KKR gifts victory to CSK

KKR snatched a defeat from the jaws of victory, as they self destructed after Robin Uthappa had given the chase a quickfire start. At once stage it looked as if Gambhir's surprising decision to field first after winning the toss was a masterstroke, but KKR slumped from a comfortable 52/1 in 5 overs to 132/9 in 20 overs, falling short of CSK's total by 2 runs.It was the spinners, especially Ashwin, who turned the game on its head choking the batsmen and driving them to play loose shots.

                  The CSK openers, as usual, gave their team a flying start to put on 42 in 4.4 overs.before McCullum once again fell to a leg spiiner, Piyush Chawla this time.Dwayne Smith looked set to spend some time in the middle playing a steady innings but was run out by a direct him from Pathan.That wicket triggered a mini collapse as CSK went from 64/1 to 88/5.Brad Hogg and Pat Cummins bowled outstandingly to stiffle the run scoring, while Russell and Piyush Chawla took two wickets each.Even with Du Plessis staying at the crease till the end, CSK could only manage 134 in 20 overs.

                   KKR had the worst possible start, losing skipper Gambhir in the first over itself to Ishwar Pandey. Robin Uthappa decided to take on the bowling hitting the pace bowlers out of the attack.He was in sensational touch, but once again failed to build on a good start falling to the first ball he faced from Ashwin.Still KKR were in a commanding position to chase down the low total.The batsmen however gifted their wickets, after inviting pressure playing a number of dot balls. The spinners bowled well, but there was hardly any rotation of strike which sent the required run rate higher up,Danger man Andre Russell was run out and though Ryan Ten Doeschate made a late charge, CSK came out on top, as they do usually in these close matches.Dwayne bravo took three wickets but the star was Ashwin who took two wickets in the two overs he bowled, before he was forced out with injury.

Upbeat RCB looks to continue fine run against RR

Royal Challengers are back on their home turf as they are set to take on a Rajasthan Royals side that has seen their strong start to the season compromised by recent setbacks. Two losses and a washout leaves them a little short of confidence, but they are sitting pretty at second spot in the IPL table. However they will have to be back at their best to subdue the home crowd, whose side have been on the rise of late.

                        RCB have put the disappointments at the beginning of the season on the back seat, and notched up two impressive wins, one of which was against today's opponents.They bundled out RR for less than 100 in their previous encounter before achieving the target with 9 wickets in hand. Mitchell Starc showed what a difference a world class bowler can make as the entire bowling unit now looks pretty good. Chahal's injury is a concern and is still unsure whether he will be fit in time.The other confidence booster for RCB is the return of form of Gayle and Kohli. With AB set to come in at 3, RCB have finally got their best batsmen facing the larger number of balls.

                        Rajasthan Royals have seen a number of players going off form at the same time. The overseas players Chris Morris, Faulkner and Steve Smith have all under performed and too much is put on the shoulders on Rahane and Watson. The other bowlers have also struggled off late to pick up wickets.At a batsmen friendly pitch like the one at Bangalore, they will have to be brave enough to hit the right areas.Hooda might get a bat higher up the order to exploit the shorter boundaries. Tim Southee for Faulkner is a change which the team management will consider.

RCB go in to match as slight favourites.but have lost all three matches at home.RR meanwhile will look to get their stuttering season back on track with a victory to go back on top.

In form CSK eye top spot against KKR

CSK are looking pretty strong so far this season, with the only blemish the thrashing at the hands of RR, who moved into 1st position after their game against today's opponents was washed out.CSK can reclaim the top spot with a victory, while KKR will look to move within touching distance of the above teams, with a win of their own.

                           Either of Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum have managed to give CSK a good start in all of their matches, laying the foundation for the batsmen to build big scores. The rest of the batsmen have had their moments too and with the match being held at Chepauk, the spinners will have a big role to play.Ashish Nehra has been fantastic all season, and young Ishwar Pandey seems to be taking confidence from his new ball partner.

KKR have been inconsistent and their cause was not helped as the last match at home was called off without a bowl being bowled.Sunil Narine has been reported again, yet could take the field considering the spin friendly conditions.The batsmen sans Gambhir, have not been able to get the big scores in, and are counting on the sum of the parts to do the job.The bowling unit looks in much better shape though and the spinners will come handy.

CSK have won 8 matches on the trot at Chennai and KKR will have their work cut out if they are to come out on top.

Kings XI falters yet again as Warner, bowlers hands victory to SRH

The return to Mohali seemed to be working in favour of Kings XI, as they got the early wicket of Dhawan after skipper Bailey had won the toss and put in Sunrisers to bat. Despite Warner's quickfire 58, the bowlers were able to restrict SRH to a sub par score of 150/6. But two quick wickets rocked the KXIP chase, and though they made a late fightback, ultimately it proved too little too late.SRH winning the contest by 20 runs, with Trent Boult the MoM.

Sandeep Sharma started off superbly with a maiden over, that had Warner in a spot of bother more than once. Shikar Dhawan, fell trying to ease the pressure from the other end, gifting the wicket to Mitchell Johnson who was bowling the new ball for a change.Warner however took charge with a brisk half century, but yet again his side were not able to take full advantage.advantage. Naman Ojha and Moises Henriques struggled to get the big hits, with the latter not even having a strike rate of 100 after facing 32 balls.It was Ashish Reddy in the end who smashed 22 off 8 balls with two sixes who eventually helped SRH reach the 150 mark.

Glenn Maxwell was left out again and another big hitter Virender Sehwag was also dropped as Manan Vohra was finally handed a chance. In spite of the absence of the two big guns, the score was very much gettable. But.But KXIP, were dealt a double blow by the opening pace duo of Trent Boult and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. Vohra and then Shaun Marsh both played on to leave them at 13/2 in just 3.1 overs.Bailey came in and accelerated the scoring but was dismissed just when he was threatening to cut loose. Vijay was unfortunately run out, with Miller's wrong call leaving him stranded. When the South African also returned to the pavilion, it seemed just a matter of time before KXIP bundled over. But Saha and Axar Patel had other ideas, as they put on 44 in 29 balls to get their team a sniff at victory. Boult dropped a skier of Saha, but he more than made up for it in the 17th over dismissing both him and Patel to finish off Punjab.

Underachievers battle to gain credibility as KXIP hosts SRH

Both Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad were expected to do much better , than what their league positions show presently. Kings XI had a well settled team which did so well last season, while Sunrisers had strengthened their squad with some good purchases at the auctions. But both teams have struggled so far. Another loss will leave them with a mountain to climb, as far as qualifying for the latter stages is concerned.

                   Kings XI will be relieved to be back to the familiar surroundings at Mohali, having lost all three matches at their makeshift home of Pune. Last season's finalists have found the going tough this season, with the stars of last season out of touch. Glenn Maxwell was even dropped, to make way for Bailey in the last match. Whether he makes his comeback tonight will largely depend on the team's decision on Mitchell Johnson.The pacer has once again gone into his periodic patches of woeful form, with his fielding also costing them big against CSK.Sandeep Sharma alone has looked good, with Anureet's wicket taking also dried up.

                   The one relief for Kings XI will be that their opponents are not much better themselves and an early breakthrough to disrupt the opening pair will go a long way in helping their cause. SRH's middle order and tailenders don't look dangerous at all with too much burden being put on the shoulders of Warner and Dhawan. The bowling looks fine, though Boult could make way again to accommodate another batsman.

Kings XI will have the slight advantage playing at Mohali where they won six and lost only once last season. I would like to see Maxwell being brought back in. The small break seemed to have done Chris Gayle good and I expect the same for Maxwell.
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Dardevils handed a Royal mauling at Delhi by RCB

If you thought yesterday's match between CSK and KXIP was one sided, it was miles away from what we witnessed at the FerozShah Kotla on Sunday.Virat Kohli made a triumphant return to his home city as his Royal Challengers Bangalore side were outright winners against a shell shocked Delhi Daredevils. After dismissing DD for less than 100, RCB romped home with a 10 wicket victory, with almost ten overs left to play.

                                Kohli made use his knowledge of the Kotla pitch to draft in Varun Aaron, who replaced RCB's leading wicket taker Y Chahal, who failed to recover from the injured finger he sustained against CSK. The quickie didn't disappoint his skipper, as he put in a MoM display, getting the crucial wickets of Y Singh and A Mathews.Iqbal Abdulla and D Wiese too picked up two wickets each while Starc went one better.

                                 RCB were a bit lucky though initially as the man in form Shreyas Iyer was unlucky to have been adjudged leg before off Starc.Duminy and M Agarwal seemed to have got things back on track, but once the DD skipper was dismissed, they were never able to recover. Varun Aaron was brought back into the attack and he picked up the two crucial wickets to all but finish Delhi's batting power.Kedar Jadhav managed to help DD reach 95, top scoring with 33.

                                 It was a situation tailor-made for Gayle to go berserk - and he did just that. 62 off 40 balls with four maximums. Well supported by Kohli who made 35, they barely had to break a sweat, as RCB climb upto fourth position in the table, just ahead of their opponets, on net run rate.

Bouyant RCB,DD go head to head

The second match on Sunday had Delhi Daredevils taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the FerozShah Kotla.With both teams coming on the back of victories in their previous matches, we have all the making for an intriguing contest.

                           JP Duminy and Shreyas Iyer took the match away from MI the other day, and were well backed by their bowlers, especially the spinners. Imran Thahir continued to pick up wickets and is the owner of the purple cap at present. Like SRH, the DD are light in the batting department and that could see the return of Manoj Tiwary to the starting line up. Dominic Joseph has been improving game on but will have a stern test against Gayle on his hands. Yuvraj Singh is still waiting for that big knock and the clash against his previous employers presents a juicy oppurtunity.

                            RCB outplayed the then table toppers Rajasthan Royals completely as their bowlers were able to restrict them to a low total before Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers completed the job in style. It remains to be seen whether the decision to bring AB in at three is a permanent one.Their batting looks so much healthier with such a proposition,The bowlers really impressed the other day with Chahal and Starc well supported by Harshal Patel and Iqbal Abdulla.

                            Clear skies will give us a full game of cricket and with two teams looking to push on and build up some momentum, lets hope the fans are not left disappointed.