Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowlers knocked out Rajasthan Royals from the IPL, and kept their semi-final hopes alive, by limiting them to a below-par score on a slowish pitch, and Sourav Ganguly backed them up with another significant contribution to ensure a comprehensive eight-wicket win. The effort overcame an intimidating start from Shane Watson, who began with a series of boundaries, and the loss of early wickets in the chase. Kolkata, however, face a tough task in ensuring a qualification for the knockout stage, as they have to beat a formidable Mumbai Indians in their next game and by a big margin to boost their negative net run-rate.

Watson, opening for the first time this IPL, took little time in settling in to his preferred position in limited-overs cricket, and triggered a confident start with a series of boundaries, feeding off some indisciplined bowling. The Kolkata bowlers often pitched too short or were countered by some superior batting by Watson, who created opportunities to find the boundaries with ease. But the damage caused in the first seven overs, where Rajasthan had raced to 57 without loss, was compensated for by Kolkata’s seamers, who, realising the sluggish nature of the track, cut down on pace and used their variations well. Laxmi Shukla played a prominent role in the first two dismissals, bowling Watson with a slower legcutter and then flinging himself to his left to snap a blinder off Naman Ojha.

Kolkata’s ground-fielding remained poor for much of the innings but their catching won them crucial wickets. Sourav Ganguly’s brilliant effort to get rid of Yusuf Pathan was among the best catches in the tournament, as he ran back several yards from midwicket, kept his eyes on the ball and fell full stretch to hold on. When Ashok Dinda had Adam Voges hole out to long-on in the 14th over, four out of five genuine batsmen had fallen prey to the slower ball.

While the boundaries had dried up, Rajasthan could have still worked the field and rotated the strike to preserve enough wickets for the surge at the death. But their batsmen consumed an inordinate number of dot balls – including a wicket-maiden by Bond where he dismissed Aaron Finch – to salvage just 30 runs in the last six overs for the loss of five wickets.

The conditions were difficult to handle, with Rajasthan’s bowlers consistently slipping in slower cutters and the ball keeping low and an altered middle order, featuring three changes from the previous game, struggled in the wake of the increasing pressure. Abhishek Raut and Paras Dogra fell in their attempt to step up, and Dinda’s last over featured two more wickets, as Rajasthan, in a must-win game, disappointed with the bat.

Kolkata needed an attacking start in their pursuit of a big win to propel their net run-rate, but were deprived by the early loss of Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle. Ganguly had warmed up well with three boundaries, but Kamran Khan’s double-strike in the third over – he snared McCullum with a full toss and bowled Gayle through the gate – prompted a change in approach with Kolkata opting for a game of caution, postponing their acceleration. Each of the next five overs featured a boundary, but only 22 were scored off them as most balls, barring the bad one that had to be dispatched, were pushed towards fielders inside the circle.

The quest to pierce the field and hunt for more singles was evident in the first couple of overs following the time-out, and it was in the 12th over that Ganguly displayed the belated aggression, making room and charging down the track to strike Yusuf for two boundaries. He and Cheteshwar Pujara then followed up with a six each in the next over from Adam Voges. Ganguly hammered consecutive fours off Siddharth Trivedi and helped smote 15 in Faiz Fazal’s only over to help Kolkata past their target with 23 balls to spare, but the result, despite its convincing margin, may yet prove inadequate for Kolkata when the final four are determined.

Siddhartha Talya is an editorial assistant at Cricinfo

On a slow pitch that lacked bounce, Royal Challengers Bangalore restricted Rajasthan to 130 before they knocked it off without much fuss to win a crucial encounter in Jaipur. With this crushing win, Bangalore now move to second position in the points table.

It was a disciplined performance from Royal Challengers Bangalore who kept things simple and let Rajasthan’s top order collapse under the pressure of setting a target. Shane Warne said at the toss that he reckoned 165-170 was a par total and perhaps, the attempt to set a big target did them in. The pitch too, certainly, played its part and they lost their way.

The chase was over in a blink, with Kevin Pietersen taking complete control of the innings with an entertaining and aggressive knock. He looted 18 runs in the fourth over, bowled by Kamran Khan, with the help of four boundaries – a slapped four, a muscled hit over mid-off, a scorching off-drive and a pulled six. When he collected three more boundaries in the sixth, bowled by Adam Voges, Bangalore were comfortably on course. The only hope left for Rajasthan was whether Shane Warne could produce any magic but Pietersen and Robin Uthappa went after him in style to deliver the killer blow.

Though their bowling lacked bite, it was the batsmen who let down Rajasthan today. Things went wrong right from the start when Michael Lumb was run out trying to steal a single to backward point. The new batsman Amit Paunikar fell for a first-ball duck, edging an attempted hook to the keeper. The worst shot from a top-order batsman, though, was from Naman Ojha who heaved a back-of-length delivery from outside off to mid-on. In a blink, Rajasthan had slipped to 21 for 3 in 3.2 overs and though Shane Watson attempted a repair job, there was never a phase of play where Rajasthan dominated.

Once the top order collapsed and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, who likes to stay beside the line and thread the off side, struggled to pierce a packed off-side field, it was obvious that the responsibility of scoring runs would fall on Watson and Yusuf Pathan. And they seemed to have a plan. Jhunjhunwala would try to hit out while Watson would drop anchor, but with Jhunjhunwala failing to get any momentum, Watson tryied to force the pace, and fell. He pulled Jacques Kallis low to the right of square-leg where Kevin Pietersen took a sharp catch to leave Rajasthan wobbling at 53 for 4.

Much depended on Yusuf at that stage but he was kept quiet by a barrage of short-pitched deliveries. Some kicked up shoulder high, some reared towards his chest and some jumped just above his waist but, collectively, it was enough to keep him in check. He edged the pull shots, was late on attempted hooks, couldn’t connect with his upper cuts and his mode of dismissal showed his mindset. When Dale Steyn, who turned in yet another impressive spell of pace bowling, came on to bowl at him, Yusuf expected a short delivery first-up and retreated well inside the crease. However, Steyn surprised him with a full delivery that curved away gently and Yusuf, rooted to his crease, couldn’t get bat to ball. It could have been worse for Rajasthan, who were struggling at 72 for 6, but Adam Voges played a calm hand, along with Abhishek Raut, to ensure they crossed 100.

For Bangalore, each bowler impressed with his discipline: Pankaj Singh hit the full length and varied his pace, Vinay Kumar hit the back of length, Steyn troubled with his pace and variations in length, Kallis used his offcutters to good effect and Kumble was, well, his typical nagging self. They kept Rajasthan down to an under-par score, and Pietersen finished them off.

Sriram Veera is a staff writer at Cricinfo

Sachin Tendulkar shored up Mumbai Indians yet again, steering them into the semi-final with his fifth half-century of the IPL that took him to the top of the run-charts in the tournament. He overcame a strong start from Rajasthan Royals by building two crucial partnerships: the first with JP Duminy to lead Mumbai’s recovery after the loss of three early wickets, and the second with Kieron Pollard to accelerate at the end. That effort was backed up by a clinical performance from Mumbai’s bowlers which left Rajasthan at fourth place on the points table, and inflicted on them their first defeat in nine games in Jaipur.

While their chase seemed doomed to fail after four wickets in the first seven overs, Rajasthan will look back at two phases in the game where Mumbai could have been restricted. They grabbed three wickets in the Powerplay, but failed to keep up the pressure amid a determined rebuilding endeavour by Tendulkar and Duminy. And they performed poorly in the field, with Adam Voges missing an easy opportunity to run out Pollard off his first ball, and Aditya Dole dropping a sitter off Tendulkar when on 45. The lapses cost Rajasthan dearly, as the pair helped plunder 65 off the last five overs to lift Mumbai to a score that proved way out of Rajasthan’s reach.

Tendulkar faced just 12 deliveries in Mumbai’s Powerplay, but adapted superbly, restraining himself while ensuring a healthy rate after the early setbacks and taking off with ease at the death against Rajasthan’s seamers. Shane Watson removed Jayasuriya in his first over, and followed up by dismissing the finds for Mumbai this season, Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary, using the bouncer, a weapon used with much success against local batsmen. But Duminy proved a suitable foil for Tendulkar, and the pair worked the field, picked the singles by calling well and accumulated 30 runs in five overs after the Powerplay by stroking just one boundary.

There was hardly anything for the Jaipur crowd to cheer thereafter, but franchise loyalties mattered little in a Shane Warne v Tendulkar contest that fans were deprived of in the previous encounter between the teams. Tendulkar came up trumps today, with three delightful boundaries in one over against his counterpart. Warne was the only Rajasthan spinner to rely on flight, and Tendulkar improvised twice by striking him inside-out through extra cover. And when Warne dropped one short, Tendulkar made room to cut him through point.

Rajasthan would have sensed a chance once they broke the 63-run stand between Duminy and Tendulkar in the 13th over, but mistakes in the field and some indisciplined bowling at the death cost them. The seamers often bowled too short and when varying their pace, pitched the ball on a length which Tendulkar and Pollard were able to feed off with ease. Pollard began the surge with a slapped four off Dole in the 16th over and clipping Watson through fine leg in the next. He singled out Dole for treatment, smashing him for a six and a four off consecutive deliveries before being bowled to end a 50-run stand.

Tendulkar’s acceleration was more calculated. He had picked out his spots in the field and it didn’t help Rajasthan that their bowlers gave him ample opportunity to find them. With a mid-on inside the circle in the penultimate over, Watson bowled short and was hammered over that fielder for two consecutive fours. When Siddharth Trivedi came on next, Tendulkar targeted the wide long-on region for two successive sixes and finished off with 20 in the final over. The only moment of promise in Rajasthan’s chase was when Michael Lumb struck Dhawal Kulkarni for two fours in the second over, before slashing one straight to point. Zaheer Khan was the best of the Mumbai bowlers, nipping the ball away from the batsmen and clocking in excess of 140 kph and earned his reward when opener Naman Ojha edged one to slip.

While Rajasthan were generous in the field, Mumbai didn’t waste their chances as Shane Watson and Faiz Fazal were run-out after responding late to calls from their partners. All hopes rested on Yusuf Pathan but there were no miracles this time, and when he was caught in the 14th over with the score on 85, Rajasthan’s fate was sealed.

After undermining Rajasthan’s early advantage in the match, and winning his own mini-battle with their captain Warne, Tendulkar’s domination was the defining feature of Mumbai’s comprehensive win.

Siddhartha Talya is an editorial assistant at Cricinfo

Michael Lumb butchered the Kings XI bowlers with a whirlwind 43-ball 83 as Rajasthan Royals spanked their opponents from Punjab by nine wickets in their Indian Premier League match here on Wednesday.

Lumb blasted as many as 16 boundaries and two sixes and amassed 109 off 57 balls with opener Naman Ojha (44 off 37 balls) to help Rajasthan overhaul the target with five overs to spare and inch closer to booking their semifinal berth.

Earlier, Mahela Jayawardene top-scored with a 33-ball 44 and Yuvraj Singh hit a 28-run cameo but Kings XI lost momentum and could manage only 27 runs losing two wickets in the last five overs to score a modest 153.

Lumb was at his attacking best as the English cricketer tore apart the Kings XI bowling and plundered fours and sixes at will to single-handedly take Rajathan Royals to the fastest IPL 3 fifty in 3.5 overs.

Sreesanth was in his firing line in the first over when Lumb slammed two fours off him before picking up four more boundaries spread over the next two overs off Ramesh Powar and Sreesanth.

But it was the fourth over when Lumb went completely berserk and plundered Juan Theron for three boundaries and a six to pick up 20 runs as Rajasthan reached 55 for no loss in 4 overs.

Silent all this time, Naman Ojha then got into the act and clubbed a couple of fours off Powar.

Lumb picked up another four off Piyush Chawla in the next over and then picked up a single to complete his well-deserved fifty in 28 balls.

Bipul Sharma was then introduced into the attack but there was no respite for the 26-year-old spinner as Lumb fired two more fours, before sending Chawla out of the park in the next over.

Skipper Kumar Sangakkara then tossed the ball to Irfan Pathan but it made no difference to Lumb’s plans as he went on to acculumate 17 runs off the left-arm pacer which included four fours en route to Rajasthan’s 108 in nine overs.

Ravi Bopara finally brought an end to his innings when looking for a shot over mid-wicket, Lumb ended up giving a catch to Chawla.

However, Ojha and Yusuf Pathan (21 not out) made sure there was no more hiccups and forged a 33-ball 48-run stand to romp home in quick time.

Earlier, Jayawardene plundered six boundaries and one six, while Yuvraj Singh (28) blasted three sixes and one four to set the tone but Kings XI kept losing wickets and couldn’t accelarate in the end to post a modest 153.

Manvinder Bisla (20) gave Punjab a rollicking start, slamming a couple of fours off Aditya Dole, before welcoming Shane Watson with two more boundaries over point and mid-on.

Last match hero Mehela Jayawardene also got into the act and played a lovely sweep shot off Yusuf Pathan behind square to pick up his first boundary.

However, Watson came back in the next over removing Bisla. Looking for a pull shot, Bisla’s top-edge lobbed straight to Faiz Faisal at square leg as Kings XI were reduced to 29 for one in 3.3 overs.

Unfazed Jayawardene then blasted a six and a four in successive balls off Dole’s second over to keep the tempo high, while new-man Kumar Sangakkara (9) picked up a four off Pathan in the next over.

Shane Warne then introduced Siddharth Trivedi into the attack and the Gujarat cricketer straight away dismissed Sangakkara off his first ball to reduce Punjab to 52 for two in 6.1 overs.

Jayawardene continued his good work and picked up two more boundaries, while Yuvraj Singh’s slog-sweep earned him his first six off Warne in the ninth over.

Pathan almost had Jayawardene in the ninth over but Dole dropped a sitter to give a life to the Sri Lankan.

Yuvraj (28), meanwhile, took Warne for special treatment and plundered two sixes and a four to take Punjab to 103 for two in 11 overs.

However, the left-hander’s innings came to an abrupt end when he bottom-edged a delivery from Dole onto his stumps. One ball later Jayawardene also perished when his leading edge flew to Warne as Punjab suddenly slipped to 109 for four in 11.5 overs.

Ravi Bopara (8) and Irfan Pathan (24 not out) then added 19 runs before a terrible mix-up cost the former his wicket.

Irfan and Piyush Chawla (10) then picked up ones and twos to take Kings XI to 149 before the latter was caught by Jhunjhunwala at long-on.

For Rajasthan, Siddharth Trivedi and Aditya Dole picked up two wickets each giving away 22 and 36 runs respectively, while Shane Watson accounted for one wicket for 19 runs.

Source: NDTV Cricket

Captain Shane Warne took 4 wickets as Rajasthan Royals beat Deccan Chargers by 2 runs in a tense last over finish at VCA Stadium in Nagpur on Monday.

Chargers lost the match on the penultimate ball of the last when Siddharth Trivedi had Rohit Sharma caught by Abhishek Raut at deep cover. Rohit made a valiant 73 off 44 balls with the help of 2 sixes and 8 fours.

Warne dismissed Anirudh Singh (9) and Dwayne Smith (4) in successive overs to reduce Deccan Chargers to 120/5.

Warne first struck in his second over when he had Anirudh caught behind by Naman Ojha by the slider that slid away from outside off-stump and in the next over had Smith caught by Aditya Dole at deep backward square leg.

Warne then dismissed Azhar Bilakhia and Ryan Harris in one over to finish with his best T20 figures of 4-0-21-4.

Siddharth Trivedi had Andrew Symonds caught by Faiz Fazal at extra cover on his first delivery to reduce Deccan Chargers to 86/3.

Symonds, who looked edgy right from the start of his innings, hit 2 fours in his 20-ball 15.

Symonds’ dismissal came after Aditya Dole dismissed VVS Laxman and Adam Gilchrist in two overs on his IPL debut.

Dole first had Laxman (6) caught by Yusuf Pathan at deep square leg and in the next over had Gilchrist caught by Michael Lumb at mid-wicket. Gilchrist hit 3 sixes and 3 fours in his 17-ball 34.

Earlier, RP Singh took 3 wickets as Deccan Chargers restricted Rajasthan Royals to 159 despite Shane Watson’s valiant 58.

Apart from Watson and Faiz Fazal (36) there were no major contributors for Rajasthan.

Watson hit 3 sixes and 3 fours in his knock that came off 36 balls.

Watson hit his sixth IPL half-century off 29 balls soon after Ryan Harris dismissed Yusuf Pathan (5).

Watson reached his fifty in the over after Pathan was dismissed. The plan to pepper Pathan with short-pitched deliveries worked for Deccan as he edged a short ball to VVS Laxman at backward point.

Pragyan Ojha had Fazal caught by Azhar Bilakhia at deep mid-wicket to reduce Rajasthan Royals to 94/3.

Fazal fell after adding 77 with Watson for the third wicket and their partnership revived Rajasthan. Fazal hit 4 fours in his 29-ball knock.

For Rajasthan, Morne Morkel has replaced Shaun Tait.

Deccan have dropped Herschelle Gibbs.

Their semifinal hopes fading, neither Rajasthan nor Deccan can afford to lose.

Teams:

Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne (Capt.), Michael Lumb, Naman Ojha, Shane Watson, Yusuf Pathan, Faiz Fazal, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Abhishek Raut, Siddharth Trivedi, Aditya Dole, Morne Morkel.

Deccan Chargers: Adam Gilchrist (Capt.), VVS Laxman, Andrew Symonds, Rohit Sharma, Azhar Bilakhia, Dwayne Smith, Anirudh Singh, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ryan Harris, Harmeet Singh.

Source: Times of India

This was more Cricinfo Slogout – or whatever your preference for keyboard-fuelled cricket is – at its best as Chennai Super Kings, led by M Vijay, pulverized the Rajasthan Royals bowling and set up a 23-run win. Having been given first use of a belter of track by his captain, an in-form Vijay drubbed a dazed attack into submission with an outstanding century of powerful and clean hitting that carried Chennai to a record total. From 91 for 2 after ten overs, Chennai ransacked 155 in the final ten, and 76 in the last five, with Vijay and Albie Morkel setting a record for the tournament’s highest partnership.

After 20 overs that resembled the mid-point of the French Revolution, Rajasthan had their task cut-out. Their reply was a hard-hitting one led by Naman Ojha and Shane Watson, but though they titled at the windmill for a while, Doug Bollinger’s fine debut – 2 for 15 from four overs – made sure Chennai held on for a victory that kept alive their hopes of a place in the semi-finals.

There’s a special kick that comes from finding a new sensation. So step up, Vijay, and take your bows. On a scorching Saturday afternoon, Chennai bolted out of the stables. The tone was set when they reached 66 for 1 after six overs, with Vijay flexing his muscles to reach 28 off 14 balls. Suresh Raina was cut off by Warne for the second time this season, but that proved to be the best thing to happen to Chennai. Morkel teed off with a trademark slogged six off Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, and when Warne began with a terrible long hop the result was six more. Vijay also launched Warne for six to raise a fifty.

After that costly over Chennai’s run rate was near ten. It went past that mark the first ball of the next over, as Vijay late cut Yusuf Pathan for four and charged him for six, and then nearly touched 11 when Morkel slogged four and six off successive deliveries. Off went Yusuf to nurse figures of 0 for 44 from four overs. Two more incredible shots flowed in the next over, bowled by Shaun Tait. Morkel’s unleashed a perfect drive past cover, Vijay made room and used the pace on the ball to steer a six over third man. By this time the fans were high on some awesome batting, and a pulled six out of the ground sent the spectators at deep midwicket into delirium. After 15 overs, Chennai were 170 for 2.

Upon the conclusion of the 16th over, they were 196 for 2. Vijay’s seventh six came promptly on resumption after the time-out, with Sumit Narwal starting off by bowling length. Morkel didn’t want to be left out and drove a straight six to raise the century stand in 43 balls, but was left marvelling at his partner’s strokeplay when two more sixes flew off Vijay’s bat in a 26-run over. Narwal went for 41 in two overs and it was left to Warne, Watson and Tait to try rein in the rampant batsmen.

Rajasthan had a chance to run out Vijay but Warne failed to collect cleanly. Two runs from four balls seemed like damage control, but Morkel rounded off by taking ten off the last two deliveries. A hammered straight-drive down the ground for four got Vijay to three figures from just 46 balls, and he celebrated with more devastating hitting down the ground as Rajasthan’s bowling imploded. Even the wickets of Morkel, Vijay and MS Dhoni in the final over couldn’t give Rajasthan much lift. Vijay was responsible for 52% of his team’s runs, and his incredible 152-run alliance with Morkel left them battered.

After losing the toss Warne, beads of sweat dripping down his face, said he didn’t have too many issues with Rajasthan having to chase. This clearly wasn’t what he had in mind, even if Rajasthan’s openers took 62 off the Powerplays without trying anything silly and Ojha and Watson gave it their all. Morkel’s first two overs cost 29 as Michael Lumb and Ojha took three fours a piece, but a tidy start from Muttiah Muralitharan forced Lumb to continue attacking Morkel and that led to his dismissal for 37. The cheers across the ground reached a crescendo four balls later when Bollinger did a David Hussey and plucked a surreal catch to dismiss Yusuf. It was another example of how seriously boundary-catching is taken, as Bollinger parried that ball over the ropes, threw it back into play, and then hopped across to pouch it. And to think yesterday Kings XI Punjab’s fielders couldn’t catch dollies inside the circle.

Bollinger was into the thick of things later when he was handed the ball after a tidy two-over spell early. Watson had targeted the midwicket boundary ruthlessly during his 25-ball 60, hitting Murali for three sixes in the 15th over, but a missed swipe against Bollinger left his stumps rattled. Watson and Ojha, who played excellently after keeping wickets in the sweltering heat, had looted 97 in 43 deliveries with some audacious shot-making but with the dangerman gone, Rajasthan’s chase fizzled despite Ojha battling on to an unbeaten 94. In a match where 469 runs were made in 40 overs, Bollinger allowed just 15 runs from four overs.

Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo

Shane Warne did not set the IPL alight in his first five matches this season, but he was terrific tonight in Ahmedabad. His captaincy was innovative as always and he bowled his best spell of the tournament, choking the run flow, dismissing a dangerous-looking Herschelle Gibbs, and helping Rajasthan Royals restrict Deccan Chargers’ formidable batting line-up to a below-par total. Warne’s charges responded to his leadership, with the ball and in the field, and the result was a clinical performance that set up Rajasthan’s third win in a row.

Rajasthan’s batting has blown hot and cold this season – scoring 200-plus in Mumbai and only 92 in Bangalore – but their performances gained consistency in the last two contests. Michael Lumb anchored another convincing display, leading the chase with a brisk 45, setting the platform for Yusuf Pathan to destroy Deccan’s slim chances. Yusuf swung his bat powerfully, reached 50 off 23 balls, and sent a total of eight balls sailing over the boundary. The required-rate dipped below six in the ninth over, and Rajasthan eventually cruised past 148 with 26 balls to spare. The win catapulted Rajasthan from sixth to third in the points table.

Warne had promised surprises in the lead-up to this contest, but that he always does. After some confusion over who won the toss – Deccan had, and chose to bat – he unveiled his first. Adam Gilchrist thrives against speed while facing the new ball, and is perhaps familiar with the modus operandi of Shaun Tait, so Warne slowed it down by deploying little-known Sumit Narwal, who replaced Munaf Patel in this match.

Narwal got the ball to move away from Gilchrist, the IPL’s most prolific six-hitter, and after two tight deliveries, induced a mis-hit that was held by Yusuf at mid-off. Deccan were 2 for 1 at the end of the first over.

Warne’s next move didn’t work. Yusuf is usually the go-to man when Warne wants to open with spin, but today he chose Abhishek Jhunjhunwala. Herschelle Gibbs responded by skipping down the pitch twice to loft the offspinner back over his head for sixes. The over cost 16, but Jhunjhunwala would make amends with two accurate throws to run out Andrew Symonds and Venugopal Rao later in the innings.

Laxman, meanwhile, had swatted Siddharth Trivedi to the midwicket boundary. The shot was forced and was further indication that Laxman isn’t comfortable playing his naturally graceful game in the Twenty20 format. He tried it again against Tait – Warne had brought him on in the fifth over – and holed out to mid-on.

Symonds and Gibbs threatened to wrest the initiative. Symonds struck three boundaries in a Narwal over and the run-rate was still above nine when Warne came into the attack after the Powerplay. He bowled three tight balls to Symonds, and dismissed Gibbs with the next: drawing the batsman forward with flight and beating him with dip and turn. Naman Ojha took off the bails with Gibbs’ foot on the line.

At 58 for 3, it was left to Rohit Sharma and Symonds to lift the innings, but a poor call left Symonds with no hope of completing the second before Jhunjhunwala’s throw reached Warne, who had figures of 1 for 7 at the end of his second over. Two quiet overs followed before Rohit took on Trivedi, pulling him over midwicket for six and driving to the extra-cover boundary.

The wickets continued to fall – T Suman bowled, Venugopal Rao and Chaminda Vaas run out – but Rohit ensured runs were coming from at least one end. He was dropped by Adam Voges on the deep midwicket boundary on 30, and then smashed Tait and Narwal over the straight boundaries for sixes, before holing out on 49. His dismissal meant Deccan had to settle for 148, their lowest total of the season.

Lumb got Rajasthan’s chase off to a fluent start by taking two boundaries of Vaas’ first over. He was dropped by Gibbs at point off RP Singh when on 12 and made Deccan pay immediately. In RP’s second over, Lumb helped himself to four consecutive boundaries against length deliveries, over point, through square leg, over mid-off and midwicket. The last ball went for four leg byes as well, and Rajasthan were firmly on their way.

The Yusuf show started after Naman Ojha was stumped, ending a partnership of 54. Gilchrist began with a slip and a silly point for Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf responded by sending the ball over the straight boundary. It was the beginning of an assault that rendered Deccan helpless. Yusuf would wind up and swing, sometimes it appeared as if he hadn’t connected properly, but the ball would need fetching from beyond the boundary. He finished Deccan with 73 off 34 balls.

George Binoy is a senior sub-editor at Cricinf

A resilient Rajasthan Royals put a competitive total on the board and defended it with all their might to carve out a 31-run win against Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.

Put into bat, the Royals rode on brisk cameos by Adam Voges (45 not out), Faiz Fazal (45) and Michel Lumb (41) to post 183 for five at the PCA Stadium.

Returning to defend the total, Shane Warne and his men put up a tremendous team effort to skittle out the hosts for 152 in 19.1 overs and register their second victory of the tournament.

Once again the star players let down the Punjab side and the bulk of their runs came from Manvinder Bisla (35), Kumar Sangakkara (29) and Ravi Bopara (25).

Shaun Tait claimed three wickets for 22, while Yusuf Pathan and Sidhharth Trivedi got two apiece for the Royals.

It, however, looked different at the beginning of the Punjab innings with Sangakkara taking the onus on himself to set the tone for the chase and hitting back-to-back boundaries off Munaf Patel.

Tait copped three boundaries in his second over as well before the Australian removed Sangakkara but by then the opening stand had raised 41 runs in four overs.

Bisla (35 off 18 balls) then lit up the stadium with his power-hitting and Munaf bore the brunt of his ire.

The right-hander opened his account with a boundary, followed it up with a six and hit fours off the last two deliveries as well in that high-yielding over.

Shane Warne did not get the respect he is used to and was hit for a four followed by a six before the wily Australian returned to avenge the mauling.

Yuvraj Singh’s (15) quest for form continued and the star player could not make a mark despite getting a life after being dropped by Lumb in the deep.

Bopara and Irfan Pathan (1) fell in the same over and Mohd Kaif (8) flopped once again as the home side saw the match slipping through their fingers.

Earlier put into bat on a track which seemed to have something early for the pacers, Rajasthan Royals got off to a flying start in the match billed as the ‘basement battle’ involving two teams languishing at the bottom of the IPL points table.

Michael Lumb was straightaway in the thick of things as he smote two fours of Irfan Pathan’s first over and his opening partner Naman Ojha (13) meted out the same treatment to comeback man S Sreesanth, who was drafted in at offie Ramesh Powar’s expense.

Boundaries came thick and fast and the score cruised to 35 when Ojha’s stay was cut short in the fourth over and the batsman received an animated send-off from bowler Sreesanth.

An unperturbed Lumb hit Shalabh Srivastava for back-to-back boundaries and was inching close to his fifty when a smart piece of stumping by Sangakkara, off Piyush Chawla’s only second delivery, cut short the Johannesburg-born Englishman’s 30-ball knock that had seven crisp fours in it.

Next man in Yusuf Pathan has done precious little after that 37-ball century against Mumbai Indians in his team’s IPL III opener and if his score went beyond seven today, he owes it to his brother Irfan.

Irfan came running from long-off to pouch Yusuf’s miscued skier off Srivastava but eventually grassed it to give a life to his brother.

Yusuf prospered to hit a brisk 19-ball 28 before Srivastava eventually had him, caught by Yuvraj Singh in the deep.

In Fazal’s (45 off 38) reassuring company, Voges kept the scoreboard ticking with his smart yet risk-free cricket built around immaculate placement but the home side bowlers — especially the miserly Juan Theron — ensured they did not leak easy boundaries.

Fazal fell run out in the final over and Voges hit a boundary off the final delivery to take the score past the 180-mark.

Voges’ breezy 24-ball unbeaten knock had five fours and a six in it.

Rajasthan Royals dished out an all-round performance to defeat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 34 runs and register their first win in the third edition of the Indian Premier League here on Saturday.

Battered and bruised in the last three matches, Rajasthan Royals were in desperate need of a win and Shane Warne’s men didn’t disappoint as they first posted a competitive target of 169 and then restricted Kolkata Knight Riders to 134 for five at the Sardar Patel stadium at Motera here.

Chasing 169 to win, KKR started rather slowly as they scored at nearly six runs per over and once they lost opener Manoj Tiwary in the third over bowled by Yusuf Pathan things further slowed down.

Cheteshwar Pujara and opener Brad Hodge tried to keep the scoreboard ticking and put up a brilliant 50-run partnership for the second wicket before the former’s innings was cut shot by Siddharth Trivedi.

Pujara’s inside edge off Trivedi hit the middle stump as the Knight Riders were reduced to 68 for two in the 11th over.

Skipper Sourav Ganguly then joined Hodge and they added 27 runs before Hodge was bowled by Pathan in the 15th over.

With the required run-rate rising every moment, Ganguly and newman Owais Shah threw there bat at everything but without much success as the match slipped through their fingers.

In pursuit of runs, Ganguly perished in deep mid-wicket, caught by Adam Voges in the last over off Munaf Patel.

Anjelo Mathews coming at number six also ran himself out in the last over, while Shah was left unbeaten at 19.

Earlier, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala top scored with a 36-ball 45 to guide Rajasthan Royal to a modest 168 for seven after skipper Warne won the toss and decided to bat.

Rajasthan found themselves in a spot of bother when they lost their opener Michael Lumb in the first ball but Naman Ojha (27), Faiz Fazal (31 off 23), Jhunjhunwala and Adam Voges (37 off 22) fired in unison to lift Rajasthan bowlers to a competitive total.

Lumb flopped for the second consecutive match when he was caught plumb in front of the wicket in very first delivery of the innings by Ashok Dinda.

But other opener Ojha and Fazal steadied the ship with a 42-run first wicket partnership.

Ojha blasted five boundaries in his 18-ball innings, while Fazal cracked six fours before being caught by Cheteshwar Pujara off Shane Bond.

Ojha’s innings came to disappointing end as he was run by a combined effort from Bond and Murali Kartik.

Yusuf Pathan (15 off 14) failed to make any significant impact as he was caught by Brad Hodge off Dinda after just managing two hits to the fence.

For Knight Riders, Dinda, Ishant Sharma and Bond picked up two wickets each.

Source: NDTV

A superlative bowling performance by Royal Challengers Bangalore, including a hat-trick by Praveen Kumar, decimated Rajasthan Royals to a paltry 92 and set up a huge win. The match lasted just 30.3 overs as Bangalore strolled home by 10 wickets to call it an early night, and also seal the second-most comprehensive victory in terms of ball to spare.

The bowlers stuck to a plan of bowling quick, short deliveries, which contributed to an abject batting performance by a weakened Rajasthan. The batsmen struggled to find a weak link to exploit. Although Praveen hogged the limelight with the first hat-trick of IPL 2010, it was the combined bowling performance that set the platform for back-to-back wins at home.

The Bangalore bowlers focused on bowling as straight as possible and tucking the batsmen up. The batsmen looked out of depth from the beginning, playing and missing and failing to find gaps. The first five overs produced only two fours and 27 runs, quite an antithesis to the Twenty20 brand of cricket.

The pressure began to tell on Rajasthan, and the urgency to push on cost them three early wickets. Jacques Kallis struck with his first delivery when he had Naman Ojha splicing to cover-point. Michael Lumb, the Hampshire left-hand batsman, had a testing IPL debut, particularly against Dale Steyn, who got the ball to skid through and fizz past the outside edge on a few occasions. He tried his luck against Anil Kumble by chipping down the track to a slow flighted delivery, but failed the read the googly and was stumped by yards.

Even the experienced Damien Martyn looked out of sorts. The rustiness of not having played too much competitive cricket since retirement began to show against some sharp bouncers from Kallis. The dismissal of Abhishek Jhunjhunwala – chopping Kallis onto the stumps – heralded the arrival of Yusuf Pathan, the best man to get them out of jail.

There wasn’t to be an instant manic revival. Yusuf struggled to put bat on ball early on. Realising his weakness against the short ball, Bangalore persisted with back-of-a-length deliveries, and Yusuf kept swishing at thin air. Between the seventh and 11th over, the run-rate did not cross four and even their most attacking batsman was in inertia.

However, the bowlers were made to pay when they bowled fuller, as Yusuf demonstrated with consecutive thumps over deep midwicket off Vinay Kumar. He was dropped twice – on 19 and 24 – off thick top edges, but it didn’t cost Bangalore much as he was sent packing with an athletic direct hit by Virat Kohli, diving forward.

Praveen used three different deliveries to get his hat-trick, the seventh in the tournament’s history. A sluggish Martyn struggled to break free and lost his middle stump when Praveen returned for a new spell. Praveen followed the yorker with a short delivery to Sumit Narwal, who top-edged it down fine leg’s throat. Paras Dogra faced the hat-trick ball, but had his middle stump pegged back to a length delivery, trying to swipe him across the line. The procession of wickets stamped Bangalore’s authority on the game, which was all but sealed at that point.

Going by the way Manish Pandey and Kallis closed out the game, only a double hat-trick could have saved Rajasthan. Kallis was at his elegant best, clipping the ball off his pads, tearing into his countryman Morne Morkel for 20 in his first over. Pandey showed scant respect to his countryman, Munaf Patel, muscling the ball down the ground. He also planted one over deep midwicket off Sumit Narwal. The only time Rajasthan looked like taking a wicket was when Pandey sliced the ball to mid-off, and replays couldn’t confirm if Morkel took it cleanly.

Rajasthan looked deflated and lost for ideas as Kallis and Pandey threatened to finish the game within 10 overs. Bangalore went to second place in the points table, behind Mumbai Indians.

Kanishkaa Balachandran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo.