Kolkata First Finalist In IPL 2012

Kolkata Knight Riders 162 for 4 (Yusuf 40*) beat Delhi Daredevils 144 for 8 (Jayawardene 40, Kallis 2-24, Narine 2-24) by 18 runs

After four seasons of at times embarrassing underachievement, Kolkata Knight Riders will play for the IPL trophy on Sunday. For almost two-thirds of the qualifier against Delhi Daredevils, they nearly blew it, though the odds were stacked in their favour right from the start. On a pitch where the first ball of spin turned sharply, Knight Riders had three spinners waiting; Delhi Daredevils stuck to playing three specialist fast bowlers.

Daredevils' strategy did not seem to have backfired when Knight Riders lumbered to 106 for 4 in 16 overs. In the chase, despite losing Virender Sehwag and David Warner in the first 13 balls, Daredevils were right in the hunt at 83 for 2 after 10 overs. But like they had suddenly bolted away in the last four overs of their innings, Knight Riders choked Daredevils in the latter half of the chase. Daredevils did not help their cause, sending Pawan Negi ahead of Ross Taylor, who finally came in at No. 7 when the asking-rate was more than 14 an over.

The late boost that carried Knight Riders to a challenging total on the difficult pitch came from the unlikeliest quarters. Yusuf Pathan, who had done almost nothing the entire season, and Laxmi Shukla, playing in place of an unfit Manoj Tiwary, carted the quicks for 56 off the final four overs, and 36 off the final two, as Knight Riders surged to 162.

Gautam Gambhir had once again given Knight Riders a strong start, taking the fast bowlers for several boundaries. He had sped to 32 off 16 deliveries before he failed to make his ground to a direct hit from mid-off after having backed up too far. Not for the first time after Gambhir's departure, Knight Riders lost their way. Only 58 runs came off the next ten overs as Negi, the left-arm spinner, and Irfan Pathan strangled the batsmen.

Just when it seemed Knight Riders had wasted Gambhir's efforts upfront, Yusuf and Shukla launched into the quicks, who did not let up on the pace. Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav kept bowling in the late 140s with Morne Morkel not far behind. But the faster they bowled, the ball only came on better on the slow pitch.

Yusuf began the assault in the 17th over, carting a Morkel length ball for a straight six. Shukla took the lead in the 19th, making room to loft Morkel over extra cover for four and pulling him over deep square leg for six. It was to get worse for Daredevils in the last over. David Warner dropped Yusuf as he ran across from long-on and ended up parrying it for six. Yusuf cover-drove and flicked the last two deliveries for fours.

The core of the attack that had taken Daredevils to No. 1 position after the league stage had been taken apart. Yadav and Morkel went for 37 each, Aaron for 48, including 21 in that final over.

The last thing Daredevils needed at that stage was a rough decision, and pat it came in the second over of the chase. Warner, who had just smashed Shakib Al Hasan for six over long-on, missed the next ball as he pushed forward, but was given out caught by umpire Billy Doctrove as the ball popped up to the wicketkeeper off the pad. Sehwag departed next ball, edging an attempted cut off the impressive L Balaji to the keeper.

Just when it seemed Daredevils had done themselves in even before Sunil Narine came on, Naman Ojha and Mahela Jayawardene responded with the highest stand of the match. The duo took Shakib, who had a forgettable game, for 15 runs in the fourth over. Bowling too quick to get any bite from the surface, Shakib was lofted inside-out and down the ground for two fours and a six.

Though the general lack of pace in the Knight Riders attack started to make its presence felt, Ojha and Jayawardene kept the runs coming. The duo was in control when Ojha cut a long hop from Bhatia straight to Gambhir at backward point. A few tight overs and Venugopal Rao's struggle further increased the pressure on Jayawardene. The threat of Narine, who gave just seven runs in his first two overs, forced him to attack the other bowlers, eventually leading to him being stumped off Abdulla in the 15th over.

With 55 needed off 32, Sehwag sent in Negi ahead of Taylor, who hit his third ball from Narine for six over wide long-on. But it was too late by then. Daredevils have another chance to get it right in the second qualifier on Friday.

Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2012, Mumbai,Cricinfo

Kolkata Knight Riders 140 for 7 (Tiwary 41) beat Mumbai Indians 108 (Narine 4-15, Balaji 2-11) by 32 runs

It had all built up to that one moment. Gautam Gambhir, playing three spinners against the home side's decision to stick to three fast bowlers at the Wankhede Stadium, had hoped at the toss that the pitch would turn later. Kolkata Knight Riders had just about recovered from a horror start to post a decent 140. Mumbai Indians had found run-scoring as difficult as Knight Riders had, but had lost only two wickets at the halfway stage.

The last ball of the 11th over, Sunil Narine bowled a good length delivery to Sachin Tendulkar, who went for the cut. The ball spun in a mile and cannoned into off stump off bat and pad. Had both not come in the way, it would have taken out leg stump. With one of the game's greats not being able to pick Narine, the rest of the Mumbai Indians line-up had little chance. He finished with 4 for 15; had Lasith Malinga not got six off a dropped catch on the straight boundary, Narine could have had 5 for 9.

The 32-run margin was substantial in the end, and it was down to how swiftly Knight Riders barged in to the opening created by Tendulkar's dismissal. The pressure was already on Mumbai Indians after Herschelle Gibbs had crawled to 13 off 24 deliveries, four of those runs being overthrows. When Tendulkar fell, the asking-rate had touched nine. Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard had hunted down a much stiffer target against Royal Challengers Bangalore a couple of day ago. It wasn't to be today. Not on this pitch.

The Wankhede crowd waited for their all-star line-up to fire. They waited for the big hits to come. In vain. With 58 needed off 28, Shakib Al Hasan lured Rayudu out with a wider one to give Brendon McCullum an easy stumping. Jacques Kallis, who had got a ripper from RP Singh first ball, had Pollard edging a slow bouncer to McCullum. Next ball, he trapped Dwayne Smith in front with a skiddy delivery which nipped in. Rohit Sharma was Mumbai Indians' only hope now; Narine had him caught by a diving McCullum off a leading edge. The rest caved in.

Smith's fall had made it 96 for 6, exactly the same perilous position Knight Riders had found themselves in after being stunned early by an atrocious umpiring decision and a terrific ball from RP Singh. Their lower order and Yusuf Pathan rode on some fortune, though, to take 44 off the final 26 balls.

Stroke-making was hard as the usual Wankhede bounce combined with the ball not coming on. The pitch did not have any role to play in the first dismissal, though; umpire Subroto Das had. He adjudged McCullum lbw though the batsman was at least two metres out of his crease to a ball that pitched outside leg and would have missed off. Knight Riders were to get another rough one later, when Tendulkar was caught plumb in front first ball by Shakib, only to be denied by umpire Billy Doctrove.

RP Singh followed up the McCullum wicket by uprooting Kallis' off stump with a ripper, getting a short of a length ball to swing in and zip through the gate. A stunned Knight Riders tamely allowed the home bowlers to build up the pressure.

Even Gautam Gambhir, who has had a golden run this season, found it difficult to score, and could not capitalise on two let-offs. He was dropped by the wicketkeeper and by Tendulkar at third man, but was bowled on 27 as he missed a Pollard cutter.

Knight Riders continued to struggle to time their shots, with Tiwary pottering to 17 off 27 deliveries at one stage. An inside edge off Pollard brought him four, and he hammered the next ball past mid-off for another. Harbhajan Singh and Malinga were hit down the ground for sixes.

From 6 for 2 to 89 for 3 seemed a creditable recovery, given the pitch, but three wickets for seven runs nearly undid Tiwary's efforts. Yusuf, caught off a RP Singh no-ball, could not do much to break his poor run, but along with the lower order, managed to get Knight Riders to 140.

It hadn't looked to be a challenging total at the break, it turned out to be a match-winning one, and all but took Knight Riders to the playoffs.

Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2012, Jaipur,Cricinfo

Chennai Super Kings 127 for 6 (Raina 23, Morkel 18*, Anirudha 18*) beat Rajasthan Royals 126 for 6 (Hodge 33, Hilfenhaus 2-8) by four wickets

You can't rule out Chennai Super Kings. They are no strangers to wriggling out of a difficult situation, and they did it again in Jaipur, when it seemed their playoff prospects were in peril. The teams, at a crucial juncture in the season, could ill-afford a slip-up, and Super Kings huffed and puffed in a low-scoring chase but made it thanks to a late onslaught from Albie Morkel and S Anirudha. They completely altered the flow of a game heading for a close finish and, with 13 points in the bag, Super Kings broke into the top four.

Royals were favourites when they had Super Kings at 84 for 6 in the 17th over, the wicket of Ravindra Jadeja, caught in the deep, prompting a roar of relief from a usually calm Rahul Dravid. But Super Kings were always in the game with Morkel around, and Anirudha matched him shot for shot as the Royals bowlers buckled under pressure. That surge, which produced 43 off 13 balls, left the home crowd deflated and Royals stunned by the sudden transformation it wrought.

As has often been the case this IPL, the seamers erred at the death, with attempts at bowling yorkers failing miserably to end up as length deliveries. With 41 needed off 21, Morkel launched Pankaj Singh just over the long-off boundary, a mistimed hit carrying all the way. A top-edged four and a single later, the equation was down to 30 required off three overs.

Not even the experienced Shane Watson could maintain Royals' hold. A length ball was smashed over long-on, and Anirudha, having a go himself instead of giving his senior partner the strike, pulled over the midwicket fence before steering a full toss past point for a boundary. Shaun Tait was brought back with 12 needed off 12, but another pitched up delivery was swung towards cow corner. Tait then bowled Anirudha with a perfect yorker, only to find out he'd overstepped, just marginally, before doling out five wides down the leg side to hasten the finish.

Morkel and Anirudha undid an impressive performance from the Royals bowlers for the bulk of the innings; they had given the hosts hope of defending their lowest score this season. Suresh Raina had looked threatening, finding boundaries with effortless ease but his attempt to go over extra cover failed against Pankaj. Michael Hussey and Dwayne Bravo tried to consolidate but the ball was not coming on well enough on a slow track, and the Royals bowlers, especially Siddharth Trivedi, kept the pressure on with their accuracy. Bravo holed out, Hussey was run out, MS Dhoni slashed one to point and Jadeja soon followed. That was until Morkel and Anirudha got together.

Royals' below-par score owed partly to the frustration of having their innings interrupted three times by rain, but largely to some disciplined bowling by the Super Kings seamers, especially Ben Hilfenhaus, that kept the batsmen in check. Hilfenhaus beat the bat often, getting the ball to nip away past the outside edge, and maintained a tight line in the channel outside off. His victims were Dravid and Watson, both caught while trying to accelerate during a troubling spell; Watson was brilliantly taken by R Ashwin, diving forward at third man.

While Hilfenhaus finished with figures of 2 for 8 in four overs, Yo Mahesh backed him up with the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane and Stuart Binny, out after a brief counterattack. Though Brad Hodge targeted the spinners for a couple of boundaries, and an erratic Bravo was taken for runs, the good work done at the start of the game by Super Kings' bowlers was to serve their middle order well in the end.

Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils, IPL 2012, Hyderabad,Cricinfo

Delhi Daredevils 193 for 1 (Warner 109*, Ojha 64*) beat Deccan Chargers 187 for 4 (Dhawan 84, White 65) by nine wickets 

Even a total as formidable as 187 wasn't enough for Deccan Chargers' inexperienced bowling attack to pull off a win against Delhi Daredevils. David Warner filled the vacuum left by Kevin Pietersen with a blistering century - his second in the IPL - in only his second game of the season. With help from Naman Ojha, Daredevils butchered their way back to No.1, overhauling the target with 20 balls to spare.

Chargers fielded a bowling unit without foreign players, the most experienced of the lot being Amit Mishra. It was a recipe for a mauling. There was no respite even at the other end, as the promising Ojha capitalised on his promotion, hitting five sixes in his 64. Warner and Ojha overshadowed a similar performance from another Indo-Australian left-right duo earlier in the evening - Shikhar Dhawan and Cameron White.

Daredevils' response was so swift and intimidating that Virender Sehwag's early departure was a distant memory. Sehwag tried to make a mockery of the decision to open the bowling with Dhawan by lofting the first ball to long-off. A similar attempt off the second ball resulted in a top edge that swirled to point, where White held a well-judged catch running backwards.

It was the only memorable bit of fielding from Chargers. The familiar misfields were characteristic of another flat performance, completely out of sync with the batting. Warner hit two forceful boundaries to take 16 off the opening over and set the tone for the rest of the chase.

Warner exposed the lack of depth and experience in the bowling, one that should serve as a lesson for the franchise before the next trading window. TP Sudhindra, back after warming the bench for over a month, gave away 13 in his first over. Ashish Reddy, one of the impressive newcomers this season for Chargers, had his confidence dented with a 20-run opening over. Two consecutive short balls were pounded by Warner over cover and deep square-leg. When Reddy pitched it full, he was hit through the off side.

Manpreet Gony was the only bowler with respectable figures. Mishra, the most experienced, went for 44 off four. Twenty-six of those runs were scored by Ojha, who used his feet to smash two sixes down the ground.

Warner, who looked below his best on the more sluggish pitches in the West Indies, was at home here with the ball coming onto the bat. He played his trademark pulls, one of which brought up his century. His stand of 189 with Ojha was the second-best in the IPL, behind Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh's 206 for Kings XI Punjab in 2011.

The 126 between Dhawan and White wasn't lacking in quality either. The pair shrugged off a relatively slow first half with power hitting in the last nine overs. The partnership featured audacious shots like the Dilscoop and the paddle sweep, interspersed with powerful straight hits and muscled sixes over deep midwicket.

Dhawan was particularly strong over the on side, hitting consecutive sixes off left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, and raced to his fifty with consecutive straight hits off Irfan Pathan.

When the slower bowlers tossed it up, Dhawan hammered over the on side; when Morne Morkel aimed at the base of the stumps, he strolled across his stumps and paddled over the helpless short fine leg fielder. A century was there for the taking against a stunned bowling attack, but a brilliant fielding effort from Nadeem, a direct hit from behind square leg, caught Dhawan a mile out of his crease.

White, who had earlier brought up the century stand with a six over deep midwicket off Nadeem, holed out to a top edge in the final over. Chargers, in the last nine overs, plundered 117 runs. Their bowlers, however, failed to defend that effort.

Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2012, Mumbai

Royal Challengers Bangalore 142 for 1 (Gayle 82*) beat Mumbai Indians 141 for 6 (Karthik 44) by nine wickets

It wasn't the easiest of pitches to bat on at the Wankhede Stadium, and Mumbai Indians possess the most potent bowling attack in the competition, but none of that mattered to Chris Gayle as he swung sixes on his way to the orange cap, 500 runs in the tournament and an unbeaten 82 that propelled Royal Challengers Bangalore to the fourth spot.

Victories for Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab on Tuesday and Royal Challengers' win today has tightened the table again, with only three points separating the five teams in the middle.

Mumbai's batting has rarely been at its best this season, and continued to struggle today. The Royal Challengers bowling has had some off days this year, but turned in one of their more impressive performances as Vinay Kumar's double-strike in the second over and Muttiah Muralitharan's two wickets off successive deliveries later in the innings limited Mumbai to 141.

With the ball nipping around, it seemed a competitive score, particularly given the strength of Mumbai's bowling. Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan watchfully played out the main threat, Lasith Malinga, and focussed their energy on scoring plenty off the rest.

As he has been all season, Gayle was relatively cautious early on. Mumbai had two gilt-edged chances to dismiss him within the Powerplays: first, in the second over when a direct hit would have caught him well short, and then in the sixth over when Dwayne Smith put down a skier at cover. That potentially game-changing drop rounded off a horror outing for Smith, who also flopped with the bat a mere three days after his final-over heroics against Chennai Super Kings.

Dilshan was dismissed in the ninth over, and the asking rate began to climb towards nine, but it only took Gayle three deliveries to transform the match. Pragyan Ojha gifted him two friendly full tosses on leg stump which were contemptuously dispatched over the leg side; the second of those had been a no-ball as well, and Gayle dismissed the extra delivery for another six, over long-off for a change. That 22-run over brought the required rate closer to seven. Mumbai were never in the game after that as Virat Kohli found some form and helped Gayle finish it off with two overs to spare.

It hadn't begun well either for Mumbai with Zaheer Khan and Vinay troubling their top order. James Franklin upper cut a catch to third man, and Rohit Sharma was plumb lbw later in Vinay's over as Mumbai stuttered to 5 for 2 - the lowest score in the IPL after four overs.

Sachin Tendulkar then survived a close call for lbw, and was again reprieved when a Kohli throw from backward point was wide. Mumbai finally got some momentum in the sixth over as Tendulkar struck three successive boundaries - the first off the bat in the innings. Just as Mumbai were getting some stability, 21-year-old seamer Harshal Patel dismissed Tendulkar getting him to top-edge a pull.

The signing of Smith and the return of Kieron Pollard made the Mumbai batting seem more solid, and when Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik added 44 quick runs, the stage seemed set for a late onslaught from the two West Indians. Murali, though, removed both the well-set Karthik and Smith in the 16th over, seemingly denting Mumbai's recovery. Harbhajan, however, swung a couple of boundaries off Zaheer and Pollard powered two sixes in the final over from Vinay to lift Mumbai, but not to a total that was beyond Gayle's reach.

Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2012, Hyderabad,Cricinfo

Kings XI Punjab 170 for 5 (Mandeep 75) beat Deccan Chargers 145 for 8 (Hussey 2-2, Praveen 2-15, Awana 2-27) by 25 runs

Deccan Chargers dropped only one sitter today. Their fielding did not come apart as it has earlier this season. Mandeep Singh did cart their bowling around in a dominating innings. But then, in the middle of their chase, they lost Cameron White and Daniel Harris in the space of four balls. To David Hussey. Four deliveries later, they lost Kumar Sangakkara. Game over.

The result, and Rajasthan Royals' win over Pune Warriors earlier today, opened up a five-way race for two playoff spots, with Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils appearing set to take the first two spots.

Chargers had kept pace with the asking-rate for eight overs. Parvinder Awana and Azhar Mahmood then got in a tight over each. With the spinners having been taken for runs, and the fast bowlers pulling things back, few would have expected Hussey to come on with his part-time quick offbreaks in the 11th over. He did, and Harris, on 30, drove his first delivery off a thick edge straight to point. As if one pleasant surprise wasn't enough, a bigger gift was in store for Kings XI. Hussey gave rare flight to his fourth ball, White went after it, and Shaun Marsh accepted the steepler at deep midwicket.

Double whammy turned into triple tragedy for Chargers when Sangakkara edged a peach of an away-moving Praveen Kumar delivery for the wicketkeeper Nitin Saini to take a reflex one-handed catch wide to his left. A competitive 70 for 2 had sunk to 74 for 5, and Chargers had as much hope left of winning the game as they have of making the playoffs.

Mandeep, Kings XI's highest run-getter this season, had earlier continued his good form, adding powerful strokes to his solidity to take his side well over the 150-160 mark which Sangakkara said was a par score. Mandeep, with a career Twenty20 strike-rate of barely 120, batted a couple of gears higher today, his 75 coming off 48 deliveries. David Miller provided the late boost, hammering an unbeaten 28 off 18.

Mandeep, who had been consistent this season without dominating, never looked back after taking Veer Pratap Singh for 18 in the second over. He pulled, cut and lofted over extra cover without any desperation. Though he lacked enough support, Mandeep never allowed the innings to flag.

Ashish Reddy could have had Mandeep, on 30 then, off the first ball he bowled, but could not get to a tough chance which just eluded his outstretched left hand. Mandeep deposited the last ball of that Reddy over, the seventh, over long-on.

Veer Pratap, who was to go for 45 in four overs, managed to get Hussey mishitting to long-off in the 12th over. Mandeep responded by pulling Amit Mishra for consecutive fours in the next over.

Reddy finally bowled Mandeep in the 16th over as the batsman missed a slog. He then ran-out the dangerous Azhar Mahmood for 14 with sharp fielding at point, but became too predictable with his slower deliveries, allowing Miller to take 13 off the final over.

Almost predictably, Chargers' woeful catching made another appearance, though late, when White put down Miller at long-off last ball of the 19th over. But for once, Chargers had neither their fielding nor their catching to blame for their 16th loss in 17 games at their home ground in Hyderabad.

Pune Warriors v Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2012, Pune

Rajasthan Royals 126 for 3 (Watson 90*) beat Pune Warriors 125 for 6 (Majumdar 30, Tait 3-13) by seven wickets

Shaun Tait set it up and Shane Watson finished the job in clinical fashion. Rajasthan Royals delivered a seven-wicket drubbing to a low on morale Pune Warriors and moved to fourth in the points table. Warriors looking to reverse a five-match losing streak, struggled against restrictive Royals bowling to post 125, but lacked the firepower to cause a scare. After an impressive start to the tournament, they limped out of the race for the playoffs.

Royals conceded just five fours - the least in a completed innings this season - and were spearheaded by Tait, who took 3 for 13. Unlike Royals, who duly opened with the aggressive Watson, Warriors saved their power hitters for the middle order. Sourav Ganguly promoted himself to open after, curiously, coming in at No.7 against Kolkata Knight Riders. It was a questionable move having Ganguly and Michael Clarke right at the top, given that they aren't the quickest scorers in the line-up. What followed was a sluggish opening passage, in which the Powerplay overs had 14 dots.

Ganguly charged the seamers, made room, but failed to find the timing to match his intentions. Clarke's drives failed to find the middle of the bat, often resulting in edges and mistimed flicks. Both openers were searching for a release, but the slower balls and the wicketkeeper Dishant Yagnik standing up to the stumps thwarted them.

Warriors lost Ganguly as he miscued a pull off Tait, giving a swirling catch to square leg. Despite Warriors struggling to find the boundaries, they persisted with their conservative approach by promoting little-known Bengal batsman Anustup Majumdar ahead of more aggressive options like Angelo Mathews and Steven Smith.

Only two fours were scored in the first ten overs, the lowest this season. Save for the first over, never at any stage in that period did the rate go above six an over. Majumdar interrupted a 42-ball snoozefest when he gave Ankeet Chavan a charge and launched him for the first of two sixes over wide long-on in the 11th over, which cost 16 runs - the most expensive of the innings.

However, his cameo didn't last longer than 20 balls when he was yorked by a 98.4 kph missile from Johan Botha the following over. The last eight overs produced just 46 runs to give Warriors a total well under par.

Royals lost their star player Ajinkya Rahane for a duck courtesy a brilliant one-handed catch at point by Smith. Smith nearly pulled off a freak catch at the boundary which would have sent Watson back on 11, if the rule on outfield catches hadn't been tweaked. After going deep in his crease to pound a six off Murali Kartik, he repeated the shot four balls later. Smith cupped the ball over his head, realised the momentum was taking him over the rope and threw the ball up. He was outside the field of play and airborne when he palmed the ball back in front of the rope, deeming it a six, owing to the rule change.

Watson capitalised on that lifeline and proceeded to hammer boundaries. At the end of five overs, Royals had hit five fours and two sixes, the same number Warriors managed in 20. Watson tore into Ashish Nehra, clipping two half volleys to the leg side for fours, before pulling another loosener over fine leg for six to bring up his fifty. Watson scored a massive 71.4% of the team's total, underlining his dominance on a pitch which flummoxed 11 Warriors.

Royals coasted home with 22 balls remaining, making it one of the more one-sided encounters this season. Warriors, with eight points from 13 games, now have only pride to play for.

Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2012, Delhi,Cricinfo

Kolkata Knight Riders 154 for 4 (McCullum 56, Gambhir 36) beat Delhi Daredevils 153 for 9 (Pathan 36, Kallis 2-20) by six wickets

The clash between the two most impressive teams in the tournament proved to be a one-sided affair as Kolkata Knight Riders cruised to a six-wicket victory at a packed Feroz Shah Kotla, displacing Delhi Daredevils from the top spot they had held virtually from the start of the tournament.

Jacques Kallis made two big early breakthroughs, Sunil Narine continued to confound batsmen and Rajat Bhatia quietly continued to prove an important cog in Knight Riders' bowling as they stifled Daredevils' formidable batting. The chase of 154 proved straightforward, the only real moment of concern for Knight Riders coming when Brendon McCullum brutally pulled a delivery straight at their dug-out in the 15th over.

Daredevils' two most productive batsmen this season have been Virender Sehwag and Kevin Pietersen, and their consistency had so far shielded the rest of the team's batting from too much scrutiny. With Sehwag finally failing after a record five half-centuries in a row and Pietersen back home, the rest of the line-up couldn't quite deliver.

Brett Lee began with a maiden to David Warner, who was playing his first game of the tournament, but Sehwag and Warner slammed 34 off the next two to provide Daredevils a flying start. Kallis nipped that stand early by slipping in a length delivery after a couple of shorter ones to trap Sehwag lbw. Warner also didn't last long, nicking behind in Kallis' next over.

That over ended with an angry confrontation between Mahela Jayawardene and Gautam Gambhir after Jayawardene survived a loud and confident shout for caught-behind. In the next Kallis over, there was less doubt about whether Jayawardene edged the ball but he was lucky as wicketkeeper McCullum spilled a tough chance to his right. He couldn't capitalise on the lives though, as he was run-out attempting a suicidal single. Gambhir under-armed a direct hit and spiritedly celebrated the wicket.

Bhatia and Narine choked the batsmen, conceding only 25 runs in a five-over stretch in the middle of the innings. The biggest struggle was for the out-of-form Ross Taylor, who scratched around for 16 off 27 deliveries, potentially putting his place in jeopardy. A cameo from Irfan Pathan, who again showed off his clean hitting, lifted Daredevils beyond 150 despite four wickets in the final over from Narine.

That total didn't prove too much of a challenge for Knight Riders, particularly as the Daredevils bowlers provided plenty of freebies down the leg side. Gambhir and McCullum put on their fourth fifty-plus stand in six innings to demoralise Daredevils as they raced to 60 for 0 by the end of the Powerplay. Gambhir was the more fluent of the openers, extending his prolific run this season with a quick 36 before being bowled by fast bowler Varun Aaron, playing his first match in five months.

McCullum tried to muscle the bowling early on but couldn't time it too well, though he gradually grew in confidence and was reverse-sweeping Irfan Pathan by the time he was nearing his half-century. As Gambhir's striking had reduced the asking rate, Kallis didn't need to try anything fancy, sticking to conventional strokes as he and McCullum added 60 before they were dismissed off consecutive deliveries by Umesh Yadav, who regularly reached 150kph.

Those strikes weren't enough, though, for Daredevils to hang on to the No. 1 spot, as Knight Riders coasted to victory with eight deliveries to spare.

Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2012, Mohali,Cricinfo

Rajasthan Royals 177 for 6 (Dravid 46, Harris 4-34) beat Kings XI Punjab 134 for 8 (Tait 2-18, Botha 2-21, Watson 2-22) by 43 runs

Rajasthan Royals' batting fired collectively to break a run of four consecutive losses and consign Kings XI Punjab to their fourth defeat in five home games this season. Royals blazed away at the start after Rahul Dravid chose to bat on a greenish pitch, slowed down in the middle and picked up the pace at the death to post the highest total at Mohali this season.

Their bowlers kept the home batsmen under pressure from the outset, and at no stage did Kings XI threaten to chase successfully, something which had been achieved in the four previous games at Mohali.

Royals' batsmen had been guilty recently of easing off after strong starts to post inadequate scores. Just when it looked today that the flurry of boundaries upfront from Dravid and Shane Watson would dissipate into another middling total, Brad Hodge and Johan Botha cracked 27 off the last two overs to ensure Royals finished close to the 180-mark which they were aiming for.

When Dravid and Watson were pounding the Kings XI attack in their contrasting styles, Royals would have eyed 200. The duo took control after the in-form Ajinkya Rahane fell early to Ryan Harris. Dravid, enjoying the pace and bounce on the true pitch, launched an array of orthodox strokes, clipping and cover-driving Harris for three consecutive boundaries in the fourth over. Watson did it his way, powering Parvinder Awana down the ground for two fours and a six in consecutive balls in the sixth.

The stand was worth 69 off 39 deliveries by the time Watson mishit Piyush Chawla to long-off. Dravid had already started to slow down. After breezing to 27 off 16, he managed 19 off the next 23 before slicing a drive off Harris to third man.

Ashok Menaria, batting ahead of Hodge and Botha, hit Chawla for consecutive sixes, but could not capitalise on a dropped catch when on 29, to fall for 34 off 27. From 76 for 1 in the eighth over, Royals had meandered to 133 for 4 after 16.

Hodge and Botha, though, were around for a final push. Azhar Mahmood was taken for 16 in the penultimate over and Harris, despite taking two more wickets, conceded 11 in the 20th.

Faced with a stiff asking-rate right from the start, Kings XI needed Shaun Marsh and David Hussey to contribute. Watson began with a wicket-maiden, getting rid of Mandeep Singh.

Shaun Tait, playing his first game of the season, proved difficult to score off with his combination of extreme pace, late swing and rare accuracy. With the overseas bowlers difficult to get away, Hussey tried to go after Siddharth Trivedi in the eighth over but only mishit a pull for Hodge to take a fine sliding catch running in from long-on.

A thin line-up meant Marsh was Kings XI's only realistic hope left, but he departed in the next over, stepping out to Botha but just managing to york himself. The asking-rate was almost eleven by this time, and long before formalities ended, Royals had ensured they would remain afloat this season.

Pune Warriors v Mumbai Indians, IPL 2012, Pune,Cricinfo

Mumbai Indians 120 for 9 (Tendulkar 34, Bhuvneshwar 2-9, Nehra 2-19) beat Pune Warriors 119 for 6 (Manhas 42*, Harbhajan 2-18, Malinga 2-25) by one run

In the end, Mumbai Indians deserved two points for having rendered a target of 121 so difficult that Pune Warriors played catch-up for most of the chase. And the one-run margin magnified the impact of Sourav Ganguly's crawl in the final analysis. There were other Warriors batsmen who found run-scoring difficult on the low pitch, but they did not hang around for as long as Ganguly did and consequently, did not make it as difficult for the doughty Mithun Manhas as Ganguly did.

When Ganguly arrived at 40 for 2 in the seventh over, the asking-rate was just over six runs an over. By the time he was bowled for 16 off 24 by Lasith Malinga off the last ball of the 17th over, slogging and missing tamely, the asking-rate had climbed to nine. Manhas tried to make the most of the strike he got in a 47-run fifth-wicket stand in which Ganguly contributed 13. But he was up against a class Mumbai Indians attack, and with Malinga to bowl two overs at the death, Warriors' chances diminished even further. They needed 12 off the final over, but Munaf Patel managed to hold them off, just about.

The early damage had been done by Munaf when he trapped Robin Uthappa lbw, after the batsman had kickstarted the chase with some big strokes. Mumbai Indians' battery of specialist spinners - though one of them, Robin Peterson, was never used - then broke the back of Warriors' chase. Jesse Ryder chipped Harbhajan Singh to long-on, Michael Clarke got a rough lbw decision and Steven Smith walked past a Pragyan Ojha delivery to be bowled. Warriors had slipped from 40 for 1 to 47 for 4 but with 74 needed from 61, they were right in the game still.

Ganguly's innings ensured they slowly went out of it. He was on 12 off 22 at one stage, unable to earn anything more than singles. He managed to make room and lift Malinga down the ground for a four, but was bowled in the same over.

Manhas wasn't giving up, though. Backing himself to cut almost everything, he and Wayne Parnell took 11 off Pragyan Ojha in the 18th over. But Harbhajan had another over from Malinga left, and it did what Morne Morkel's penultimate over had done for Delhi Daredevils against Rajasthan Royals. Malinga gave just four runs, and left Warriors with too much to do in the last over.

With eight needed off the last two balls, Bhuvneshwar Kumar drilled Munaf over extra cover for four, but could only hit a low full toss - the final ball - to deep midwicket as Warriors ended agonizingly short.

That Mumbai Indians managed even 120 was down to the opening partnership between Sachin Tendulkar and James Franklin. Mumbai Indians did not begin badly for a side that has now changed its opening combination seven times in ten matches. Well past the halfway stage of the tournament, they might have finally even found the combination that clicks. Tendulkar and Franklin added fifty-plus runs for the third time in as many matches, but Mumbai Indians could not build much on that base, losing 5 for 12 from a position of 81 for 2 after 12 overs.

Warriors were accurate with their fast bowlers. Smith led the way in the field with three run-outs, two of them at crucial junctures. He first ran out Rohit Sharma to dent Mumbai Indians after the steady start, and then caught Thisara Perera short to hurt their hopes of a lower-order fightback.

Ashish Nehra recovered from an expensive first over to go for just five runs in his next three overs. It was Nehra who triggered the collapse, getting Tendulkar to edge a steer to the wicketkeeper in the 12th over. He then surprised Peterson with a skiddy short delivery in the 14th, and the top-edged pull was taken by Ganguly.

The middle-order implosion undid the decent start from Tendulkar and Franklin. The duo were kept quiet by Warriors but took Nehra and Ashok Dinda for an expensive over each to ensure the run-rate did not suffer much. Bhuvneshwar got the breakthrough in the eighth over when Franklin top-edged a pull.

Tendulkar could not pick up his scoring-rate beyond a run a ball, and after he fell, Mumbai Indians stalled. Ganguly could not score at remotely close to a run a ball, and after he finally fell, it was too late for Warriors, who have now lost six of their last seven games.

Chennai Super Kings v Kings XI Punjab, IPL 2012, Chennai,cricinfo,watch highlights

Punjab win to join mid-table scrum 

Watch Highlights

Twenty-year-old opener Mandeep Singh made his second Twenty20 half-century to help Kings XI Punjab reach 156, but it was less than what they looked set to achieve after a bright start. R Ashwin dried up the runs early, before Chennai Super Kings' trio of overseas medium-pacers made sure there was no late flourish from Punjab.

Mandeep wilted under the punishing heat and humidity of a Chennai afternoon and was struggling for the most part in the latter half of the innings. Midway through his knock, after about 45 minutes of batting, a stream of sweat poured out as he tipped his helmet to the side. He was dismissed in the 17th over, but had hit only one boundary since the Powerplay.

He had begun well, though, with the promoted Shaun Marsh. Avoiding the slogs and heaves that are integral to Twenty20, and favouring inside-out drives, Mandeep provided the initial acceleration for Punjab. Marsh is rarely out of form in the IPL, and today was no different. His onslaught against Shadab Jakati took Punjab to 68 for 0 after eight overs before the stand was snapped. Marsh was caught out of his crease by a straight hit from Mandeep that ricocheted off the bowler Ashwin's boot onto the stumps.

Azhar Mahmood was sent up the order, and though he slammed a couple of nonchalant sixes off Ravindra Jadeja he exited early, trapped lbw by Dwayne Bravo. Punjab then decided to push David Miller ahead of their best Twenty20 player and captain, David Hussey, a move they could come to regret as Miller flailed around for 19 before guiding a slower bouncer to the keeper.

Hussey had only four overs to bat, which meant he had to swing from ball one. He failed, soon after Mandeep's tired heave to long-off, and Punjab went on to lose 6 for 27 towards the end of the innings.

Chennai's biggest moment of concern in the second half of Punjab's batting was when Faf du Plessis and Bravo collided when going for a catch on the straight boundary, and were left floored. Neither was seriously hurt, though, and after a minute or so lying prone, both were able to resume fielding. Bravo even pulled off an athletic overhead catch running in from long-off, and bowled at the death to finish with 3 for 29, making Chennai the favourites to take the game.

Royal Challengers Bangalore v Pune Warriors, Bangalore,Cricinfo

Royal Challengers Bangalore 186 for 4 (Gayle 81, Tiwary 36*, de Villiers 33*) beat Pune Warriors 182 for 6 (Uthappa 69, Ryder 34, Samuels 34) by six wickets

Chris Gayle was going at around a run a ball against some tight bowling. Then he calmly decided to shift gears. The bowling ceased to matter; five consecutive sixes came against the bowler with one of the best economy-rates in the IPL, Rahul Sharma. Treating that Rahul over as an aberration, Pune Warriors responded with more tight bowling, with Ashish Nehra yorking Gayle. But AB de Villiers and Saurabh Tiwaryhit 24 off the final over, bowled by Nehra, to pull off an improbable win, Royal Challengers Bangalore's first in four games.

For more than three-quarters of the game, the Royal Challengers had played catch-up to the Warriors. After Robin Uthappa's 69 took the visitors to 182, they had kept the Royal Challengers, and Gayle, in check for 12 overs. Gayle and Virat Kohli, game-changers both, had crawled along in a partnership of 30 in 35 deliveries. The asking-rate had ballooned to over 13, with 111 needed from 50. It claimed Kohli, who found deep point as he tried to hit out.

Kohli's dismissal fired up Gayle, who was on 37 off 35 then. Rahul bowled short, he bowled full, he went around the stumps, he went wide of the crease, he went wide of Gayle. To no avail. Five consecutive sixes later, the asking-rate was down by more than a couple of runs.

Warriors were stunned but they recovered quickly. Ashok Dinda, battling a painful side strain, conceded just 12 in two overs, including seven off the penultimate one with Royal Challengers needing 28 from 12. In between, Nehra had, for once, found the perfect yorker to send Gayle back for 81 off 48.

De Villiers and Tiwary kept the Royal Challengers in the hunt, hitting a six each to take 16 off the 18th over bowled by Angelo Mathews. Dinda's final over, the19th, seemed to have left Royal Challengers too much to get in the 20th over - 21.

De Villiers scrambled outside off to play the scoop off the second delivery in the final over, arming it past the wicketkeeper for four. Nehra delivered a low full toss and a length ball next. De Villiers smoked one straight down the ground for six; the next one was scooped nervelessly for another six over fine leg. With three needed off the last ball, Tiwary swung a length ball over the long-on boundary even as the rain came pouring down. Marlon Samuels, who had gone for under three an over, had two overs left.

Somehow, the Royal Challengers' batsmen had delivered after their bowlers had once again conceded a substantial score. Uthappa did most of the scoring with a power-packed half-century at the top of the order with Jesse Ryder and Samuels chipping in with smaller contributions.

The opening partnership between Uthappa and Ryder was worth 63 in seven overs. By then, Uthappa was in complete control. He timed three consecutive reverse-sweeps off Dilshan, with two of them beating short third man. He was put down by KP Appanna at long-off, a tough diving chance off Vinay Kumar in the 12th over but departed in the next as he sliced Daniel Vettori to point. The Warriors went at the same rate of around nine an over after Uthappa's dismissal with Samuels smashing the spinners for a couple of sixes. As it turned out, though, even 13 an over wasn't enough to deny Gayle, De Villiers and Tiwary.

Rajasthan Royals v Deccan Chargers, IPL 2012, Jaipur,Cricinfo

Rajasthan Royals 197 for 5 (Hodge 48*, Mishra 3-32) beat Deccan Chargers 196 for 2 (Duminy 58*, Dhawan 52) by five wickets 

Not even eight days rest, their best efforts with the bat and Amit Mishra's three wickets were enough to earn Deccan Chargers a first win in IPL 2012. After Kumar Sangakkara and Shikhar Dhawan put on the highest first-wicket partnership of the season, and JP Duminy and Daniel Christian blasted 77 off the last five overs, Chargers piled on a hefty score for Rajasthan Royals to chase, but they were unable to defend it on a flat pitch with small boundaries.

Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane did the groundwork and Brad Hodge finished off fiercely. Almost everything Chargers did, Royals did better. Although Dravid and Rahane shared a stand of only 62, compared to Sangakkara and Dhawan's 94 , the Royals pair scored at a faster rate. They went at 10.62 runs to the over compared to Sangakkara and Dhawan's 8.81. Chargers had amassed 119 for 2 after 15 overs, Royals had the same score after 13. Duminy's 58 came at a strike rate of 223.07, Brad Hodge's 48 came at a strike rate of 228.57, and that was perhaps the difference between the two sides.

With a tall task ahead of them, Royals approached it aggressively. Rahul Dravid tore into an out-of-sorts Dale Steyn in the second over, using the pace to club him for three fours. With the in-form Rahane on the other end, Daniel Christian and birthday-boy Anand Rajan also took a pasting and Royals raced to the fastest fifty in this season's tournament, off 4.5 overs.

Dravid seemed set for a much longer stay at the crease but was foxed by a Christian slower ball that was aimed at his legs. He did not get inside the line and the ball cannoned into the pads and onto the stumps. The wicket brought a short-lived calm to the crease as Rahane and Ashok Menaria consolidated.

Unlike Chargers, who suffered a lapse in the mid-section of their innings and scored 23 runs between overs 13 and 16, Royals kept their slump to just two overs. The 8th and 9h overs yielded only eight runs in total but Rahane soon had the wheels turning again with a six over long-off after charging down the track to Mishra.

Menaria was not expected to bat at No. 3, given the match situation which needed quick runs, but Royals stuck to their original line-up and he did not let them down. He freed his arms and found the boundary and seemed a worthy partner to Rahane until he pulled straight to short midwicket. Rahane holed out two overs later to cause jitters in the Royals camp. Those nerves would have grown when Shah was dropped by Steyn at long-on when he was on 10 and then caught two balls later at deep midwicket.

Hodge did not waste time taking over and ensured the advantage was back with Royals when he clubbed Steyn for four consecutive fours. Hodge cut the short ball, turned the full toss to square leg, lofted another short one over third man and carved a half-volley through the covers to ensure Steyn had the most expensive return of the Chargers' bowlers.

With the anxiety shifting to Chargers, they dropped another catch, putting Johan Botha down and found themselves with only 11 to defend off the last over. Dishant Yagnik, little-known on the international stage, was the unlikely hero. Steyn offered him a touch of width and he found the gap on the off side and followed it up by slapping the ball through the covers to hand Royals victory.

This is the second match of in the tournament that Chargers have lost from a seemingly winnable position. Last Monday, they let Mumbai Indians canter to a five-wicket win after having them under their thumb at 95 for 4, chasing 139, in the 17th over. Chargers' three losses keeps them at the bottom of the points table.

Knight Riders v Kings XI, IPL 2012, Kolkata,Cricinfoindi

Kings XI Punjab 134 for 9 (Mandeep Singh 38, Narine 5-19 ) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 132 for 7 (Das 35, Chawla 3-18) by 2 runs 

A triple strike from Piyush Chawla in the middle of the Knight Riders innings and last over heroics from Harmeet Singh brought Kings XI back from the dead to beat their hosts in unlikely fashion. After posting a below par 134 and allowing Knight Riders to canter to 71 for 2 at the halfway stage of the chase, Kings XI relied on a spectacular effort from their legspinner to negate Sunil Narine's jaw-dropping 5 for 19.

Narine's strangling efforts and Rajat Bhatia and Shakib al Hasan's supporting efforts kept the lid on Kings XI. Knight Riders were favoured to chase down a moderate target after Gautam Gambhir started with a speedy 22 and Manvinder Bisla and Manoj Tiwary steered the reply with a stand of 43. But, the home side unravelled after Chawla removed three of their key batsmen, Bisla, Yusuf Pathan and Shakib. Debrabata Das threatened to take the match to its expected conclusion with his aggressive innings but a slew of legbreaks from Harmeet ensured Kings XI defended what seemed hard to defend at one stage. 

Gambhir began in a hurry. The early loss of Jacques Kallis - caught spectacularly by Paras Dogra at point - did nothing to deter him as he collected boundaries at will before offering Dimitri Mascarenhas a simple return catch.

Despite the departure of their captain, Bisla and Tiwary continued the task stoically and formed a partnership that would not have been out of place in longer formats of the game. They rotated strike, searched for singles and only targeted the boundary when they got a bad ball. They seemed certain to guide Knight Riders to an easy win but the match turned when Tiwary was trapped in front by Bhargav Bhatt.

A tiny wound had been inflicted on Knight Riders and Chawla prised it open. He bowled Bisla with a delivery that did not turn and meted out the same to Yusuf Pathan with a legbreak in the same over. After 14 overs, Knight Riders were 85 for 5. Chawla had pulled them back to exactly the position Kings XI had been in at that stage - 85 for 3. He struck again, with a googly to Shakib al Hasan, to have the Bangladesh all-rounder caught of his own bowling. 

Das defied the Kings XI charge. He started by smacking a full toss from Chawla for a straight six. As full deliveries were offered to him, he smoked them to the boundary. Ryan ten Doeschate provided some support and the pair took Knight Riders to within 13 runs of victory with two overs left.

Praveen Kumar gave away only four of those runs, bowling an over punctuated with yorkers and Harmeet had nine runs to work with in the final over. His seemingly harmless legbreaks had ten Doeschate frustrated as he played on. Harmeet then proved impossible to get away as he made up for Kings XI's lapses with the bat through cunning bowling.

Kings XI saw off 36 dot balls in their innings and allowed Knight Riders' attack to create pressure and use it to their advantage. Narine struck twice in his opening spell - when Adam Gilchrist top-edged and attempted pull to depart for 5 and by bowling Shaun Marsh with a delivery that turned away from the left-hander.

Together with Kallis, he ensured Kings XI crawled to 31 for 2 after seven overs and that they did not score a single boundary in five of them. If not for the half-century stand between Mandeep Singh and David Hussey, they would have not got off the starting blocks at all. The pair settled in on the surface, started to time the ball better and occasionally challenged the fielders, beating them for boundaries and pushing them hard to turn singles into twos. Old-fashioned grit and grind helped them build but just as they were looking to launch, Mandeep slog swept straight to deep mid-wicket.

They were never really able to push after that as Hussey was run-out soon after and the dominoes fell steadily after that. Bhatia took two wickets in his final over and Narine also struck twice on being brought back on the attack. Kings XI scored 30 runs off the last two overs which, in the end, proved to be the difference.