover found the batsman short of his crease. Daniel Christian’s unbeaten 24 off 27 couldn’t take Deccan past the finish line. For Chennai, Ben Hilfenhaus, who made his IPL debut, Morkel and Suresh Raina all picked up one wicket each.

With their fifth win in ten matches, Chennai climbed from fifth to fourth in the points table, while Deccan maintained their wooden spooners’ tag.
Earlier, Faf du Plessis once again provided Chennai a flying start. The South African batsman, who has already scored 376 runs in this edition of the IPL so far, smacked two fours and a six over wide long-on during his innings of 42. Murali Vijay, who returned to Chennai’s playing XI in place of Wriddhiman Saha, hit a couple of boundaries but was dismissed when his attempted lofted shot off Veer Pratap Singh found Amit Mishra at third-man. Raina, in his 24-ball 32, once again displayed his array of strokes. He struck two maximums and two fours before finding Abhishek Jhunjhunwala at long-on off Mishra. But the 64-run stand he shared with du Plessis gave the much-needed spark to the CSK innings.
MS Dhoni, who promoted himself up in the batting order, played a rather subdued innings, scoring 34 off 28 balls. But his small but useful partnerships with du Plessis, Jadeja (4) and Morkel (13) ensured that Chennai finished with a competitive score. For Deccan, Singh picked up two wickets in his three overs, though he gave away 35 runs in the bargain. Christian, Jhunjhunwala, Mishra and Ashish Reddy all chipped in with a wicket each.