They say that in cricket, the game isn’t over until it’s over. This holds so true for the match between the Deccan Chargers (DC) and the King’s XI Punjab (KXIP)!
The DC won the toss and elected to field first. Sunny Sohal and Simon Katich were the openers for the KXIP as usual, while Ryan Harris bowled the first over which consisted of two wides and one six. Nine runs were made off the first over. The first wicket fell in the second over, when Sohal was caught by Rohit Sharma on a ball by R. P. Singh after making only nine runs off 12 balls. The score was now 12-1. Luke Pomersbach came in after Sohal, but got out after making merely one run. Yuvraj Singh (Yuvi) came in next. While Sohal’s wicket fell in the third over, that of Katich fell in the fifth over when he was batting at 11 runs (ball Andrew Symonds, catch Pragyan Ojha). Kumar Sangakarra (Sanga) came in after Katich.
A partnership between Yuvi and Sanga would’ve been damaging, and the DC knew this, so they made sure to dismiss Yuvi before he could pose any potential threat. Wilkin Mota followed, and, at the end of 10 overs, the KXIP were 55-4. After the strategic break, Mota’s wicket fell, thanks to Tirumalasetti Suman’s bowling and Harris’s catch. Mota had made 12 runs off 19 balls. Irfan Pathan was the next batsman in.
Sanga had been the only batsman so far who had made a score of any significance, but after completing his sixth IPL 50, he got out at the score of 56 (43 balls) on a ball by R. P. and was caught by Harris. Brett Lee came in at six down. In the 20th over, which was bowled by R. P., eight runs were made and one wicket was taken, that of Irfan Pathan, who was caught by Herschelle Gibbs after he made 17 runs off 11 balls. Piyush Chawla was the next and last man in. Thus, the KXIP made 134 runs at the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs.
Adam Gilchrist (Gilly) and Gibbs opened the batting for the DC, while Lee opened the bowling attack. The first four overs were uneventful, but in the fifth over, Gilly fell victim to Ramesh Powar’s bowling (caught behind wicket) after making 23 runs off 13 balls. Suman came in after Gilly, but the very first ball he faced proved fatal for him, as he was bowled out by Powar! Thus, Powar was on a hat trick, but he didn’t manage to complete it as Symonds, who came in next, refused to oblige.
At the end of 10 overs, the DC were at 65-2. The third, and one of the biggest blows, fell on the DC when Gibbs got out after making 26 runs off 37 balls on a ball by Yuvi (catch Chawla). Rohit Sharma came in next. Symonds, on whom a lot of hopes were pinned, didn’t come through and got out after making only 25 runs off 25 balls (strike rate – 100) on a ball by Yuvi (stumping Sanga). Next man in was Venugopal Rao, who got out on the very next ball, and returned to the pavilion without scoring any runs.
After Rao’s dismissal, Dwaraka Ravi Teja came in, but was run out by Lee after making only 10 runs off 15 balls. Harris came in thereafter. It now looked like the match was lost for the DC, but in the 19th over, bowled by Lee, Sharma hit one six, one four, and also got a Free Hit – courtesy a No Ball by Lee – off which he got one run. Suddenly, the DC, who had lost hope, sat up as they realised they still had a chance. Then, in the last over, Sharma was bowled out by Pathan after he had made 42 runs off only 26 balls.
After Sharma’s dismissal, R. P. came in, but he got out without making any runs. Then Jaskaran Singh came in. In the end, four runs were required off three balls, but that proved too much for the two batsmen on the field, and the DC ended at 133-8. Yes, they fell just two short of victory! Even worse, the KXIP won by only 1 run! It must have been agony for the DC, but the result couldn’t be helped. The DLF Maximum award was given to Rohit Sharma, while the Man of the Match was Yuvraj Singh.
Yuraj Singh was said to have picked up a hat trick, but that was a mistake, because he had taken only two wickets – that of Symonds and Rao – in succession, while the one before Symonds – Gibbs’ wicket – had been taken by Yuvraj, but not just before he took Symonds’ wicket. Thus, Yuvraj did take three wickets, but not on a hat trick. One wonders that while the management did not realise it, did Yuvraj also not realise that he had not got a hat trick?
Yes, the match was won by the ‘kings’, and in a style befitting them, too! Match number 46 was played between the Delhi Daredevils (DD) and the King’s XI Punjab (KXIP).
The KXIP won the toss and elected to field first. There was a slight change in the team as Mahela Jayawardena was not playing; besides that, the teams on both sides remained the same. The terrific duo of skipper Virender Sehwag (Viru) and Gautam Gambhir opened the batting, while on the bowling attack was Brett Lee. The first over started well for the DD, as seven runs were scored off it, including one boundary (four). However, the third over was not as good, as the first blow came the way of the DD with the dismissal of Viru on a ball by Lee, which was caught behind the wicket. Viru had made nine runs off eight balls by then. T. N. Dilshan came in after that.
Just one run had been scored after Viru’s wicket, and the match was already in the fourth over, when the second opener, Gambhir, was dismissed by Wilkin Mota on a run out after the former had made eight runs off 11 balls. After Gambhir came AB de Villiers, who also didn’t stay too long and was sent back to the pavilion after he had made 11 runs off 11 balls (strike rate – 100). The bowler was Sreesanth, while the fielder was skipper Yuvraj Singh (Yuvi). Mithun Manhas came in thereafter.
The fourth wicket looked like it was a replay of the third, except that the batsman was different; this time, it was Dilshan who got out, the bowler and fielder being the same as that during the time of the second wicket. Dilshan had made 10 runs off 19 balls, and was dismissed in the 10th over. Dinesh Karthik came in at four down.
The fifth wicket was that of Manhas, who was caught by Piyush Chawla. Farveez Maharoof came in at five down, but was bowled out in the 17th over by Lee after making only three runs. It was a fantastic over for Lee, as he not only got a wicket in it, but also delivered a maiden over! Daniel Vettori came and left quickly after that, as did Rajat Bhatia, who left without scoring any runs, on the very next ball. Thus, Brett Lee was on a hat trick, but he was unable to take it as Pradeep Sangwan, who was the new man in, did not succumb to his superb bowling.
The ninth and final wicket was that of Karthik, and it fell in the 20th over. Thus, the DD ended at a very ‘gettable’ total of 121-9. To win, the KXIP required just over six runs per over, which basically meant they needed a run a ball. And with their batting line up, it looked like a piece of cake. But the DD were not at the top for nothing, and gave the Punjab team a run for their money.
The openers for the KXIP were Sunny Sohal and Simon Katich, while Ashish Nehra bowled the first over, off which only two runs were scored. The second over was a different story altogether, as the KXIP got a four, not due to their own efforts, but courtesy an overthrow by Dilshan! The first wicket of the KXIP fell on a ball by Maharoof, when Katich was caught behind the wicket after he had made 26 runs off 10 balls. Luke Pomersbach was the next man in.
The second wicket was that of the other opener, Sohal, who was bowled out after he had made merely three runs off 12 balls, thus proving to be quite expensive. Sanga came in at two down. The third big break for the DD came in the form of a wicket of Pomersbach, who got out after making only nine runs. He was followed by Yuvi, and at the end of 10 overs, with Sanga and Yuvi on the field, the KXIP were at 51-3.
However, the two, who can wreak havoc on the opposition, couldn’t build a partnership as Yuvi got out on a ball by Sangwan (catch Viru) after having made 18 runs off 31 balls, once again proving to be expensive.
Irfan Pathan was the next and last man to walk on to the field. All this while there had been a difference of at least seven to eight balls (more runs, less balls), but Pathan brought it down to a mere two-ball difference, and the KXIP needed 12 runs to win off 10 balls. In such a situation, while the bowlers were trying their best to give dot balls, Pathan hit a six, thus leading to the equation being reversed – now, the number of balls was more, and the runs required, less.
Then, when the KXIP needed two runs to win from six balls, Viru was seen giving instructions to the fielders, but to no avail – the first ball of the 20th over was hit for a four, and the KXIP not only managed to get the target, but also got it in style, thus winning the match by six wickets!
The DLF Maximum award was given to Irfan Pathan for hitting two sixes, while Brett Lee was declared the Man of the Match for his fantastic bowling.
The match between the King’s XI Punjab (KXIP) and the Deccan Chargers (DC) was a first, in that, it was the first match of the season for some of the players.
Some of the Australian cricketers, who had thus far been playing Pakistan in Dubai, have returned from the tour and are back in action in the IPL. Match number 36 saw Brett Lee (he wasn’t on the Pakistan tour, but this was his first match of the season) in action for the KXIP, and Andrew Symonds for the DC.
With the Australians back in the game, all eyes were on them. The KXIP won the toss and elected to field first. Brett Lee opened the bowling attack to fellow countryman Adam Gilchrist. In the sixth over, Lee delivered a No Ball and the DC got a Free Hit, but Lee recovered by bowling a fantastic slow bouncer on the Free Hit, so no runs were scored.
The first wicket of the DC fell when they were at the score of 31 runs, and Gilly (Gilchrist) departed after making 20 runs off 16 balls, on a ball by Sreesanth (catch Ramesh Powar).
While Suman came in at one down, Hershelle Gibbs, the other opener, was the second person to return to the pavilion. Piyush Chawla was the bowler, and Mahela Jayawardena was the fielder who caught the ball after Gibbs made 13 runs off 13 balls, batting at the strike rate of a perfect 100.
Rohit Sharma came in next, and before long, his partnership with Suman was destroyed as the latter got out on a ball by Mota, fielder being Jayawardena once again. Symonds, whose unbeatable batting the viewers were waiting for impatiently, came in next.
At the end of 10 overs, Symonds and Sharma were on the crease and the scoreboard of the DC stood at 72-3. In the 11th over, after the Strategic Break, Sharma got out on a ball by Lee, this being his first wicket in the series (catch, Kumara Sangakarra, wicketkeeper). Next man in was Venugopal Rao, and Symonds and Rao stayed till the end, but on the last ball, Rao got out, and thus, at the end of 20 overs, the DC score was 168 runs at the loss of five wickets.
The openers for the KXIP were Sunny Sohal and Simon Katich, while the opening bowler for the DC was Harris.
The KXIP were going at a steady pace when the first blow fell in the form of Sohal’s wicket, taken by Rohit Sharma. Sharma was on a roll, because, after a gap of one ball, he struck again, this time, bringing down Katich.
At the crease now were skipper Yuvraj Singh, and Sangakarra. Just as Sharma took two wickets, so did Shoaib Maqsusi, who brought down both the amazing batsmen, first, Sangakarra, by bowling him out after he had made 25 runs off 18 balls, and then, Yuvi (Yuvraj), who had managed to make only 18 runs off 13 balls (catch Gilly).
The batsmen on the field were now Jayawardena and Irfan Pathan. But the latter couldn’t last long, and got out soon enough, his place being taken by Wilkin Mota, who himself didn’t stay too long, rapidly making way for Brett Lee.
The biggest blow came when Jayawardena was dismissed (stumping, Gilly). Chawla came in next. Brett Lee, along with being a fabulous bowler, is also a batsman when needed, and this was proved in this match. He stayed till the end, and played an intelligent innings, hitting a few fours and sixes when required, thus keeping the run rate on par with the required rate.
As a result, the KXIP managed to get the total of 169 runs at the loss of seven wickets, and won the match. Thus, the return of the Australians provided a good impetus to the viewing of the match, and, at the end of the day, the fans were not disappointed.
Remember that match between the Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders when ‘it rained fours and sixes’? Well, the match held between the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the King’s XI Punjab (KXIP) on May 5, 2009, was just like that.
The RR won the toss and chose to bat. While the RR team remained unchanged, the KXIP had a new (old) player – Sreesanth. Sreesanth was playing his first match of this season of the IPL.
Naman Ojha and Graeme Smith opened the batting for the RR. The match was a great entertainer right from the first over, in which two sixes and one four were hit. As a result of this, by the end of 10 overs, the score of the RR stood at 93, without the loss of any wicket!
The fours and sixes continued to come down even after the Strategic Break, when on the very first ball of the 11th over, Smith hit a six, to complete his half century in style. Naman Ojha also completed his half century. However, in the 15th over, the first wicket of the RR fell, and Smith was dismissed by Ramesh Powar (catch Piyush Chawla) after he made 77 runs off only 44 balls! (Fall of wicket – 135-1).
By this time, the RR had great momentum going in their batting, and at this stage Yusuf Pathan came in. Also known to be a big hitter, Yusuf started hitting fours and sixes as soon as he was in. But he didn’t last long, and was dismissed on a ball by Chawla once again, and was caught by Karan Goel. He had made 12 runs off seven balls.
Next person in was Ravinder Jadeja. In the meantime, Ojha stayed on and continued hitting fours and sixes and it looked as if he would never stop! Nevertheless, in the 17th over, he hit a six, and got out on the next ball; Chawla once again weaving his magic spell on the ball (catch Simon Katich). But Ojha played a fabulous innings of 68 runs off 51 balls. Carseldine came in next.
Sreesanth, who had conceded the least amount of runs in the three overs which he bowled, also bowled the 19th over. However, his hard work of the previous overs went down the drain when he bowled a No Ball in the 19th over, because of which Jadeja got a Free Hit and made two runs. If that were not enough, the very ball of the Free Hit was also a No Ball! Thus, Jadeja got yet another Free Hit, and he didn’t miss that opportunity, and went straight for a six. The over proved very expensive for the KXIP with two No Balls, one six, and one four. 23 runs were made in the over, one of the highest ever!
The fourth wicket, which fell on the first ball of the 20th over, was that of Jadeja, who was dismissed by Irfan Pathan (catch Mahela Jayawardene). He made 33 runs off just 12 balls! Next person in was Abhishek Raut, and at the end of the innings, the RR total stood at 211 runs at the loss of four wickets.
The KXIP had a great total to make. Sunny Sohal and Karan Goel opened the innings. But the timing was just not right for the KXIP, and Sohal got out on the first ball of the innings on a ball by Amit Singh (catch Shane Warne).
While Kumara Sangakarra came in a one down, the second wicket followed on the heels of the first one, and Goel got out (ball Amit, catch Shane Harwood) after making only one run! Simon Katich came in next.
Warne, who is generally a fantastic fielder, dropped Sangakarra in the second over. The first four of the innings came as late as the fifth over!
The third wicket came in the form of Katich, who was bowled by Trivedi. The KXIP scoreboard now read 25-3. While Jayawardene came in after that, Sangakarra got out (ball Yusuf, stumping Ojha) after making 11 runs off 15 balls.
Skipper Yuvraj Singh was the next man in, and what was needed was that he build a good partnership with Jayawardene, but that was not to be, as the latter got out on a ball by Harwood, and was caught by Trivedi after he made nine runs off 11 balls.
The 11th over was interesting to watch because it started with Yusuf Pathan bowling to Irfan Pathan! But they didn’t face each other long, as, in the 12th over, Warne saw to it that Irfan was dismissed by way of a LBW. Irfan had made 19 runs off 17 balls. Piyush Chawla was next, but he didn’t last on the crease either, and Ramesh Powar soon took his place.
The final blow came when Yuvraj got out after making 48 runs, just two short of a half century, but, more importantly, his wicket sealed the fate of the KXIP, and, after 20 overs, their score, in spite of 19 extras, was 133-8.
The Man of the Match award was given to Graeme Smith for his fabulous innings.
By– Rashida Shabbir Arsiwala http://rasharsiblog.blogspot.com/
This was just the case with the Mumbai Indians (MI) in their match against the King’s XI Punjab (KXIP) on Wednesday, April 29.
It was said before the beginning of the IPL in South Africa that the pitches there were ‘batsmen’s pitches’, but the bowlers of all the teams continuously proved this prophesy wrong. So was the case with the MI. The toss was won by Yuvraj Singh, captain of the KXIP, and they chose to bat first. The openers were, as usual, Ravi Bopara and Karan Goel. The bowling attack, meanwhile, opened with Zaheer Khan of the MI.
After an uneventful first over, the second over was bowled by Lasith Malinga. He conceded just one run in the over. Next on the attack came Harbhajan Singh, and soon the man weaved his magic with the ball, resulting in the very first wicket falling, (due to stumping by P. Shah); the man to be dismissed being Karan Goel who had by then managed to make 12 runs off 12 balls, playing at the strike rate of a perfect 100.
The next man to come in was Kumara Sangakarra. The game had barely progressed when the second blow was struck to the KXIP in the form of Ravi Bopara who fell victim to Bravo’s ball (caught by Sachin Tendulkar) and got out after making 6 runs off 14 balls. The next man in was the skipper himself, but he too couldn’t stand the assault by JP Duminy, (caught by Zaheer), and got out after making 10 runs from 13 balls. Next came Jayawardene, but he too didn’t last long, going down on a ball by fellow country mate on the national team, Sanath Jayasurya.
Irfan Pathan, Mota, Piyush Chawla and Ramesh Powar came in next, none of them staying too long. The only person who made a significant contribution was Sangakarra who stayed till the end of the innings, which, on completion, stood at what looked like a very ‘gettable’ total of 120 runs. (KXIP ended at 119 – 8).
In such a format of the game as is the IPL, where fours and sixes come by the dozen, the King’s XI team managed to hit only two sixes, which showed just how strong the MI bowling was.
Next, it was time for the MI to bat, and as the two stalwarts – and heroes of the last game against Kolkata – came on the field, spirits among the fans on the MI were high, as the total looked small enough for the two of them – Tendulkar and Jayasurya – to get it themselves. However, that was not to be, and after delivering a wide on the very first ball of the innings, Irfan Pathan struck big on the second ball, dismissing Jayasurya, and the MI scoreboard read 0 – 1. Now, all hopes were pinned on Tendulkar, but the man who usually rises to the challenge, was unable to do so this time, and he got out on a ball by V. Malik (caught by Jayawardene) after making only one run off six balls. Now, it was upto J. P. Duminy and Shikar Dhawan to get the MI to the total of 120 runs.
But Dhawan fell prey to Yusuf Abdulla, and Bravo came in next to bat. In the sixth over, Duminy hit two consecutive fours and eased the tension in the MI camp just a little bit. (Duminy was the only player in the MI team who stayed on the field for a considerable amount of time and when he got out towards the end, he had made 59 runs off 63 balls). Then Bravo got out, and the trend continued until it was down to the last ball when 5 runs were needed. What was required was a six, but even a four would tie the game, leading to a ‘super over’. But that didn’t prove to be necessary, because Ramesh Powar stopped the ball and the KXIP won the game by three runs.
It was a match worth watching, in that, in spite of putting up such a small total, Yuvi and his boys came out strong and attacked, rather than defended, and that, combined with superb fielding, resulted in them winning the match. Sangakarra was declared Man of the Match.
