Shikhar Dhawan cracked an unbeaten 95 and Amit Mishra took a hat-trick as Deccan Chargers knocked Kings XI Punjab out of the Indian Premier League with an 82-run victory on Saturday.

Punjab’s loss also simplified the points table math in the IPL, putting Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians in the play-offs.

Punjab had staged a late turnaround in their title bid, winning their last four matches. They needed to win today to retain an outside chance of making the play-offs at the expense of either Mumbai or Kolkata.

Chennai (18 points), Bangalore (17), Kolkata (16) and Mumbai (16) are the four teams in the play-offs. They are followed by Punjab (14), Rajasthan (13), Deccan (12), Kochi (12), Pune (eight) and Delhi (eight).

Left-handed opener Dhawan, who hit one six and 14 fours in his 57-ball knock, put on 131 for the opening wicket with Ravi Teja (60) as Deccan made 198-2 before bowling Punjab out for 116.
Skipper Adam Gilchrist top-scored with a 37-ball 51 for Punjab, who put in a below-par batting and fielding performance. The captain, who hit two sixes and six fours, added 61 for the third wicket with Dinesh Karthik (11).

Deccan virtually wrapped up the match when Australian paceman Daniel Christian dismissed Gilchrist and Karthik in the space of three balls to reduce Punjab to 84-4 in 11 overs.

Leg-spinner Mishra’s hat-trick came in his third over when he removed Ryan McLaren, Mandeep Singh and Ryan Harris to eventually finish with 4-9.

Teja, dropped thrice during his 41-ball knock, hit two sixes and five fours in his team’s final match, watched by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama who also met players before the start of the game.

He reached his half-century in style, hitting a six off leg-spinner Piyush Chawla who conceded 48 in his four overs. Deccan plundered 113 runs in the last 10 overs to set a stiff target.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

Skipper Adam Gilchrist struck a blistering century and shared a record 206-run stand with fellow Australian Shaun Marsh to set up an emphatic 111-run victory for Kings XI Punjab over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League here Tuesday.

Gilchrist (106 off 55 balls) and Marsh (79 off 49) forged the highest partnership in the history of the IPL to post a mammoth 232/8 and then Piyush Chawla (4-17) delivered with the ball yet again as Royal Challengers folded up for 121 in 17 overs.

This was Kings XI Punjab’s fourth win a row and with 14 points from 13 games, they are very much in race for a spot in the play-offs. Though Royal Challenger’s seven-match winning streak came to an end here, they are the only team to have qualified for the next stage.

Gilchrist, who came to the party when his team needed him the most and after deciding to bat on a greenish pitch, took the game beyond the visitors. Marsh, too, was in devastating form on a day when the two Australians set the HPCA stadium on fire with some scintillating strokeplay.

In-form Paul Valthaty (20) fell in the fourth over and by the end of the field restrictions, Kings XI had scored only 30 runs with the two left-handers waiting to explode. Gilchrist and Marsh soon changed gear and started dealing in fours and sixes.

The once-feared Gilchrist showed he still had a lot to offer with the bat as he belted nine sixes and eight fours in his second hundred in the IPL.

Marsh looked unstoppable too and displayed his power-hitting skills all through out his innings. He gave the best possible testimony of that when he collected 30 runs off Johan van der Wath in the 15th over. He hit five sixes and seven fours in his unbeaten knock.

Chris Gayle (0) had to fire if Royal Challengers had any chance of overcoming the total. But he departed only in the second over, nicking an away going delivery off Ryan Harris (3-28) straight into the hands of Gilchrist. Harris generated good pace and bounce and sent opposition stand-in captain Virat Kohli (11) back in his next over to further turn the screws.

Chawla then foxed the batsmen with his spin and made sure the Royal Challengers never got off the block.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

The scorecard will say Paul Valthaty hammered 62 to power Punjab to an eventually match-winning 170, but that’s not even half the story. Through 50 balls of clueless flailing, Valthaty put on a display completely out of place in the beautiful setting that is Dharamsala. Delhi Daredevils matched his ordinariness with a shoddy show on the field, followed by the sort of batting display that can be expected from a one-man team, when that one man is missing. Punjab’s bowlers, led by a resurgent Piyush Chawla, capitalised on Delhi’s woes to run to their third win on the trot, keeping their late-blooming campaign alive.

By all counts it was an average game of cricket, and the tone for the ordinariness was set right at the start. There was swing for Irfan Pathan, but not enough pace. There were swings of Adam Gilchrist’s bat, but not too many connections. At the other end, Morne Morkel’s other-worldly bounce systematically exposed Valthaty’s limitations. The pressure was on Punjab and the chances promptly followed, but Delhi graciously fluffed them. Yogesh Nagar and Irfan combined to mess up a straightforward run-out opportunity, before Venugopal Rao dropped a chance at slip. Delhi’s generosity was duly reciprocated by Punjab, as Gilchrist gifted his wicket soon after the botched run-out. It was like watching two football sides trying to outdo each other in an own-goal contest.

Shaun Marsh’s advent sought to bring sanity to the proceedings – he began by charming Aavishkar Salvi over mid-on, before shredding him through point – but Valthaty’s methods continued to spoil the scenery. Initially he attempted on-the-up thumps, regardless of length, and often missed by ridiculously large margins. He later tried to counter the bounce with cuts, but rarely made contact. He then resorted to the pull, and it was soon evident why he doesn’t play that shot too often. On the one occasion when he managed to middle the ball, Varun Aaron at fine-leg ran in too far, and the ball sailed over the boundary.

Valthaty eventually found his match against James Hopes’ trundle and ignited the innings with two violent sixes over the leg-side and an edged four through third man. Bowling listless lengths to Valthaty wasn’t Hopes’ biggest mistake of the innings though. He brought on S Sriram’s nondescript left-arm spin in the 13th over and Marsh indulged himself to some slog-sweeping violence. The over bled 25, including three big sixes over the leg side, as Punjab galloped from 70 for 1 in ten overs to 115 for 1 in 13.

Delhi managed to contain the damage in the remaining overs, through Aaron’s pace, and Irfan’s surprising rediscovery of old-ball swing. Marsh and Valthaty perished to Irfan’s stock indippers off successive balls in the 15th over. Delhi could have taken control in the next over, but Naman Ojha grassed a chance to let off Dinesh Karthik, allowing Punjab to motor along to 170.

Delhi’s chase followed a now-familiar template: David Warner’s shocking loss of form – he had cobbled up 47 runs in his last six innings before the game – and Virender Sehwag’s absence meant the innings lost steam quickly. Along with Naman Ojha, Warner played out ten successive dot balls early on, in the process giving Praveen Kumar his fourth maiden of the season. Ojha eventually found release by clouting Shalabh Srivastava for two sixes and a four in the sixth over, but it proved to be a false dawn. Ojha guided Srivastava behind in the eighth over for a run-a-ball 28, before Warner miscued the same bowler for a run-a-ball 29. Run-a-balls were not going to be enough.

Chawla has endured a rough time recently: he struggled for impact in the World Cup and his place in the team became a national debate; his struggles continued in the IPL, and he’s been left out for the West Indies ODIs. On Sunday, he finally came into his own with a sprightly spell, in which he refrained from his old failing of over-doing the googly. He accounted for Sriram, Rao and Hopes in successive overs, as Delhi went down with the setting sun in Dharamsala.

Nitin Sundar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Dinesh Karthik’s 33-ball 69 and Shaun Marsh’s 30-ball 42 enabled Kings XI Punjab to defeat Kochi Tuskers Kerala by six wickets in their IPL match at Holkar stadium in Indore on Friday.

RP Singh dismissed Karthik and Marsh in one over to dent Punjab’s run chase but David Hussey hit an unbeaten 21 to see his team through in 18.5 overs.

Bowling his last over, RP Singh first had Karthik caught by his captain Mahela Jayawardene at extra cover and on the last ball of the same over, took a quick-reflex return catch to dismiss Marsh.

Karthik and Marsh put up a 111-run partnership off 57 balls to lead Punjab run chase.

Karthik’s 69-run knock came off 33 balls and was studded with 5 sixes and 7 fours, while Marsh hit 2 sixes and 5 fours in his 30-ball 42.

Karthik was the aggressor of the two reaching his half-century off just 24 balls.

The third-wicket stand came after RP Singh dismissed Paul Valthaty and Adam Gilchrist in his successive overs to deliver a double blow to Punjab.

RP Singh first clean bowled Valthaty in the third over of the Punjab innings and in his next over had Gilchrist caught behind by Parthiv Patel.

Earlier, captain Mahela Jayawardene’s 52-ball 76 and Brendon McCullum’s 27-ball 32 powered Kochi Tuskers Kerala to 178/7.

Jayawardene’s knock was studded with 2 sixes and 8 fours and he was run out on the last ball of the Kochi innings.

Playing his first match in IPL 4, Owais Shah batted well to hit 2 sixes and a four in his 12-ball 23 before he was run out.

Bipul Sharma took his second wicket when he had Brad Hodge caught by Shaun Marsh at deep mid-wicket.

Kochi lost their second wicket when Piyush Chawla dismissed Ravindra Jadeja leg before wicket after the latter hit a six and a four in his 18-ball 17.

Sharma gave Kings XI Punjab a much-needed breakthrough when he trapped Brendon McCullum plumb in front of the wicket.

McCullum hit 2 sixes and 2 fours in his 27-ball 32 and put up a 93-run opening stand with Jayawardene before falling to Sharma.

Put in to bat, Jayawardene and McCullum brought up Kochi Tuskers Kerala’s 50 in the sixth over.

The start came after Punjab captain Adam Gilchrist won the toss and chose to bowl.

Punjab have replaced an ill Praveen Kumar by Piyush Chawla.

Kochi have dropped Ramesh Powar and Michael Klinger and brought in S Sreesanth and Owais Shah.

Teams:

Kochi Tuskers Kerala: Mahela Jayawardene (Capt.), Brendon McCullum, Parthiv Patel, Owais Shah, Brad Hodge, Ravindra Jadeja, Raiphi Gomez, R Vinay Kumar, Rudra Pratap Singh, P Parameswaran, S Sreesanth.

Kings XI Punjab: Adam Gilchrist (Capt.), Paul Valthaty, Shaun Marsh, Dinesh Karthik, Mandeep Singh, David Hussey, Bipul Sharma, Shalabh Srivastava, Piyush Chawla, Ryan Harris, Bhargav Bhatt.

Times of India

Bhargav Bhatt (4-22) led disciplined Kings XI bowlers to bundle out Mumbai Indians for 87 as Punjab thrashed the table-toppers by 76 runs in their Indian Premier League match at the PCA stadium in Mohali.

Chasing 164-run target, Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals against Punjab and failed put up any fight in the match.

Praveen Kumar started the Mumbai downfall as the pacer struck early to give Punjab a crucial breakthrough in the form of Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket in the third over.

Praveen then dismissed Blizzard in the fifth over after Bipul Sharma scalped Sharma in the previous over as Mumbai lost three wickets in three consecutive overs.

Young spinner Bhargav Bhatt took the responsibility for the Kings XI to wrap up the Mumbai tails as he finished with impressive figure of 4 for 22 in four overs.

Ryan Harris scalped T Suman in the tenth over as the table-toppers continued to lose wickets in consecutive overs and finally were bowled out for just 87 runs in 12.5 overs.

Electing to bowl, Munaf Patel took 5 wickets for 21 runs as Kings XI Punjab post 163/8 against Mumbai Indians.

Munaf Patel was on a roll as he struck twice in an over twice in the latter part of the Punjab innings to put a break to the hosts charge. Punjab lost six wickets for just 35 runs in last five overs as they were restricted to 163/8 from 128/2 in 15.1 overs.

Munaf dismissed Ryan Harris (6) and Dinesh Karthik (31) in the nineteenth over after he struck twice in the sixteenth over too to get rid of David Hussey (0) and Shaun Marsh (43).

Marsh top-scored for the Kings XI as he hit five boundaries in his quick 34-ball 43 runs knock and added a crucial 70-run stand with Adam Gilchrist (28) for the second wicket.

Punjab skipper hit a six and two fours in his 28-ball knock before Lasith Malinga struck in the eleventh over to break the partnership. Malinga struck again in the last over to dismiss Praveen Kumar and finished with 2 for 24.

Patel gave Mumbai an early breakthrough as he struck in the fourth over to dismiss young Paul Valthaty (14), who hit three boundaries in his run-a-ball innings.

Earlier, Mumbai skipper Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and decided to field against Punjab on Tuesday.

Assured of a berth in the play-offs, table-toppers Mumbai Indians started as outright favourites and playing with an unchanged side against bottom-ranked Kings XI.

The hosts Punjab have made one change in the side as they brought in Bipul Sharma in place of Siddharth Chitnis

Teams:

Kings XI Punjab: Adam Gilchrist (capt/wk), Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Bipul Sharma, Mandeep Singh, Paul Valthaty, Shalabh Srivastava, Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, Ryan Harris, Bhargav Bhatt.

Mumbai Indians: Sachin Tendulkar (capt), Ambati Rayudu (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma, T Suman, Munaf Patel, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Andrew Symonds, Dhawal Kulkarni, AC Blizzard.

Source: Times of India

Pune Warriors finally ended their horror run of seven defeats by limiting fellow stragglers Kings XI Punjab to 119 in Mohali, a target which didn’t tax their batting too much The defeat means Punjab are now putting together a losing streak to nearly match Pune’s – having now gone five games without a win. Legspinner Rahul Sharma was once again the standout bowler for Pune, with South African fast bowler Wayne Parnell and Bhuvneshwar Kumar aiding him in shackling Punjab.

Preity Zinta was back to cheer on her side, and the Mohali crowd has something to shout about early on as Paul Valthaty repeatedly crashed the ball through cover for boundaries. Adam Gilchrist came into this game on the back of two ducks, and he couldn’t find his timing today either, swinging Rahul to deep midwicket for 3 off 8 balls. Valthaty was cramped by the lack of room, and when he was given some, he cut at it but Rahul’s extra bounce meant it resulted in a top edge to backward point.

Shaun Marsh has been Punjab’s best batsman this tournament, and he showed why with some lovely hits. Yuvraj Singh was dispatched over long-on, Rahul was eased through cover for four, and his younger brother Mitchell’s bouncer was pulled for a boundary. Dinesh Karthik hasn’t been as fluent, but in the company of Shaun, the pair guided Punjab to a reasonable 71 for 2 in ten overs.

That platform was wasted though as neither batsman went on to make a big score on a slightly sluggish track. A Bhuvneshwar Kumar slower ball accounted for Shaun, who dragged the ball onto the stumps, and a couple of overs later Punjab’s most expensive acquisition, David Hussey, nicked to the keeper. They were floundering at 94 for 4.

Karthik couldn’t quite hit top gear and there was a wicket in almost each of the final six overs as the innings fell apart to a series of attempted big hits.

Punjab’s bowlers needed to be on the top of their game if they were to stand a chance, and they began well, with a maiden from Praveen. The next three overs though were plundered for 30 runs, and in a match where the fielding standards were shoddy, Jesse Ryder was given a let-off by Valthaty in the fourth over. There was more fortune in store as Manish Pandey survived a dead-on lbw shout in the fifth over, bowled by Bhargav Bhatt, two balls after Ryder was dismissed.

Robin Uthappa came out swinging, and though they were several fresh-air swishes, he found the boundary three times to whittle down the target with a quick 22. Pandey was dismissed after a relatively quiet 28, which had two of his trademark forehand smashes down the ground. If the wickets of Pandey and Uthappa gave Punjab some hope, Yuvraj killed that off by clubbing Bhatt for two sixes and two fours in an over.

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Once every two years, Bangalore hosts Aero India, the country’s biggest air show held on the outskirts of the city. On Friday night, Chris Gayle took it upon himself to deliver a similar spectacle to the home crowd, who went ballistic watching a flogging of a lifetime inflicted on the Kings XI Punjab bowlers. As the deflated attack desperately sought mercy, Gayle celebrated his domination with a triumphant smile, propelling his team to a thumping fourth straight win with an unforgettable century that made a backyard out of the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Adam Gilchrist, cheery as ever, decided to field on a pitch that promised some assistance to his four-pronged pace attack. While he met Gayle’s onslaught with a look of awe and admiration, his bowlers were what they looked – stunned into submission. The early movement and a spate of hits and misses in the first couple of overs were the few signs of encouragement in an otherwise dispiriting innings.

Gayle targeted the straight boundary, rarely attempted any cross-bat heaves or slogs, and relied on brute strength, partly a consequence of what is known to be a fitness regime that’s ever the aspiration of the healthier than normal. Ryan Harris was the first recipient of Gayle’s treatment, as he clobbered two consecutive sixes over long-on in the fourth over.

The Punjab bowlers erred in length, often doling out length deliveries, but most would have been unsettled by Gayle’s ruthless approach. His initial movement was to make room and then, depending on the line, have a free swing in the same direction. Praveen Kumar’s skills with variations in pace were conspicuous by their absence as he dished out a series of length deliveries that Gayle was only happy to dig into. After launching him for two straight sixes, he cashed in on some misdirection to pick up two fours in an over that yielded 22.

Gilchrist had to turn to spin and he found the expensive Piyush Chawla, whose figures this season took further beating with two monstrous sixes over midwicket off long hops. Virat Kohli, in a fortunate yet largely mature innings, was only too happy to cede floor to his partner, who then directed his attention to Love Ablish, whose pain of rejection was felt in three consecutive boundaries, one of which was a streaky edge past the diving Gilchrist.

A half-tracker from Abhishek Nayar disappeared over square leg, and the returning Ryan McLaren, who had delivered Punjab their first breakthrough with the wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan, was to bear first sight of Gayle’s celebration upon reaching his century. He was hammered over long-on, followed by a disdainful punch through mid-off that brought up the landmark, Gayle’s second this season.

Relief came when Gayle holed out to deep midwicket off Chawla and Kohli was bowled two balls later, but AB de Villiers kept the innings on track with a typically aggressive cameo to leave Punjab with a daunting task.

The signs were there when Gilchrist was brilliantly run out first ball by Asad Pathan while attempting a quick single, and as is the case in games decided by individuals, it wasn’t long before Gayle stepped in. He cast aside his usually calm, sober self and reveled, like a mischevious child, at every Punjab misfortune wrought by his offspin. Paul Valthaty spooned one to square leg, Dinesh Karthik was trapped in front and Chawla yorked. As Punjab limped towards a fourth defeat in a row, Gayle stood out amid the celebrations, fluttering curls, locomotive moves and all.

Siddhartha Talya is a sub editor at ESPNcricinfo

Mumbai bowlers and fielders were literally running on fumes today. The home side after being outplayed in the last game by Rajasthan Royals put up a terrific all-round performance to outclass Kings XI Punjab by 23 runs in their Indian Premier League match at Wankhede stadium.

Chasing 160 runs to win, Kings XI Punjab got off to a slow start after losing skipper Adam Gilchrist (0) in the first over. However, Paul Valthaty (33) and Shaun Marsh resisted spirited Mumbai attack with 72-run stand for the second wicket.

Both Valthaty and Marsh looked visibly uncomfortable at the crease as the hosts kept bowling in right areas. Medium-pacer Andrew Symonds ended Valthaty’s struggle in the 11th over when the later tried to hoick one over long on. Kieron Pollard took a smart catch as Wankhede erupted.

Mumbai then claimed David Hussey (1) and Dinesh Karthik (1) in quick time to put pressure on Punjab’s middle-order. The home team then sweated through the remainder of the match to denounce Kings XI Punjab to their third straight defeat, despite a top score of 61 from Australian Shaun Marsh.

Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga and Munaf Patel collected two wickets apiece, as Punjab managed 136-8 in their 20 overs.

Earlier, Sachin Tendulkar (51) and Ambati Rayudu (51) shared a 95-run partnership for the second wicket after losing Davy Jacobs early to help Mumbai post a challenging 159-5 on the board. Both batted with poise against pace and spin alike and put Punjab attack to the sword with stirring strokeplay.

Aggressive Rayudu, who completed his fifty off just 35 balls with the help of eight fours and a six, was dismissed in the 15th over while attempting to go over deep mid-wicket against Piyush Chawla. Dinesh Karthik took an outstanding catch at deep tumbling down backwards within an inch of the boundary rope.

The Mumbai skipper also played attractive shots during his 45-ball knock, hitting three fours and a six. He looked well set before being caught out by Abhishek Nayar off Ryan Harris.

After getting rid of Rayudu and Sachin in quick succession, Punjab bowlers did well in the end to restrict the hosts for a par score at Wankhede. Piyush Chawla and Ryan Harris grabbed two wickets each.

Kieron Pollard (20) and Rohit Sharma (18) were other notable contributors for the home team.

Source: Bikash Singh, Yahoo! Cricket

Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary hit unbeaten 45 and 34 respectively as Kolkata Knight Riders inflicted a crushing eight-wicket defeat on Kings XI Punjab in their IPL match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday.

The unbeaten 85-run stand between Gambhir and Tiwary enabled Kolkata to chase down the 120-run target in 17.2 overs.

Gambhir hit 4 fours in his 44-ball 45 and Tiwary’s 41-ball 34 came with the help of a six and 3 fours.

The partnership came after Ryan Harris took a superb catch at deep mid-wicket to dismiss Kolkata opener Eoin Morgan off Bhargav Bhatt.

Morgan hit 6 fours in his 15-ball 28 before falling to Bhatt.

Bhatt struck on his first delivery when he had Jacques Kallis caught by David Hussey in the covers as Kolkata got off to a bad start in pursuit of 120 runs.

Earlier, Iqbal Abdulla took 2 wickets as Kolkata restricted Kings XI Punjab to 119/6 despite a well-made 42 from Dinesh Karthik.

Karthik hit 4 fours in his run-a-ball 42 before being run out.

Kings XI Punjab lost their fifth wicket when Abdulla trapped David Hussey plumb in front of the wicket.

Abdulla gave Kolkata the third breakthrough when he clean bowled Punjab captain Adam Gilchrist from between his legs.

Gilchrist looked to pull a short-pitched delivery but the ball neither turned nor bounced and went from between his legs to hit the stumps.

Kolkata lost their fourth wicket when Abhishek Nayar was run out.

Paul Valthaty and Shaun Marsh fell in successive overs as Kings XI Punjab got off to a bad start against Kolkata Knight Riders

Yusuf Pathan gave Kolkata the first breakthrough when he had Paul Valthaty caught by Manoj Tiwary at long-on in the fifth over.

In the next over, Marsh was run out as Punjab lost their second wicket.

This was after Kolkata captain Gautam Gambhir won the toss and chose to bowl.

Kolkata have replaced Jaidev Unadkat with Rajat Bhatia.

Punjab have brought in Bhargav Bhatt in place of Shalabh Srivastava.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (Capt.), Jacques Kallis, Shreevats Goswami, Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Eoin Morgan, Rajat Bhatia, Ryan ten Doeschate, Iqbal Abdulla, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Brett Lee.

Kings XI Punjab: Adam Gilchrist (Capt.), Paul Valthaty, Shaun Marsh, Dinesh Karthik, David Hussey, Abhishek Nayar, Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Bhargav Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, Ryan Harris.

Source: Times of India

Chetan Chauhan, former Test cricketer and DDCA official, was asked to comment on the fresh, green wicket at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. He said it will be very quick but there will be a lot of sixes hit today. He forgot to mention fours.

Delhi Daredevils hit 20 of them to go with 12 sixes as they piled 231-4, the highest score of the tournament. They wanted to blow Kings XI Punjab with raw pace by playing five seamers. Instead, they did it with some astonishing hitting.

Punjab didn’t go away quietly. They responded with 202-6, with 21 fours and 11 sixes. But 231 was a target too big, and despite their best intentions and Shaun Marsh’s belligerent 95 (46b), Punjab’s job bordered on the impossible. Morne Morkel bowled 14 dot balls in his first three overs, Paul Valthaty had a rare failure, and Punjab fell behind the required rate very quickly.

Virender Sehwag and David Warner both made 77, while Venugopal Rao and Naman Ojha contributed 47 in the three overs they batted. Delhi’s top-order batting revolves around these players, and all four of them delivered today, keeping Delhi in the hunt for a place in the second round. This is just their second win of the tournament after three losses.

After being inserted by Adam Gilchrist, Sehwag and Warner lived up to their billing of the tournament’s most dangerous opening pair. They raced to 52 in five overs, 115 in 10, 146 in 11.3 when Sehwag went for his fourth six off David Hussey’s first over and was caught at midwicket.

To not get 200 from there would have been criminal, and a one-sided game seemed on cards. Venugopal (28, 15b) and Ojha (19, 8b) gave them an excellent finish, one that mattered a huge deal in the final analysis.

Delhi dropped Gilchrist and Valthaty, both on zero. Gilchrist was missed by Ojha with the gloves while Valthaty was missed in the second over by Venugopal. Valthaty responded to the drop by plonking his front-foot down the pitch and swinging Pathan twice into the midwicket stands.

Gilchrist caught up, putting Morkel into the deep square-leg stands. But Punjab did not score for the next seven deliveries, causing Valthaty to attack Pathan again and mistime the shot to cover. Having made 71 in the last game, Marsh kept up a brutal attack over the next 13 overs. But they still needed 56 off the last three overs — and it proved 30 too many.

This game, with 433 runs in 40 overs, with 41 fours and 23 sixes, would also mark the arrival of Varun Aaron, clocked as India’s fastest pacer. The 21-year-old from Jamshedpur began poorly: Marsh pulled his first ball to square leg for four, and then clubbed him over long-on for six. Aaron bounced back, knocking back Gilchrist’s middle stump in his second over. After the expensive 13-run over, Aaron had figures of 3-0-23-1, absolute gold on a day like this.

Many years back, two of Aaron’s colleagues at the Daredevils made a name for themselves by dismissing Gilchrist. He was Ajit Agarkar’s first ODI wicket in 1998, while Pathan yorked the Aussie great in the Sydney Test of 2004. Those two have fallen by the wayside. How long Will Aaron go?

Source: AR Hemant, Yahoo! Cricket