Sunrisers choke RCB chase to seal first title

Sunrisers Hyderabad 208 for 7 (Warner 69, Cutting 39*, Jordan 3-45) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 200 for 7 (Gayle 76, Kohli 54, Cutting 2-35) by eight runs.

 
The victorious Sunrisers Hyderabad exult after defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8-runs in the IPL 2016 Final in Bengaluru on Sunday, May 29, 2016.








In their first IPL final, Sunrisers Hyderabad showed their intent early by opting to bat against Royal Challengers Bangalore at a venue where tall scores have been chased down nonchalantly. David Warner, their captain, top-scored with a 38-ball 69, before Ben Cutting finished the innings with an unbeaten 15-ball 39 to help them post 208 for 7. Eventually, however, it was Sunrisers' bowling attack, the best in the tournament, that delivered their maiden IPL title with an eight-run win at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Royal Challengers had passed 200 three times previously at home this season and there was no reason why they could not do so again on Sunday, except the pressure of chasing in a final. It did not affect Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli, though, as the opening pair wiped out 114 in 10.3 overs. Gayle alone contributed 76, with four fours and eight sixes. Sunrisers' attack was under pressure, but they clinically applied the brakes after Gayle's wicket.
Even with Gayle, Kohli and AB de Villiers dismissed, 47 off 24 balls was still within reach. Shane Watson, Stuart Binny and Sachin Baby had to contend with two threats. One was Mustafizur Rahman's cutters, delivered with unfailing accuracy after a rough second over in which Kohli took him apart. The reward for his persistence was the wicket of Watson, who miscued a slog to cover. Bhuvneshwar Kumar then delivered four successive yorkers in the 18th over, leaving the hosts 30 to get off the last two overs. Then, with 18 to defend off the final over, he once again held his composure.
Shane Watson had a rare off day with the ball. He fed the batsmen an assortment of hittable deliveries - short, wide and full - to concede 61 off four wicketless overs, including 24 in his last over, the 20th of the Sunrisers innings.
Royal Challengers, however, had their batting guns. With only one fifty in nine innings leading up to the final, there were question marks over Gayle, but he was unperturbed, launching Barinder Sran for three sixes in his first two overs and lifting Royal Challengers to 42 for 0 after four.
Gayle brought up his half-century with another six, off Moises Henriques at the start of the seventh over, getting there in 25 balls. His rate of scoring gave Kohli the space to overcome a patchy start that brought him only one four in his first 18 balls, that too off a thick outside edge. Then an inside-out hit over the infield nearly carried to a diving Warner at long-off. Gayle finished that over, bowled by Henriques, with two sixes and a four raised Royal Challengers' 100 in nine overs.
Warner brought back Mustafizur in the 10th over, and Kohli finally got going, squeezing him past cover for four and then lofting him over the long-off boundary. With the asking rate under control, Gayle tactfully rotated the strike. Royal Challengers were cruising.
Then came the turbulence: Gayle, Kohli and de Villiers fell in the space of 20 balls, and Royal Challengers slipped to 148 for 3. They needed 61 off 37 and they needed Watson to make up for his lapses with the ball. He swatted Henriques for six over long-on, but his dismissal in the 17th over, immediately following that of KL Rahul, left Royal Challengers with too much to do in too little time.
The platform for Sunrisers' win was set by Warner. With Kohli employing a deep point to block his cut, the Sunrisers captain brought out the straight lofted hits. When the ball was not in his half, he was happy to back away to open up the off side or carve the ball behind square. The result was eight fours and three sixes for his ninth fifty of the tournament, which he ended as its second-highest run-getter.
Yuzvendra Chahal bowled more floaters than legspinners to Warner, but they skidded on and ended up giving the batsman hitting room. Warner used that room to cut him for two fours in the ninth over to bring up his fifty off only 24 balls, equalling the record for the fastest half-century in an IPL final. As his innings progressed, he was not afraid to walk across the stumps, and use the depth of the crease to get underneath full deliveries.
Yuvraj Singh, who came in at 97 for 2 in the 10th over, sustained Sunrisers' momentum. He got going with a punchy off-drive off Watson, and then flicked Chris Jordan for six behind square. The swagger and the the free-flowing bat swing were back. With four fours and two sixes, he raced to 38 and before he fell to Jordan's slower ball. Yuvraj's dismissal came in the 17th over, soon after those of Warner and Deepak Hooda. At 148 for 5, it looked like Royal Challengers could reel back Sunrisers in the slog.
Cutting ensured that wouldn't happen. He stayed deep in the crease, shortening the length of attempted yorkers, and clobbered the low full-tosses and half-volleys. Batting on 16 off 10 at the start of the final over, he hit Watson for 4, 6, 6 and 1 before coming back on strike for the final ball of the over, which he launched high over long-off. That over went for 24 and proved match-turning: playing their third final, Royal Challengers lost for the third time.

SRH 208/7 (20.0 Ovs)

RCB 200/7 (20.0 Ovs)

Sunrisers Hyderabad won by 8 runs

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Ben Cutting

Warner, de Villiers trip Gujarat in the final lap

 

 

 

 Sunrisers Hyderabad 163 for 6 (Warner 93*, Kaushik 2-22, Bravo 2-32) beat Gujarat Lions 162 for 7 (Finch 50, McCullum 32, Cutting 2-20, Bhuvneshwar 2-27) by four wickets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Warner carried his bat and saw his side through.

Twenty20

Aaron Finch says "sometimes you just have to take your hat off and appreciate how good cricketers the two are. And say well played."

Gujarat Lions batsman Aaron Finch says he and his team-mates can only appreciate and laud the match-winning knock of David Warner, who single-handedly crushed their hopes and took Sunrisers Hyderabad to the IPL summit clash with his 93 in the IPL Qualifier 2.

In the Qualifier 1, Lions were inches away from the final but for a gritty knock from AB de Villiers.

After scoring 162 for seven, Lions had Hyderabad 84 for five and then 117 for six but skipper Warner carried his bat and saw his side through.

“Tonight, I think that we had a very competitive total, it was around par. 170 would have been nice as it turns out, but two [de Villiers and Warner] of the best players in the world have both got big scores against us in the last two games. Sometimes you just have to take your hat off and appreciate how good cricketers the two are. And say well played,” Finch said at the post match press conference.

The Australian was effusive in praise of his compatriot.

“It was an amazing knock, wasn’t it? The way that he controlled the innings and went right through and got them home was outstanding. We have been at the receiving end of a couple of great knocks in this tournament, and it is just that one batter in every couple of games seems to get us.”

Asked which Indian player impressed him the most in the entire Lions campaign in their debut season, Finch named spinner Shivil Kaushik. “I think we have seen an unusual spinner in this tournament in Shivil. He has been outstanding for us. Anyone who can bowl with an unusual action like that and who can spin the ball both ways is a huge asset, and he has been outstanding,” Finch said.

The attacking batsman also mentioned Kaushik’s impact spell in last night’s match, where he gave away only four runs in two overs and eventually 22 in four. His tight bowling in the middle overs put pressure on Hyderabad batsmen, keeping his side in the hunt.

“It was beautiful the way that he bowled tonight. Under pressure in a big game, to come back into the team after a few games out just shows a real lot of character and someone who hasn’t had cricket given to him easily. He has had to work very hard for what he has achieved. He was great all season and I think he can play a big part going forward,” he said.

Asked what positives Lions would take away from their debut season as they finished on top of the table at the end of league stage, Finch said the fighting spirit of the team.

“I think the way we played throughout the tournament was fantastic from the team’s point of view. To finish top of the table for a franchise in their first year was fantastic. I think it’s obviously disappointing that we couldn’t get through to the final.” 

GL 162/7 (20.0 Ovs)

SRH 163/6 (19.2 Ovs)

Sunrisers Hyderabad won by 4 wkts

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
David Warner

I don’t think too much, while Kohli is a thinker: de Villiers

   

AB de Villiers explained that he follows his natural instinct, unlike his captain Virat Kohli - a more meticulous customer.

 Indian Premier League — 2016

He insists that there is a fine line between getting out to a bad shot and pulling off the incredible.

A mind-boggling repertoire of shots was unfurled by Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman A.B. de Villiers during his match-winning unbeaten 79 against Gujarat Lions here on Tuesday, but the South African insists that there is a fine line between getting out to a bad shot and pulling off the incredible.

de Villiers explained that he follows his natural instinct, unlike his captain Virat Kohli - a more meticulous customer.

“Throughout the innings, Virat (Kohli) was full of energy and giving us a lot of information from the dugout. I told him, ‘Virat, I’ll just go about it naturally’. I don’t think too much, while Kohli is a thinker. I do try and assess what’s going on, but I’m never 100 per cent sure. After crossing the line, it’s easy to say that I played those shots after assessing the risks. But had I got out in the last three overs, everyone would have said that I had made a bad decision. It’s a fine line, but I follow my instincts. I’ve played the game for many years now, and I know that my talent will take over if I just watch the ball and enjoy myself. We had a smile on our faces, even though we were under a lot of pressure and very nervous. That’s the key for me – watch the ball and enjoy the cricket,” he said, after guiding his side to the final.

The 32-year-old was all praise for Iqbal Abdulla, who joined him at the crease with RCB needing 91 runs off 62 balls. Their unbroken seventh-wicket partnership — Abdulla contributed a vital 33 not-out in 25 balls — lifted the franchise out of a hole. “I thought that I’d have to say a lot to him (Abdulla), but he was probably calmer than I was. You could see he has done this before. He straightaway understood what I was trying to tell him, and I didn’t have to talk to him after that,” de Villiers said.

The threat of rain helped the duo up the ante, even if it forced them to attempt some risky shots. “Now that we’ve won the game, you can say that the threat of rain played in our advantage. But had I got out, everyone would have asked, ‘Are you stupid, what are you doing?’. Virat had sent a message telling us to be more positive, with the rain around.

“Luckily, that gave us momentum, and with the crowd getting us pumped up, we were never going to lose.”

Gujarat Lions vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Qualifier 2

Series: Indian Premier League, 2016 Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi Date & Time: May 27,  08:00 PM  LOCAL

Lions batsmen vs Sunrisers bowlers, the defining contest of Qualifier-2

  

James Faulkner, who has played just seven games this season, will be keen to get an opportunity against Sunrisers on Friday.

With the tactical plans mapped out, the emphasis at the Kotla will be on execution under pressure

In 15 matches, the Gujarat Lions batsmen have aggregated 2161 runs. Sunrisers Hyderabad has a bag of 77 wickets. Does that make it a contest between Lions batsmen and Sunrisers bowlers? If they play to their strengths, this statistic will confirm the nature of Qualifier-2 at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Friday. One can expect a combat of skills.

With a place in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final beckoning, the penultimate match of the competition shall test the temperament and cricketing acumen of some of the best players in the game.

Sunrisers have executed their plans well and look to extend their stay in the tournament. “That is the good thing about this team. Everyone is still willing to learn while we are still playing. Everyone is adapting as we are going along in this tournament,” said Sunrisers skipper David Warner ahead of the match.

Warner leads the team’s batting table with 686 runs, followed by Shikhar Dhawan, who is peaking towards crafting a match-defining knock. Kotla, his home ground, can be an inspiring stage for Dhawan, who must guard against flamboyance early in his innings.

This batting pair’s efforts are complemented by the lethal combination of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (21 wickets) and the amazingly confident Mustafizur Rahman (16 wickets). Barinder Sran has adapted well too, giving the Sunrisers attack the incisive edge over Lions.

Close battle

Warner’s tactical assessment of the upcoming battle suggests it will be close. “Obviously both teams don’t really have any tall bowlers, so you are going to have to use your skill and execution with the ball to reduce totals here.

“We know who their key players are. They have got very good firing power. Dwayne Smith, doctor, has been playing very well.

“He has been coming in and playing his game. And we know the two boys up front are going to come out hard, and that’s their game. That’s how they play.”

Smith is a matter-of-fact cricketer and possesses the individual brilliance to turn a match on its head.

His all-round proficiency (323 runs and seven wickets) is the cushion that Lions have enjoyed in their debut season. The team has five batsmen (Suresh Raina, Smith, Aaron Finch, Dinesh Karthik and Brendon McCullum) who have crossed the 300-mark, showcasing its collective strength. Dhawal Kulkarni and Dwayne Bravo have had encouraging success with the ball.

“For us,” averred Warner, “it is about starting well as a unit whether we bat or bowl first, make sure we execute our plans.”

The same holds true for Lions, a team that has grown with every match. Sunrisers won both league matches against Lions but the immediate past does not matter in this format as KKR learnt the other night.

Expect a forceful meeting at the Kotla.

Sunrisers eliminate Knight Riders

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 Sunrisers' seamers snuff out Knight Riders

Sunrisers Hyderabad 162 for 8 (Yuvraj 44, Kuldeep 3-35) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 140 for 8 (Pandey 36, Bhuvneshwar 3-19) beat by 22 runs 

 Indian Premier League — 2016

Bowlers do the trick once again for the Hyderabad team, setting up a meeting with Lions

Sunrisers Hyderabad backed its strength in bowling, spearheaded by the miserly Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mustafizur Rahman, to stifle a resurgent Kolkata Knight Riders at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Wednesday.

Gautam Gambhir wil rue the mistimed pull that cost his wicket and caused a major dent in KKR’s pursuit of 163 to win the Eliminator.

In Qualifier 2 on Friday, Sunrisers will meet Gujarat Lions at the same venue.

KKR, on electing to field, took a grip on the contest when Kuldeep Yadav, varying his pace well, removed Moises Henriques and David Warner. It was a decisive moment for KKR since Henriques and Warner were hardly hastened into playing their shots.

At the halfway stage, Sunrisers were not in a healthy state – 71 for three – and the lack of depth in their batting meant Yuvraj had to take over the responsibility.

Just 43 in the PowerPlay was an average start for Sunrisers before Yuvraj and Deepak Hooda laid the base for a 150-plus total.

Crisp shots

It was not the Yuvraj of old, yet he got the ball to fly off his bat. His timing was excellent and so was his shot selection as he picked the ball early to come up with some crisp drives. The pitch was a trifle slow but the left-hander was not — always in position to make the most of it.

KKR did well to shackle Sunrisers every time the latter tried to come back. It was a combination of some good bowling and a few over-ambitious strokes.

Like Shikhar Dhawan taking on Morkel too early and losing his stump. Yuvraj thwarted the KKR plans but not beyond a stage. A target of 162 was competitive, given the strength of Sunrisers’ bowling.

A blistering start was on KKR’s mind. Robin Uthappa was in a hurry to dominate and support came from Gambhir.

Two delicate flicks from Gambhir reflected his superb touch, but he failed to time his pull and his dismissal, after Uthappa’s wicket, pushed KKR on the backfoot.

Sense of urgency

There was a sense of urgency in the KKR ranks to get to the target.

The emphasis was on playing the shots and proof came in the shape of Colin Munro and Yusuf Pathan.

Munro swung at every ball and made the mistake of taking on Yuvraj, who scored with a direct hit with one stump at sight.

This was vintage Yuvraj and the wicket galvanized Sunrisers. The reward came when Yusuf was superbly taken by Bhuvneshwar running in from deep midwicket and latching on even as the ball dipped.

Manish Pandey carried on and Sunrisers found themselves in a spot.

The quick wickets of Suryakumar Yadav and Pandey added to the excitement.

KKR had the capacity to pull it off as long as Jason Holder was on strike.

Sunrisers placed its faith in its bowlers. They once again did the trick.

Twenty-five runs off the last over by Bhuvneshwar proved beyond KKR.

Moises Henriques was named Man-of-the-Match for his fantastic performance.

 

SRH 162/8 (20.0 Ovs)

KKR 140/8 (20.0 Ovs)

Sunrisers Hyderabad won by 22 runs

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Moises Henriques

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Eliminator

Can Sunrisers tame the marauding Knight Riders?

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Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir and coach Jacques Kallis during a practice session at Feroz Shah Kotla on Tuesday.

 Indian Premier League — 2016

Injuries to key players a concern for both teams; the winner will meet the loser of Qualifier 1 for a place in the final

Is there a calm artist in the Indian Premier League? Spraying the ball into the galleries with brute power — a combination of helpful willow and an aggressive mind — the batsmen have come to redefine the very essence of batting. They call the shots against some of the best bowlers in the business.

What about the bowlers? Empathy is all they get but no solution to their misery.

There are brute belters of the ball everywhere. The boundaries get shorter and encourage mayhem in the middle. The spectators love it.

This is different cricket. Yusuf Pathan is a hit with the audience as he sends the ball soaring into the sky. But it does not help him reclaim a spot in the national squad. There lies the paradox.

David Warner, Yusuf, Andre Russell (if he recovers from injury) are known to hit sixes at will. It is the trusted scoring shot in the IPL.

Wait and swing. And swing hard. Sometimes, even mishits land beyond the fence. Astonishing stuff that mocks at the coaching manual.

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders trade blows in the Eliminator that is expected to generate much heat at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Wednesday.

After all, at stake is the opportunity to have a go at the title. Holder Mumbai Indians has been packed off and Sunrisers can back themselves to tame the marauding KKR.

Monotony factor

A league which is promoted by the administrators, players present and former, as a stepping stone to international cricket, is in its ninth edition, looking at tackling the monotony factor.

Injury to key players has cost some teams, notably Ashish Nehra missing action at this stage for Sunrisers.

There are issues related to the next edition — the Board has hinted it may move overseas. Not everything is good and acceptable in IPL but the players are hardly complaining.

SRH has demonstrated the significance of good bowling. It is feasible to place your faith in bowlers in this batsman-dominated tournament but the leader of this campaign, Nehra, will watch the action from England where he recovers from a hamstring injury.

It can be a daunting task for Sunrisers to stop the KKR run-machine where Gautam Gambhir brings quality at the top.

KKR has a formidable batting strength with the likes of Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey capable of dictating the result of the match with their innovative style. Off-spinner Sunil Narine may have lost some of his guile but continues to command respect with his accuracy. Russell’s injury can hurt KKR even as it relies on Shakib Al Hasan’s all-round skills.

There is a calm artist in this league — the gifted Kane Williamson — but he has hardly got going. In the same camp, the wily Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the seamer with a Buddha-like composure, brings old world charm to the art of bowling — he swings, seams and varies the pace cleverly.

With Mustafizur Rahman as partner, Bhuvneshwar forms an ideal opening pair. Their success against the attacking KKR shall decide the course of the contest.

Royal Challengers in final after de Villiers' rescue act

 Royal Challengers Bangalore 159 for 6 (de Villiers 79*, Abdulla 33*, Kulkarni 4-14, Jadeja 2-21) beat Gujarat Lions 158 (Smith 73, Watson 4-29, Abdulla 2-38) by four wickets

A.B. de Villiers donned Virat Kohli's 'The Finisher' role to perfection in Royal Challengers' four-wicket win over Gujarat Lions on Tuesday.

 Indian Premier League — 2016

de Villiers and Iqbal Abdulla help the team make the final from a precarious 68 for six; a rare failure from Kohli

A South African’s plight in a knockout match is all too well-known. And in those, A.B. de Villiers has often flattered to deceive. But not on Tuesday, as he single-handedly carried Royal Challengers Bangalore into its third IPL final.

Ploughing a lone furrow, he made an unbeaten 79 as RCB beat Gujarat Lions by four wickets in Qualifier-1 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here.

Kulkarni deadly

On a pitch, which played slower than usual and assisted the bowlers, Dhawal Kulkarni sliced through the RCB top-order, first reducing it to 31 for five and then 68 for six.

But de Villiers stitched together an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 91 runs off 53 balls with Iqbal Abdulla. What had, for long periods, seemed an anti-climax of sorts — a total around 150, a rare Virat Kohli failure and an RCB top-order collapse — was ultimately salvaged.

Chasing 159, Kohli went for a second-ball duck, chopping one on from Dhawal. In his next over, the Mumbai pacer scalped Chris Gayle and K.L. Rahul off successive balls — the former for nine and the latter for a first-ball duck. When Shane Watson and Sachin Baby too perished within five deliveries of each other, the worst fears of the home fans seemed to be coming true.

But de Villiers was a man on a mission. Up until the 14th over, he kept RCB within touching distance. But a slapped four and a straight six off Dwayne Smith in the 15th over opened the floodgates, and de Villiers and Abdulla finished off the match with 10 balls left.

Earlier, electing to field, Kohli chose Abdulla as an attacking option, introducing him in the second over, and was yet again rewarded. The left-arm spinner found turn immediately and struck gold, dismissing both Brendon McCullum and Aaron Finch in four deliveries.

The former miscued and holed out to de Villiers at deep cover while the latter edged one to Gayle at slip. And when Watson got Suresh Raina to half-heartedly steer a short ball to short fine-leg Lions were tottering at nine for three. Arvind and Watson smothered them in the PowerPlay and restricted Lions to 23 runs in the first six overs.

Karthik, Smith steady ship

But Dinesh Karthik (26) and Smith (73) rebuilt the innings with an 85-run partnership off 61 balls. The duo was cautious at the outset with the first sign of Smith preparing to flex his muscles coming only in the seventh over when he clobbered Jordan over square-leg for six. But from then on the boundaries were breached with greater regularity. The 10th over bowled by Chahal fetched 16 runs and Abdulla gave away 17 runs in the 13th.

Just when it seemed that Lions were ready to step it up further, Karthik dragged a Jordan delivery on to his stumps.

The RCB bowlers gave away just 19 runs from overs 13 to 15, and Chahal dismissed Smith too. But there was still enough sting left in the Lions’ tail. Eklavya Dwivedi and Dhawal managed to hit 20 off Watson in the 19th over, slightly tarnishing his excellen.

GL 158 (20.0 Ovs)

RCB 159/6 (18.2 Ovs)

Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 4 wkts

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
AB de Villiers

Gujarat Lions vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Qualifier

Series: Indian Premier League, 2016 Venue: M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru Date & Time: May 24,  08:00 PM  LOCAL 

Lions stare down back-from-the-dead RCB

All set: Captain Raina will look to continue his good form and lead from the front - he has two fifties in two games since becoming a father. 

 Indian Premier League — 2016

The victor goes straight to the final; the loser gets another shot, plays winner of Eliminator

Two weeks ago, Virat Kohli, with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) languishing in sixth place and having to win all four of its remaining matches to make the play-offs, had said that his team “loved the situation.”

The skipper is, indeed, known for a certain amount of swagger, but even by that measure it seemed a bit of a stretch.

For, even as his team’s batting had reached dizzyingly high levels, the bowling had plummeted into the abyss.

However, in the days since, his team — perhaps feeding off the captain’s energy — has made the grade and earned itself two shots at the IPL final, the first of which will be on Tuesday against Gujarat Lions at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here.

Leggie Yuzvendra Chahal’s words after the win against Kings XI Punjab ring true here. “Looking at his energy, we never feel that the game is over,” he had said.

Much of the success has been attributed to RCB’s heavy-duty batting line-up, and rightly so. But, as much as Kohli, in the company of the marauding duo of A.B. de Villiers and Chris Gayle, has devoured opposition bowlers thus far, scoring a mammoth 919 runs at 91.9 with four centuries and six fifties, he is unabashedly a bowlers’ captain.

“I’m more pleased when the bowlers take wickets than when guys get hundreds,” he has routinely maintained ever since he took over Test captaincy. The RCB bowling unit’s improvement in the last four matches, largely owing to the confidence shown by him, will have no doubt pleased him.

A case in point

Chahal can be a case in point. Despite him getting clobbered in the earlier matches, Kohli has persisted with him, often as an attacking option. So much so, that the 25-year-old from Haryana is now the purple-cap holder with 19 wickets — 11 of those, including a career-best four for 25, have come in the last four games.

Left-arm seamer S. Arvind has struck early blows, Shane Watson has 16 wickets and Chris Jordan has sufficiently augmented the death-bowling resources. However, in table-topper Gujarat Lions, it will face a stern test, the record 144-run win earlier here notwithstanding. Lions might not boast of a batting top-order as explosive as RCB’s, but in Suresh Raina, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch and to an extent Dwayne Smith, they have an effective one. Raina, with 397 runs, is the only Lions batsman to be in the top-10 run-getters’ list.

But, Finch (339), McCullum (321), Dinesh Karthik (283) have proved that there has been more than one go-to man.

Add to that the stifling nature of its bowlers — Praveen Kumar and Dwayne Bravo ably helped by Dhawal Kulkarni — it will have an even, if not a superior, chance of winning.

McCullum, no stranger to the short boundaries at Bengaluru, finally found form in the last match against Mumbai Indians, following a string of below-par scores.

Captain Raina has two fifties in two games since becoming a father. On Tuesday, Lions will hope that the law of averages finally catches up with Kohli. But the same law of averages might mean de Villiers, after scores of 6 and 0 in the last two games, is due for a big one.

On paper, there appears to be no respite. But Lions are more than capable of making their own luck.

 

Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils, 47th Match

Series: Indian Premier League, 2016 Venue: Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam Date & Time: May 15,  08:00 PM  LOCAL

Delhi looks to inch closer to play-offs

Delhi Daredevils would like to continue their winning streak against Mumbai Indians and inch closer to the play-offs in the IPL.

 Indian Premier League — 2016

Daredevils were impressive in the first half of the league but inconsistency struck them in the later part as they lost back-to-back matches.

Back in the top half of the league table after a convincing win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils would look to build on the winning momentum when they take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in their IPL match in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.

The Daredevils were impressive in the first half of the league but inconsistency struck them in the later part as they lost back-to-back matches. Their comfortable win over Sunrisers must have brought back the confidence in the Zaheer Khan-led side.

A win at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Sunday will help the Delhi team put a foot into the play-offs. With 12 points, from 10 matches, the Daredevils are currently on third spot behind Sunrisers (14) and Gujarat Lions (14).

For Mumbai, on the other hand, it will be a do-or-die match as a loss will leave them on the verge of being knocked out of the race for play-offs.

They now have 12 points from 12 games and are at fifth in the league table. After Sunday, they will have just one match left in the league.

Against Sunrisers, the Daredevils dished out a top-class all-round show, that too without captain Zaheer who missed the game due to a niggle.

Leg-spinner Amit Mishra continued his good form in the league with two wickets and pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile chipped in with two scalps as the Sunrisers batsmen were restricted to a small total of 146 for 8.

While chasing the target, the Daredevils batsmen clicked as a unit with in-form South African opener Quinton de Kock top-scoring with a 44. Promising domestic players Sanju Samson and Rishab Pant remained not out at 34 and 39 respectively to take Daredevils home with 11 balls to spare against the table toppers.

Zaheer has led the Daredevils really well, marshalling his resources and leading from the front with some impressive bowling shows. However, it remains to be seen whether Zaheer takes the field tomorrow.

Mumbai, who chose Visakhapatnam as their ‘home’ venue after the Bombay High Court cancelled IPL matches in drought-hit Maharashtra, have been inconsistent this season and they have never built a winning momentum, having almost alternate win and losses in their campaign so far.

They cannot slip up now as a loss on Sunday will put them in an extremely difficult situation to make it to the play-offs though there could still be a theoretical chance for them to make the cut.

Mumbai’s confidence has taken a hit after they suffered a comprehensive seven—wicket loss at the hands of laggards Kings XI Punjab in their previous match.

The Mumbai top-order, including captain Rohit Sharma, failed to fire while their middle order batsmen were run over by Punjab medium pacer Marcus Stoinis with a four-wicket haul.

Kings XI Punjab chased down the target with three overs to spare with none of the Mumbai bowlers doing anything extraordinary in that match.

Much will depend on the form of captain Rohit who has scored five half centuries this season though he has failed in the last three innings.

Mumbai have been over-dependent on Rohit even though big hitting West Indian Kieron Pollard has also bailed the team out from tough situation on a few occasions.

The Teams (From):

Delhi Daredevils: Zaheer Khan (Capt), Mayank Agarwal, Khaleel Ahmed, Sam Billings, Carlos Brathwaite, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Quinton de Kock, Jean-Paul Duminy, Akhil Herwadkar, Imran Tahir, Shreyas Iyer, Mahipal Lomror, Chama Milind, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Chris Morris, Shahbaz Nadeem, Karun Nair, Pawan Negi, Rishabh Pant, Pratyush Singh, Sanju Samson, Pawan Suyal, Jayant Yadav.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (Capt), Corey Anderson, Jasprit Bumrah, Jos Buttler, Unmukt Chand, Marchant de Lange, Shreyas Gopal, Martin Guptill, Harbhajan Singh, Kishore Kamath, Siddhesh Lad, Mitchell McClenaghan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Parthiv Patel, Kieron Pollard, Deepak Punia, Nitish Rana, Ambati Rayudu, Jitesh Sharma, Nathu Singh, Tim Southee, Jagadeesha Suchith, Jerome Taylor, Vinay Kumar, Akshay Wakhare.

Kings XI Punjab vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 46th Match

Series: Indian Premier League, 2016 Venue: Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali Date & Time: May 15,  04:00 PM  LOCAL

Hyderabad takes on Punjab, eyes play-off berth

Having thrashed Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab would be banking on the all-round effort from the team to sneak past the rampaging Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.

 Indian Premier League — 2016

Seeing the Hyderabad side in action has been a treat to watch, with its bowlers and batsmen clicking collectively.

Table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to quickly bounce back from the disappointing loss against Delhi Daredevils and seal their place in the play-off when they take on a resurgent Kings XI Punjab in an IPL clash in Mohali on Sunday.

Knowing that there is scramble among top teams for the playoff berth and holding on to top position is not an easy task, SRH will have to put the loss against Delhi behind and look to put up an all-round performance on Sunday

What has made Sunday’s afternoon game at the I S Bindra PCA stadium here even more important for Hyderabad is the fact that Punjab, which has struggled through the tournament, has suddenly started turning over a leaf under their new captain Murali Vijay, whose appointment was made mid-way.

The Punjab outfit, which is lying at the seventh place with four wins from 11 outings, pulled off a comprehensive seven-wicket victory against Mumbai Indians at Visakhapatnam on Friday.

The victory will surely give the struggling side a much-needed boost and the David Warner led SRH will be wary of the fact that Punjab will be a difficult opposition to tackle on their home turf.

Seeing the Hyderabad side in action has been a treat to watch, with its bowlers and batsmen clicking collectively.

Captain Warner is one of the highest run-getters in this edition and he single-handedly led the team to victory more than once. He is among the most successful batsmen in the league, making fifty-plus scores every three innings.

The other opener Shikhar Dhawan has also been in good form steering the team in the event of his skipper’s early dismissal. Even in their last game against Delhi, Warner (46) and Dhawan (34) had made their contribution with the bat.

It was their middle-order collapse which hurt the team’s chances and the Sunrisers, who have some brilliant batsmen in Kane Williamson, Deepak Hooda and wicket-keeper batsman Naman Ojha, will look to mend their ways.

However, it will be interesting to see whom the crowds root for when Yuvraj Singh comes out to bat for SRH.

The Hyderabad side’s bowling attack has also been impressive. With the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, seasoned Ashish Nehra, latest pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman and Barinder Sran, it is one of the most-feared unit in the current edition of the IPL.

For Punjab, a win against Mumbai Indians on Friday has infused new energy in the team and they will be eagar to win all the remaining three matches.

Punjab, which is yet to win the IPL title, restricted Mumbai to 124/9 on Friday, mainly due to all-rounder Marcus Stoinis’ career-best IPL figures of four wickets for 15 runs.

Then Murali Vijay played a captain’s knock hitting an unbeaten 54 and along with top-order batsman Wriddhiman Saha (56) helped KXIP cruise home comfortably scoring 127/3, with three overs to spare.

Prior to their win against Mumbai, Kings XI, which have also reportedly been hit by off—field controversy of an alleged rift in the team, had a heartbreaking one-run loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Handed captaincy midway into the league, Vijay has been trying his best to show the way, and would be hoping much support from the rest of the crew in the remaining games to give his team a chance.

Vijay is in good form and top-scored with an accomplished 57-ball 89, while Marcus Stoinis blazed away towards the end in the game against RCB, but the others failed to show up.

The form of David Miller and Glenn Maxwell has been a cause for concern. Coming back in yesterday’s match against Mumbai after being rested for a game earlier, Maxwell failed with the bat scoring a duck.

As far as bowling is concerned, the likes of Sandeep Sharma and Mohit Sharma have been the pick among the bowlers while Axar Patel and Stoinis have impressed with their all—round performance.

Teams (from):

Sunrisers Hyderabad: David Warner (C), Ashish Reddy, Ricky Bhui, Bipul Sharma, Trent Boult, Ben Cutting, Shikhar Dhawan, Moises Henriques, Deepak Hooda, Siddarth Kaul, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhimanyu Midtun, Eoin Morgan, Mustafizur Rahman, Ashish Mehra, Naman Ojha, Vijay Shanker, Karn Sharma, Barinder Sran, T Suman, Aditya Tare, Kane Williamson, Yuvraj Singh.

Kings XI Punjab: Murali Vijay (capt), Hashim Amla, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Gurkeerat Singh, David Miller, Axar Patel, Wriddhiman Saha, Mohit Sharma, KC Cariappa, Sandeep Sharma, Anureet Singh, Armaan Jaffer, Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Rishi Dhawan, Mitchell Johnson, Nikhil Naik, Manan Vohra, Pradeep Sahu, Swapnil Singh, Shradul Thakur.

Supergiants dumped out in rain-hit game

Kolkata Knight Riders 66 for 2 (Yusuf 37*, R Ashwin 2-30) beat Rising Pune Supergiants 103 for 6 (Bailey 33, Chawla 2-21) by eight wickets (D/L method) 

A sharp bowling performance from Kolkata Knight Riders followed by Yusuf Pathan's blazing cameo ensured Rising Pune Supergiants, in their debut season, were the first team to be knocked out of IPL 2016. The eight-wicket victory, in a rain-hit game at Eden Gardens, meant that Knight Riders moved to second place on the points table.

It was a clinical performance from the hosts. Andre Russell and Morne Morkel thrived in the Powerplay, while the amount of turn Piyush Chawla and Sunil Narine got left the Supergiants batsmen dizzy in the middle overs. Heavy rain interrupted the game with MS Dhoni on 8 off 22 balls and his team at 103 for 6 in 17.4 overs.

More than two hours of play were lost, putting an end to the first innings and handing Knight Riders a target of 66 in nine overs. R Ashwin struck twice in the first over to give Supergiants a sliver of hope, but Yusuf muscled an unbeaten 37 off 18 balls to close the match out and set off on a celebratory sprint as purple balloons were sent into the sky. His job, though, was made considerably simpler by the Knight Riders bowlers.

After Supergiants had opted to bat, Russell struck in his second over, when he bowled Ajinkya Rahane off the inside edge for 2. It was his eighth wicket in Powerplays this season, which is only one shy of Dhawal Kulkarni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who top that list.

Morkel was impressive as well. He was able to generate extra bounce and should have had Usman Khawaja caught behind, but umpire Bruce Oxenford did not spot the nick. Khawaja could not make much of his reprieve though and fell to Shakib Al Hasan for 21.

George Bailey hinted at a revival when he punched Morkel through extra cover and lofted Shakib over the same region. The second hit helped Supergiants end the Powerplay at 45 for 2. With the field restrictions done, Knight Riders went to their spinners and a biting legbreak from Chawla had Bailey stumped for 33 off 27 balls. Chawla finished with 2 for 21 in four overs.

With the score at 74 for 4 in the 11th over, Supergiants were reliant on their captain for a strong finish and Gambhir gave Dhoni a very cold welcome from very close quarters. The Knight Riders captain placed himself at silly point, and added two slips and a short leg to pile on the pressure. By the end of his innings, Dhoni had been involved in a mix-up that cost Irfan Pathan his wicket and his strike-rate of 36.36 was the lowest by a batsman who had faced more than 20 balls in all IPLs.

Thisara Perera struck Chawla for a straight six in the 17th over to break a spell of 48 balls without a boundary, but was caught at long-off the very next ball. By the time Sunil Narine, who returned from a finger injury, came on to bowl the 18th, a drizzle had begun and its persistence had Knight Riders worried. They needed a win today to strengthen their chances of staying in the top four and rain had not been their friend in the past.

Both Gambhir and the head coach Jacques Kallis had recounted their trouble with wet weather in 2015, when one of their home matches was abandoned, which in turn contributed to their failure to make the playoffs.

However, the match resumed at 11.45 pm and offspinner R Ashwin found big turn even with the new ball. His second ball pitched on off stump, beat Robin Uthappa in flight, and had him stumped. Two balls later, Gambhir was trapped in front for a duck.

Yusuf turned the chase in the third over, the last one of the revised Powerplay. He clubbed R Ashwin for a brace of fours and sixes before targetting the other Ashwin. Yusuf drove M Ashwin over the covers and followed it with a powerful hit over long-off. By then, the equation was simple: 9 off 30. Knight Riders romped home with 24 balls to spare and Dhoni, for the first time in nine years of IPL, will not be involved in the knockouts.

de Villiers, Kohli leave Lions shell-shocked

Royal Challengers Bangalore's star batsman de Villiers and skipper Virat Kohli combined to make mincemeat of the Gujarat Lions attack, scoring a century each in the process.

cricket

IPL

Royal Challengers inflict a record 144-run defeat on hapless visitors.

The sight of a ferocious predator devouring its prey evokes a sense of pity. The laws of the jungle must be obeyed, but the imminent, savage death of an inferior being does make the stomach churn.

The Gujarat Lionsowling unit met with a similarly gruesome end, taken apart limb by limb by the pair of A.B. de Villiers and Virat Kohli. Even as the pacers and spinners marked the start of their run-up, there was a chilling conviction among those present at the Chinnaswamy Stadium that the entire process was futile.

Destructive response

Regardless of what was hurled at them, the batsmen had a destructive response. RCB skipper Kohli (109, 55b, 5x4, 8x6) and de Villiers (129 n.o., 52b, 10x4, 12x6) showed no mercy. While the final 11 overs went at a run-rate of nearly 17, the last 18 deliveries cost a whopping 75 runs.

Kohli notched his third hundred of the tournament, and watched in glee as his partner recorded the highest IPL score of the season. The 229-run second-wicket stand, which came off 97 balls, took RCB to an astronomical 248 for two in 19.5 overs. And then, Shane Watson got out off the last ball. In reply, Gujarat was bowled out for 104, leaving RCB victor by a record margin of 144 runs. English speedster Chris Jordan picked up four, and leggie Yuzvendra Chahal finished with figures of three for 19.

This match, however, was all about the RCB innings. It marked the first time — in the history of this event — that two batters from the same side posted a century. The nightmare just did not end for the visitors — if de Villiers didn't get you, Kohli would.

Sixty runs off two overs

Nothing exemplified this better than the 18th and 19th overs, bowled by medium-pacer Dwayne Bravo and chinaman exponent Shivil Kaushik respectively. Bravo and Kaushik were hammered for 30 runs each, leaving Gujarat captain Brendon McCullum resigned to a horror fate.

A short while earlier, he could do nothing to prevent de Villiers from taking 23 runs off Praveen Kumar — an incredible sequence which included a paddle-sweep which landed on the stadium roof.

And to think, the home side had put on just 42 runs in the PowerPlay, with Chris Gayle having been dismissed for his fifth-straight single-digit score. For Gujarat, though, the light at the end of the tunnel would soon turn black.

RCB 248/3 (20.0 Ovs)

GL 104-all out (18.4 Ovs)

Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 144 runs

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
AB de Villiers

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rising Pune Supergiants, 45th Match

Series: Indian Premier League, 2016 Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata Date & Time: May 14,  08:00 PM  LOCAL

Supergiants look to regain confidence

PTI

RPS's Irfan Pathan and KKR's Yusuf Pathan at a practice session at Eden Garden in Kolkata.

 Indian Premier League — 2016

Kolkata Knight Riders needs its loyal spectators’ support the most when it faces Rising Pune Supergiants at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.

KKR, with 12 points from 10 outings, may not be left disappointed on this front. Only, it has to control the controllable and take a step towards achieving its primary objective of reaching the play-offs.

For a team served well by its openers Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa, KKR’s disastrous start against Gujarat Lions the other night was shocking. The heroics of Yusuf Pathan and Shakib Al Hasan might have revived the host’s innings, but it could not prevent GL from recording a convincing five-wicket win.

Nevertheless, the adverse situation taught KKR how to fight back in seaming conditions.

In bowling, KKR will love to gain more contribution from its pack of experienced spinners, including Piyush Chawla, Brad Hogg, Shakib and Sunil Narine. The availability of Narine, who was out with an injured finger, will be the key.

KKR will also want its pacers, including Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav and Andre Russell, to be a little more effective.

RPS, which has just six points from 11 matches, has suffered due to injury to some of its top overseas performers and its inconsistent bowling. Ending up on the wrong side in some close matches has hurt the team too.

That twice RPS has failed to defend 190-plus totals is an indication of its weak link.

Young Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa — who has eight wickets from two matches — emerging as RPS’s top wicket-taker bolsters the point.

The M.S. Dhoni-led side will depend on the good work of Thisara Perera, Ashoke Dinda, Rajat Bhatia, and M. Ashwin and hope that R. Ashwin plays to potential.

Ajinkya Rahane may be one of the leading run-getters but he has not got enough support after the exit of Steve Smith and Faf du Plessis.

While RPS will look to regain some confidence, KKR will be on its toes to cross one hurdle at a time.