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.

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.

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

Punjab win to join mid-table scrum 

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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.

Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders, Mohali,Cricinfo

Kolkata Knight Riders 127 for 2 (Gambhir 66*) beat Kings XI Punjab 124 for 7 (Gilchrist 40*, Lee 2-26, Narine 2-24) by eight wickets 

In one of the more one-sided games of the tournament, Kolkata Knight Riders breezed to an eight-wicket win and made amends for fluffing a chase against the same opponents, Kings XI Punjab, three days ago. A deflated Kings XI limped to 124 on their home surface after winning the toss but there were no twists as Knight Riders, led by Gautam Gambhir, attained the target with a risk-free approach.

The pitch had a layer of grass and offered movement off the seam, but it didn't have the kind of moisture that gave the bowlers an edge in the previous Mohali game, against Pune Warriors. Nevertheless, the batsmen didn't have the freedom to hit through the line - a staple fare in the plenty of games so far in the IPL.

None of the Kings XI batsmen could bat through. Adam Gilchrist kept the momentum going with a couple of boundaries through the on side, but pulled a hamstring while completing a quick single. He had to retire, and his untimely departure in the sixth over dented the run-rate.

Kings XI were going along at 7.50 but post-Gilchrist, it had declined to as low as 5.93. The Knight Riders bowlers didn't allow any big partnerships to develop, nothing higher than 24.

Much depended on Marsh to give the team momentum, but he departed for 33, albeit in controversial circumstances. He chased a wide delivery from Lee shaping away and got a thick outside edge which dipped to the wicketkeeper, but Manvinder Bisla immediately claimed the catch. The umpires conferred and took Bisla's word, but replays couldn't confirm if he had his gloves underneath the ball. Marsh accepted the ruling, but the team owner Preity Zinta didn't appear too pleased with the decision, querying one of the match officials before Gilchrist stepped in to restore calm.

It triggered off a steady collapse as David Hussey fell shortly after due to bad calling, before Dimitri Mascarenhas and Paras Dogra perished going for the big shots. Gilchrist returned in the 17th over to pick up the pieces and he struck the only six of the innings, in the final over. That Kings XI managed only three boundaries in the last ten overs showed how Knight Riders tightened the noose.

Brendon McCullum got the chase off the blocks with forceful pulls to the on side, but ironically fell to an embarrassing shot in the same region. Piyush Chawla bowled a long hop way down the leg side but somehow, McCullum contrived to find short fine leg, prompting a disbelieving grin from Chawla.

Gambhir remained strong square of the wicket on both sides, cutting when given width and nudging away deliveries on the pads.

Bisla launched Harmeet Singh for a six over mid-off but was bowled dragging one on to his stumps just before the halfway stage. With a paltry target to defend, Kings XI could have attacked more, kept a slip or a couple of men in close catching positions to force a mistake. Gambhir had the freedom to use his feet against the spinners, getting to his half-century off 36 balls.

Gambhir had earlier demanded more application from his middle order. Today, he led by example.

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.

Kings XI Punjab v Pune Warriors, IPL 2012, Mohali,Cricinfo

Mascarenhas take five wickets-for gives Punjab first win

Dimitri Mascarenhas and Shaun Marsh were the architects of a comfortable win for Kings XI Punjab, their first this IPL after a poor start to the season. Mascarenhas picked up his second five-for in Twenty20 cricket, in conditions perfectly suited to his accuracy and medium pace. His performance helped bowl out Pune Warriors for just 115 on a slow track, and Shaun Marsh ensured the chase was on track with a composed half-century that marked his own return to form.

On a Mohali track that had some grass and one that was livened up with some rain last night, the Kings XI seamers justified their captain's decision to field, deriving swing and movement with some accurate bowling and picking up wickets at a steady pace in the process. After the early loss of Jesse Ryder, who was run out thanks to a late decision against a single by his partner Sourav Ganguly, Praveen Kumar, Parvinder Awana and Mascarenhas went about slowing down the innings considerably. Praveen got significant away movement and surprised the batsmen with ones that nipped back in.

The top order hasn't really fired for the Warriors and the trend continued. After promising much with a couple of delightful shots, Ganguly was dismissed thanks to the introduction of Mascarenhas. He got rid of Ganguly with some away movement that produced a leading edge, and saw off an edgy Marlon Samuels with a lovely delivery that moved just at the right time to clip the off stump.

At the other end, with the Warriors soon reduced to 29 for 3, Uthappa was forced to curb his natural instincts but found an able partner in Mithun Manhas, whose swift running and busy approach didn't allow his side to buckle down significantly. Interspersed between a spate of singles and twos were a couple of useful boundaries from Manhas, a wristy smack over Piyush Chawla's head standing out.

The 26-run stand for the fifth wicket ended when Uthappa holed out against Mascarenhas in his second spell and Steven Smith followed not long after, bowled off an inside edge. Smith and Uthappa had played a critical role in the Warriors' previous two wins, chipping in with cameos that proved crucial in the outcome, but weren't able to push on today.

Mascarenhas returned to trouble the Warriors more in his final spell, and wasn't perturbed when struck for a huge six over extra cover by Manhas. He stuck to a straight line, bowling Manhas the very next ball as he tried the scoop, and picked his fifth as Rahul Sharma skied one to deep midwicket; the innings was wrapped up shortly after.

Barring a first-ball setback when Paul Valthaty was cleaned up by Ashok Dinda, Kings XI never really strayed off the track in the chase. Marsh, whose last seven Test innings have yielded just 17 runs, began his innings in style, pulling Dinda through midwicket. It didn't help the Warriors that their fielding was poor, with misfields, overthrows, a missed run-out and a couple of dropped catches preventing them from putting up a fight.

Together with Adam Gilchrist, Marsh saw off the early pressure with two crunching boundaries off Samuels through the off side and Gilchrist matched him, smacking Angelo Mathews for successive fours in the last over of the field restrictions. Marsh, who was reprieved when on 31 and 41, was ruthless when offered width and his adeptness at playing the pull allowed the Warriors bowlers little margin for error. Both timing and power were on display, a classy flick over midwicket off Nehra and a towering six over long-on off Rahul Sharma typifying both those features.

Chawla, promoted above David Hussey, gave Marsh good company and sealed the win, the Warriors doing their bit to hasten it through some sloppy fielding.