Rajasthan Royals winning train finally made a halt at Delhi station. Riding on a brilliant innings from Karthik Daredevils registered their biggest victory in the IPL as the Royals fell short by 67 runs chasing 188 runs. After a blow-hot blow-cold season Delhi find themselves in the 2nd spot.
Rajasthan Royals Innings
Desperate times call for desperate measures and surely Chennai Super Kings were in need of something special if they had to end their 4 match losing streak which they did today against the 2nd best team RCB. The super kings like Kings XI have been losing games which they should have comfortably won and interestingly it all began against Kings XI when they were beaten in the super over. However today they delivered their best all-round performance to come on top of RCB. Maybe the 6 day break proved to be too long for their own good.
Chennai Super Kings Innings
The table toppers Mumbai Indians were clashing with the team at the bottom Kings XI Punjab and with the form that Mumbai is in nobody would have expected a thriller out of this game. Chasing 163, Mumbai Indians won the game with 3 balls to spare. With this win they have won 6 out of their 7 games and Kings XI are at the other end of the tunnel having lost 6 out of their 7. They looked better today but still couldn’t hold on to their nerves in the end.
Mumbai Indians Innings
Kolkata Knightriders had no answer to a blistering hundred from Warner as they were beaten comprehensively by 40 runs. The Daredevils by virtue of this emphatic win have moved back into the top 4. Maybe it would be better off if KKR stops taking advice from the whole nation as part of the promotion that they are doing along with Nokia :D. Kolkata’s chase had no life at any stage after Warner powered Delhi to 177
Knight Riders Innings
Chennai Super Kings slumped to their 4th straight defeat as the Royals beat them by 16 runs to register their 4th straight win. After having made 177 thanks to a brilliant innings from Ojha who hit 80 from 49, the bowlers from the Royals responded well and survived a late onslaught from Chennai Super Kings to register their 10th win out of 11 matches at home. No wonder they call it a fortress.
Chennai Super Kings Innings
IPL 3 has been a roller coaster ride for many teams but for one team it has been a total disaster. No prizes for guessing which team that is. Kings XI Punjab sank to a new low as they lost their 5th game out of 6 games that they have played. Knight Riders outplayed them in every department as they lost their 3rd successive game in their home ground. Maybe they should shift their base like Deccan Chargers: P. To make matters worse Sangakkara has been banned for the next match as his side was found guilty of not completing their overs on time, for the third time in the IPL.
It has been a roller coaster ride for the Rajasthan Royals. After having suffered hat trick of losses in the opening games they have come back strongly to make it 3 wins in a row. Tonight they thrashed the defending champions Deccan Chargers by 8 wickets and also replaced them in points table (3rd). Shane Warne surprised everyone in the first season with his leadership skills and today we could see just why he is rated as one of the better captains if not the best in the tournament. He was brilliant with his choice of bowlers and his men responded superbly in the field by restricting Chargers to a modest 148. Then Pathan took the game away from the chargers as he has always done. His 34 ball 73 knock earned him 4th man of the match award in 5 games that Royals have played the chargers.
When you have GOD in your side you have nothing to worry. Mumbai Indians rose to the top of the IPL standings thanks to the batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar splendid innings of 72 in 52 balls who almost carried his bat through to give his side a 5 wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings at their home ground. Dhoni was back but it didn’t make any difference to the Super Kings as they lost their 3rd match in a row.
Mumbai Indians Innings
Royal Challengers who were sitting pretty at the top of the table were surprised by Delhi who finally broke their 3 match losing streak to hand Bangalore their first home loss this season. The key to Delhi winning was simple – David Warner came out with all guns blazing and Kedar Jadhav provided the right finish to help Delhi post a stiff target of 183 and the bowlers did their job quite well to restrict the Challengers to 166/9 in the stipulated 20 overs. Jadhav on debut impressed one an all and was awarded the Man of the Match. He couldn’t have asked for a better gift on his birthday which happens to be tomorrow.
It was a clash between two teams placed at the bottom of the IPL standings and Rajasthan Royals came on top of Kings XI Punjab who were comprehensively beaten by 31 runs thanks to the and disciplined bowling effort from the Royals. By virtue of this win they jumped to joint 4th position whereas Kings XI is at the bottom having lost 4 of their 5 games. Though the margin of defeat indicates a dominating show by Rajasthan, Punjab had their chances but they didn’t take them.