Delhi Daredevils get a Royal thrashing

The purple cap on Sohail Tanvir’s head is a beacon for batsmen to recognize and respect the IPL’s highest wicket-taker. Captain Shane Warne’s gambit to use him as a pinch-hitter did not work. The Pakistani repaid his captain with a stunning catch on the fence to send back dangerman Virender Sehwag in over number two.

That signalled the beginning of the end for Delhi Daredevils in the first semifinal of the DLF-Indian Premier League at the Wankhede stadium here on Friday night. Sehwag and mates crumbled in 16.1 overs for 87 runs, chasing down 192 for nine in 20 overs.

Substitute Taruvar Kohli and Mohd Kaif displayed their reflexes to send back Gautam Gambhir and Dinesh Karthik respectively.

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Shaun Marsh’s century helps Kings XI Punjab to easy win

This was one tall-scoring no-contest that nobody seemed to mind. The crowd loved the barrage of big hits, Kings XI Punjab was pleased to post its highest tally in the Indian Premier League while a seriously-depleted Rajasthan Royals did not think too much of the 41-run defeat.

Centurion Shaun Marsh, fellow opener James Hopes and skipper Yuvraj Singh happily indulged in some huge hitting to raise the team’s score to 221 for three against a rival that happily experimented with everything — a new captain, a toothless attack and an inexplicable batting order.

The result was a near carnage at the PCA Stadium with the Kings XI trio hitting 14 sixes and 20 boundaries between them much to the delight of the home supporters. Rajasthan responded with eight sixes and 18 fours in its 180 for seven.

Emphatic win for Mumbai Indians

On a day when afternoon showers nearly washed out the match, the crowd’s loudest cheers were reserved not for the moment when the covers came off and an 18-overs a side match was deemed feasible but when the public address system announced ‘Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar’ as he walked out with Sanath Jayasuriya.

Chasing Royal Challengers Bangalore’s 122 in their DLF Indian Premier League match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Wednesday, the Mumbai Indians’ skipper (40 n.o., 42b, 4x4, 1x6) largely stayed in Jayasuriya’s shadow. The Sri Lankan hogged the limelight with a blazing 54 besides gifting stinging palms to a few spectators as he carted four sixes into the stands besides four fours in a 37-ball blitz.

The duo’s 96-run partnership ensured Mumbai Indians’ nine-wicket victory in the last league match for both teams. Mumbai Indians finished with 14 points while the home side stayed on eight.

Royals beat Mumbai by 5 wickets

Niraj Patel (40 not out) and Ravindra Jadeja (23 not out) turned heroes by scoring 16 runs from the match-deciding last over to guide Rajasthan Royals to an improbable last-ball 5-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians in a nerve-wrecking Indian Premier League match here Monday.

Chasingh 146 for victory, the young duo stood tall among ruins to share an unfinished 69-run stand for the 6th wicket to single-handedly decide the fate of the match though aided by some blunders by the Mumbai team.

Monday's result ensured that Delhi Daredevils make it to the semifinals with 15 points from 14 matches while Mumbai Indians (12 points from 13 matches) will have to wait the outcome of Tuesday's match between Chennai Super Kings (14 points from 13 and bottom placed Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad.

If Chennai wins, they will make the grade and Mumbai's match against Bangalore Royal Challengers on Wednesday will be inconsequential as the MS Dhoni-led side will get 16 points in that case.

If Chennai loses, Mumbai will have to win against Bangalore and in that case net run rate will decide who will make it to semifinals.

Coming together in the 13th over at their team total of 77 and five, Jadeja and Patel braved the odds to inch closer to the target of 146, but to score 16 from the last over seemed difficult if not impossible.

Dilahara Fernando, who bowled the last over conceded a free-hit in the second ball and Niraj took three from it before hitting a six in the third ball and two singles in next two balls.

The drama was not over there with the Sri Lankan bowling a wide in the penultimate ball when Mumbai needed four from two balls.

IPL Challengers ambushes Super Kings

Winning cricket is a lot about handling pressure. When a semifinal place beckoned, Chennai Super Kings dug a hole for itself at Chepauk on Wednesday.

A horrible mess-up saw the side slumping from 60 for no loss in the ninth over to 111 for eight when the final over commenced. Sixteen runs were required off the final six balls.

Then, Suresh Raina managed just a single run off the first three balls from Praveen Kumar. Makhaya Ntini conceded three dot balls and Royal Challengers Bangalore romped home by 14 runs.

The visitor deserved credit for the manner it fought after making just 126 for eight in 20 overs. Then, Dravid led well and his bowlers responded.

Super Kings has 14 points from 12 games while Royal Challengers takes its tally to six from an equal number of matches.

While Royal Challengers displayed great spirit on the field, it still was a match that Super Kings contrived to lose. When percentage batting was required after a solid opening stand of 60 in 9.1 overs between Stephen Fleming and Parthiv Patel, Super Kings batsmen perished to forgettable lofted shots. Strategically, it was poor cricket.

Dhoni’s dismissal, after he promoted himself to No. 3, was the turning point. He took a calculated risk of paceman Vinay Kumar and holed out to long on.

IPL Kings XI holds its nerve in a thriller

Sachin Tendulkar left his mark on T20 cricket with a well-crafted 46-ball 65 (12 fours), his first half-century of the DLF Indian Premier League.

His run-out at the non-striker end after being sent back by Robin Uthappa, Mumbai Indians 41 runs away from victory at 159-4, triggered off a wave of panic down the ranks.

Instead of picking up the cue from the skipper’s composed batting, four more run-outs followed as the home team was bowled out for 188, two tantalising runs away from a probable victory.

Kings XI Punjab won by one run, with captain Yuvraj Singh bringing down the curtain on a grand game with a dive to run out the last man. He had earlier twisted the knife into Mumbai with two vital wickets (Uthappa and Shaun Pollock) just when Mumbai Indians was inching towards 190 needed for victory.

IPL Rajasthan Royals storms into the semifinals

It is all over for Kolkata Knight Riders. For the Shah Rukh Khan-owned side the inaugural DLF-Indian Premier League is almost over though it has two more matches left.

Diehard supporters may come up with many permutations and combinations that could keep the side’s chances of a semifinal berth alive but the reality is that Shane Warne and his Rajasthan Royals has ensured the elimination of Sourav Ganguly’s Knight Riders.

The Kolkata side will now play for minor places in this Twenty20 competition.

5-wkt. win for Daredevils

Powered by a frenzied 90-run partnership in seven overs between openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, Delhi Daredevils overcame a mid-innings stutter, to script a five-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the DLF-Indian Premier League match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday.

Chasing Challengers’ 154, Gambhir (39), the most prolific batsman in the IPL, kept threading his fours, while Sehwag (47) unleashed mayhem, slashing Zaheer and pulling Praveen Kumar.

Sehwag survived but not for long as he smote Praveen straight to Bharath Chipli but by then his 19-ball cameo topped with nine fours and a six, had set his team well on course.

IPL Akhtar doubtful for crunch game

After Sunday’s thunderstorm that blew away Kolkata Knight Riders’ chances of a win over Chennai Super Kings at the Eden Gardens, the team suffered another jolt with the news that bowling spearhead Shoaib Akhtar is down with a knee injury.

With Rajasthan Royals eyeing its ninth win, the Kolkata outfit would have liked to field its best 11 in its 12th match of the DLF-Indian Premier League on Tuesday. The local side needs to win the remaining three games and wait for other results to see whether it can make it to the knockout stage.

IPL T20 Another win for Mumbai Indians

It was yet another dismal performance from the Deccan Chargers. It suffered its fifth straight defeat at home as Mumbai Indians notched up it’s sixth straight win with a 25-run verdict in the DFL-Indian Premier League at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Sunday.

Sri Lankan pace bowler Dilhara Fernando’s double strike in the fifth over of the innings — forcing the dangerous Adam Gilchrist to slash to third man and trapping Rohit Sharma leg before — effectively short-circuited whatever hopes the host had entertained.

IPL T20 CSK Makhaya Ntini performs a hat-trick

Chennai Super Kings won the DLF-IPL Twenty20 match by three runs against Kolkata Knight Riders as per the Duckworth-Lewis method after play was halted first by the failure of some lights in the floodlight towers and later by a Nor’wester that lashed the stadium.

At the time of the stoppage, Super Kings had replied with 55 for no loss in eight overs chasing Knight Riders’ 149 for five in 20 overs.

As per the D/L method, Super Kings needed to score 52 in eight overs.

The Super Kings openers, Stephen Fleming and Parthiv Patel, negotiated the famed Knight Riders’ pace attack of Shoaib Akhtar and Ishant Sharma with aplomb.

IPL T20 Mumbai makes it a no-contest

The sight of Shoaib Akhtar steaming in is a scary sight for the batsmen, apart from testing their reaction time. Ishant Sharma bringing the ball down from a height is a daunting prospect. Without runs to defend, these two weapons turned into blanks for Kolkata Knight Riders.

Sanath Jayasuriya steadied Mumbai Indians’ nerves with blistering strokeplay (48 not out, 17b), flicking sixes to mid-wicket like only he can to rattle the bowlers, reducing the run chase to a no-contest as the home team sauntered home by eight wickets in its DLF-Indian Premier League’s ninth round match at the Wankhede Stadium here on Friday.

Akhtar was brought down to earth after the minor high of Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket off the fifth ball, as Jayasuriya’s counter-punching resulted in 29 runs in over number two. From then on, it was a cruise all the way for Mumbai and it overhauled Kolkata’s 67 — the lowest score in the IPL so far — in just 5.3 overs.

Shaun Pollock showed Mumbai the way with an outstanding four-over spell of swing bowling, finishing with three for 12 after the visitors were asked to bat.

Tendulkar chipped in with four catches as Dwayne Bravo (two for 13), Rohan Raje (two for 16) and Dominic Thornely (two for seven) joined the party.

IPL T20 Mishra does the trick for Daredevils

In a game dominated by batsmen, unsung leg-spinner Amit Mishra picked up five wickets, including a hat-trick in the crucial last over of the match, to keep Delhi Daredevils afloat in the DLF-Indian Premier League. An overflowing Ferozeshah Kotla on Thursday witnessed some splendid innovation in stroke-play as the home bowlers strove to snatch the match from a determined opposition.

The setting was ideal. A run-chase that promised action as Shahid Afridi and Adam Gilchrist walked to the middle and carted the ball around.

IPL Jayasuriya ambushes Chennai Super Kings

Sachin Tendulkar kept Sanath Jayasuriya away from bowling duties. And the hungry Sri Lankan feasted on the Chennai Super Kings bowlers, lashing 11 sixes in an awesome display of crisp, clean hitting as Mumbai Indians cruised to a nine-wicket victory in the DLF-Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium here on Wednesday.

Jayasuriya’s unbeaten 114 came off just 48 deliveries and he hit nine boundaries apart from the 11 sixes. Mumbai Indians, chasing 157 for victory, reached 158 for one in the 14th over in a one-sided encounter.

Shoaib Akhtar bowls Knight Riders to victory

Shoaib Akhtar produced a magical three-over opening spell to demolish the Delhi Daredevils top-order, as Kolkata Knight Riders scripted a sensational 23-run win in the DLF-Indian Premier League encounter at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.

For Akhtar, who had to miss two matches on fitness grounds and was doubtful even for this tie, it was a memorable IPL debut. He began in spectacular fashion, sending back Delhi Daredevil skipper Virender Sehwag in the second ball of the opening over.

He removed Gautam Gambhir in his next over and dismissed A.B. de Villiers and Manoj Tiwary off successive balls in his third over to be on a hat-trick. Tillekeratne Dilshan, however, denied Akhtar a hat-trick.

Daredevils fought back through some dogged batting by Dilshan and Amit Mishra. The two added 24 for the sixth wicket to put Daredevils back on track. Just when it looked like Daredevils was in with a chance came the dramatic run out of Dilshan (25, 19b, 5x4). Laxmi Ratan Shukla’s throw sent the Sri Lankan back.

Police commissionerate for suburbs

A police commissionerate will be set up for the suburbs given the huge population increase and consequent policing needs, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi announced in the Assembly on Monday.

Replying to the debate on the demands for grants for the Police department, Mr. Karunanidhi said that more than 1.2 crore people lived in the area under the present Greater Chennai Police Commissionerate. Apart from the increase in population and vehicles, many industries had to set shop in the suburbs.

Mr. Karunanidhi said Mumbai city had a commissionerate and there were two such set-ups to cater to its suburbs. In Hyderabad, there was one each for the city and the suburbs.

IPL Kings XI leaves Challengers in ruins

Rahul Dravid, under fire from all quarters, must have finally realised that it is impossible to win a war with bows and arrows against an enemy armed with rapid-fire guns.

It was yesterday once more for Royal Challengers Bangalore as it came up with yet another uninspiring performance against Kings XI Punjab and found itself gunned down with nine wickets and 4.2 overs to spare.

The victory was the sixth for Kings XI in nine matches. With 12 points, the team shares the second spot with Chennai Super Kings. The result meant that Royal Challengers kept Deccan Chargers company with four points and seven losses from nine games, but trailed in the net run-rate to be last in the standings.

Yuvraj Singh may have lost the toss but got everything right mainly due to the bulk of the job done by home-grown bowlers and overseas batsmen. A target of 144 never looked challenging as Kings XI’s frontline batsmen dealt in sixes and stayed in cruise mode.

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Delhi Daredevils wilted under Shane Watson’s assault to lose its DLF-IPL encounter to Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Sunday.

The powerful Australian hit thundering shots and towering sixes (74, 40b, 5x4, 5x6) and single-handedly changed the complexion of the match as Royals scripted its fifth win on home ground. Royals, which has won all its matches at home, leads the table with 14 points and has almost clinched a place in the semifinals. Watson was named ‘man-of-the-match.’

Defending a total of 156, Daredevils strove to compete against the odds. A.B. de Villiers and Virender Sehwag pounced on mistakes made by the rival batsmen and Royals looked vulnerable.

Delhi sustained the pressure, but once Watson pulled Yomahesh for a six over midwicket and targeted him to accelerate Royals’ scoring rate from a mere three an over in the first five, events changed dramatically.

Though leg-spinner Amit Mishra captured the wickets of Graeme Smith and Ravindra Jadeja, it was not enough.

Watson fell when the Royals was seven short of the target. He was declared out after umpire Steve Davis referred the appeal to the third umpire.

IPL Ganguly show lays Deccan Chargers low

Sourav Ganguly’s batting was all about timing. And, the Prince of Kolkata left an indelible impression on the capacity crowd with a special effort (91, 57 balls 11 x 4, 5 x 6) and complemented it with a two-wicket haul to script Kolkata Knight Riders’ 23-run win over Deccan Chargers and keep its chances of qualifying for semifinals afloat in the DLF Indian Premier League match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Sunday.

For the host, this was the fourth straight defeat at home and is languishing with four points from nine matches while Knight Riders have eight points from eight matches.

For Deccan Chargers, chasing a formidable 205, the fortunes revolved around the form of the explosive Adam Gilchrist. He seemed to be in the mood, pulling Ishant Sharma to the fence and then on-driving Ashok Dinda and hitting him over his head for two fours in the fifth over. But in the same over, he pulled straight to the mid-wicket to the delight of Knight Riders.

IPL Badrinath, Dhoni set up Chennai’s win

S. Badrinath and M.S. Dhoni fed off each other’s frenzy to put on 91 runs in 64 balls for the fourth wicket, which helped Chennai Super Kings defeat Kings XI Punjab by 18 runs at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday. L. Balaji added to some climactic drama, managing the IPL’s first hat-trick, to seal the win for Chennai.

Badrinath bought time initially with chanceless defence. Compelled to begin scoring, Badrinath began by taking two boundaries off S. Sreesanth — one over mid-wicket and the other over the bowler’s head. Suresh Raina took V.R.V. Singh on for a strike through the covers. The innings’ first six came when Badrinath made full use of a free hit.

Following Raina’s dismissal, Badrinath took Piyush Chawla on for his second six, which sailed over mid-wicket. M.S. Dhoni wasted little time in hitting Chawla for maximum over deep mid-wicket and sent the next one straight for another six. Chennai Super Kings brought up its 100 in 10.5 overs. Badrinath prospered in his captain’s company, giving himself room against James Hopes for a confident cut through point. The 50-run partnership between the two came in 33 balls.

IPL Super Kings may find the going tough

The Chennai Super Kings, having averted crisis in Delhi, will face a side on a five-match winning streak, at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday. Kings XI Punjab has gathered an envious number of performers. There has been no dependence on one individual and it has performed well as a unit.

“We had a couple of bad games in the beginning, but we assessed the situation after that. We’ve worked on our game-plans and focussed on being consistent. Everyone’s been assigned a role which they’re all sticking to. Our plans are working out well, and it’s looking good for us,” said Kings XI skipper Yuvraj Singh on Friday.

The Punjab side has worked its way to the top of the points table, which makes it a challenge for the Chennai Super Kings to defeat it for the second time in the competition.

IPL Yusuf Pathan powers Royals to easy win

Batting with gusto, Yusuf Pathan a secured Rajasthan Royals its sixth win in the IPL that has placed the Jaipur team on top of the DLF-IPL table. Graeme Smith seemed glad to play the supporting role, as Pathan went about his business, smashing fours and sixes.

The men in Royal blues have evidently found the conditions at the Sawai Mansingh stadium quite to its favour, and it was no different on Friday. Its home record has been without a blemish so far. Moreover, no other team in the eight team league has recorded six wins, though the Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings may follow suit anytime.

The home team lost the openers, but yet it crossed the finishing line with plenty of overs to spare and notch up its second win against the Deccan Chargers. Indications are that the Hyderabad team will struggle to stage a comeback.

Once Adam Gilchrist was sent back after a stroke-filled half century, it became clear that Royals would put its resources to optimum use. Once the opponent had been restricted to 140, Pathan and Smith completed the job at hand untroubled.

IPL Warne considers changes to his side

On Friday, the DLF-IPL may just see the participation of its first ever player from England. Handpicked by Rajasthan Royals at the instance of its captain and coach Shane Warne at the second auction, Hampshire’s Dimitri Mascarenhas has so far been a mere spectator of the success of the team. Warne has kept him occupied in the nets with bat and ball and in brain storming sessions since the 30-year-old all-rounder arrived here ten days ago.

Mascarenhas has built a reputation around explosive batting and handy efforts with the ball. Two years ago, Warne had expressed surprise at the fact that England had never, until then, given him a chance in the one-day side — his captain at Hampshire considers him the best ‘finisher’ with the bat in England regards his bowling pretty useful too. Last summer, Mascarenhas had clobbered Yuvraj Singh for five sixes in an over, emphasising his ability with the bat.

IPL Last-ball win for Super Kings

A last-ball finish left the local spectators heart-broken, but Chennai Super Kings, backing itself wonderfully, drove home the essence of calculated aggression and some sensible batting in a very clinical manner.

Chennai, electing to chase, accomplished a pulsating four-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils, which did everything right but failed to finish.
Pressure on Daredevils

The win kept Chennai in the race in the DLF-Indian Premier League and put pressure on Daredevils.

Chasing 188 for victory, Chennai had the composure and the flourish, as seen in the manner in which Albie Morkel decimated Virender Sehwag in an over to swing the match his side’s way. The tail then completed the mission in a thrilling end to a fine contest.

Sehwag looked helpless as Morkel picked the ball clean and hard to plunder 23 runs in an over. The silence at the Kotla was stunning and suddenly the venue exploded when V. Yomahesh brought Daredevils back into the reckoning by claiming the wickets of M.S. Dhoni and C.K. Kapugedera in the same over.

IPL T20 Gilchrist sets up Chargers’ second win

A series of self-inflicted dismissals saw the Chennai Super Kings manage just 144 for seven, in the IPL match against the Deccan Chargers at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. Adam Gilchrist’s savagery took the Chargers to a comfortable seven-wicket win, on Tuesday.

Gilchrist, never inclined at buying time, was severe on Makhaya Ntini. Twenty20 and Chennai’s score agreed well with the left-hander. The license to attack was used to maximum effect. Nitini was censured for his length, when the left-hander struck two sixes, one over mid-wicket and the other over mid-on.

The front-foot moved just enough for the execution to materialise. The 36-ball 54 had seven fours and two sixes, and ended when S. Badrinath at point took an excellent catch off Albie Morkel.

With Gilchrist having set it up for the Chargers, Scott Styris ensured the win for the visiting side. It was the Chargers’ second win in seven matches.

Kings XI Punjab saunters to victory

Punjabi interludes wafted in the breeze at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday night as Kings XI Punjab notched its fifth successive victory in the DLF Indian Premier League.

In a fire-and-ice performance, mirrored by S. Sreesanth’s twin-strike in the match’s first over and Shaun Marsh’s valuable 39 (34b, 4x4, 1x6), Kings XI defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by six-wickets.

Kings XI has 10 points from seven matches and Royal Challengers continued to slip and has four from seven outings.

Chasing the home side’s meagre 126, Kings XI stumbled initially as opener James Hopes found a diving Cameron White while Zaheer Khan exulted in the innings’ second over.

Ramnaresh Sarwan ambled in and drove the bowlers to distraction, threading boundaries through a packed off-side manned by four fielders. Sarwan’s cameo (31, 30b, 5x4, 1x6) that fizzled out in Praveen Kumar’s wicket-maiden, ensured that the visitor was ahead of the required run-rate.

IPL Warne – leading from the front

The matches in the IPL have provided a lot of entertainment and thrills to the purists as well as the recently converted fans. The tournament has provided the opportunity to see the great, good and the upcoming cricketers on the same platform.

The cricketers belonging to the different categories have displayed admirable skills but some have shown that excelling in mind games backed up by skills is the domain of a great cricketer. The likes of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath have provided a lot of delight to the public apart from teaching their younger colleagues a thing or two about this game.

Pollock inspires Mumbai to fine win

Shaun Pollock made things happen as Mumbai Indians stunned Delhi Daredevils by 29 runs for an astonishing victory in the DLF Indian Premier League on Sunday. The home team captain struck three sixes in a 14-ball 33 — runs that proved critical in the final analysis — and then prodded his bowlers and fielders into action as Delhi, chasing 163, fell apart bit by bit to get bowled out for 133.

Gautam Gambhir, looking to overtake Rohit Sharma as the leading run-getter, ended with one off nine balls and Glenn McGrath finished his quota of overs without a wicket against his name.

Pollock’s influence was evident as Mumbai defended 162 at the D.Y. Patil stadium with the enthusiasm of a side willing to go that extra mile. The collective effort was good enough for the bottom placed team to pull down the league topper in 18.5 overs. Dhaval Kulkarni’s stretch on his follow-through to deflect a ferocious Virender Sehwag drive onto the stumps to run out AB de Villiers was just a sample of the adrenalin flowing. Robin Uthappa, patrolling at cover, chipped in with a smart catch to send back Gambhir.

Ban on Shoaib suspended

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Tribunal on Sunday suspended the five-year ban on fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for a month. The PCB move will enable Akhtar to take part in the on-going Indian Premier League (IPL).

“We have suspended the ban for a month. From June 4, the five-year ban will be effective again,” said Farrukh Aftab, who heads the tribunal, in Islamabad.

The PCB acted on a request from Akhtar’s lawyers who said the IPL was refusing to allow the bowler to take part in its Twenty20 competition while the ban stood. The PCB ban, for several disciplinary breaches, pertained to representing Pakistan and playing cricket at home. However, the IPL insisted on the ban being lifted or suspended.

Akhtar has been signed on by the Kolkata Knight Riders for $ 450,000. He could boost the attack of the side that has lost its last four games.

Lalit Modi, chairman and commissioner, IPL, said “Akhtar’s contract still stands. I am going to call him and tell him to take the first flight to India.”

The PCB is expected to take a final decision on Akhtar’s appeal on June 4.

Challengers’s confidence rekindled

Royal Challengers Bangalore managed to grab a breath in the DLF-Indian Premier League on Saturday with its three-run victory over Deccan Chargers but before the team can savour its hard fought victory, Monday night will pit the home side against Kings XI Punjab at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

With two wins and four points from six matches the team’s confidence has been rekindled by Saturday’s result. Royal Challengers skipper Rahul Dravid would hope that his team would continue its good form against Yuvraj Singh’s Kings XI.

Kings XI, after shrugging aside its opening two losses, has notched up four consecutive victories to gift endless dimples to franchise owner Preity Zinta.

Tanvir rattles Chennai Super Kings

Victory was never in doubt for Rajasthan Royals in its DLF-IPL Twenty20 clash after left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir rocked the Chennai Super Kings top order with three wickets at the start at the Sawai Man Singh stadium here on Sunday night.

He also showed a safe pair of hands to signal the end of two batsmen before finishing the day’s splendid work by taking three more wickets. His remarkable bowling analysis of 4-0-14-6, to use a cliché, created history.

The Pakistan bowler’s phenomenal six-wicket burst — split in two spells — sent Chennai Super Kings crashing to 109. The Royals batsmen then took charge. Graeme Smith dispatched Makhya Nitini over mid wicket with a short arm pull and slashed another over cover as he put his team firmly on road to its fifth win.