Captaincy is making me angry: Yuvraj

Kings XI Punjab skipper Yuvraj Singh was in a relaxed mood after his side's victory over Delhi but that did not stop him from confessing that captaincy has brought the worst out of him as he gets angry easily when his side is not doing well.

"Well, actually it is getting worst out of me. I am getting very angry on the field, I don't know why," Yuvraj said after his side beat Delhi Daredevils by six wickets to keep their semifinal hopes alive.

"But hopefully ... As long as we are winning the games, it doesn't matter what it brings out of the captain, so I am happy," he added.

Yuvraj though could not hide his glee when mentioned about the red-hot form of fit-again Australian Brett Lee whose match-winning 3/15 set up the match for Kings XI against Delhi.

"Lee made a (big difference). Since he came in, we have got better in the bowling department. He obviously brings in a lot of pace and enthusiasm. He has been helping Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth out too, that's very important. So I am glad he is here," the left-hander said.

Having praised Lee, Yuvraj credited the victory against Delhi to team effort. "We had lost three early wickets (in run chase) and we needed one partnership. I took my time, Sanga (Kumar Sangakkara) took his time. And we took up the challenge. We had to play some big shots in the end. Thankfully Irfan (Pathan) came in and got those runs. It was a complete team effort," he said.

Yuvraj was also happy that temperamental pacer S Sreesanth also came good against Delhi after his forgettable show against Deccan Chargers.

"He (Sreesanth) is coming back from an injury. He has had an up and down time but I thought he bowled really well against Delhi. He bowled at his best and is getting better at the end of the day. So hopefully, he will do better in the coming games for us."

SA bowling coach joins Deccan Chargers

South African bowling coach Victor Barnes will work with the Deccan Chargers team for the rest of the tournament.
Barnes, who is currently bowling coach of the South African national team, was asked by Deccan Chargers coach Darren Lehman to help his bowlers.
"Darren Lehman asked me to join the team and help the boys and I was only glad to help," Barnes told Chargers official website.
He worked with Harmeet Singh, RP Singh and Shoaib Maqsusi and advised them about the importance of using the width of the crease. "I am mainly working with the fringe bowlers. A few of them had problems with over stepping. We worked on it and things are getting better," said Barnes.
"I was impressed by the number of questions they asked. They are willing to learn and that is a positive sign. They were eager in practice and I spoke to them on areas that concern bowling at the death. It was a fruitful session." Deccan Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist also expressed happiness over Barnes' addition.
"Barnes has been enjoying a senior role in the South African team. He brings with him a lot of experience and I am sure the boys will benefit from it," said Gilchrist.

Punjab remain in IPL hunt with upset win over Delhi

Kings XI Punjab stunned leaders Delhi Daredevils with a six-wicket victory in their Indian Premier League match here on Friday to keep their semi-finals hopes alive.
After Punjab bowlers had restricted Delhi to 120-9, Kumar Sangakkara hit an unbeaten 43 to guide his side to a thrilling win with five balls to spare.
Punjab nearly made a mess of the chase, losing their top three wickets for 35 runs before Sangakkara put the innings back on track with a 53-run stand for the fourth wicket with Yuvraj Singh.
Yuvraj (18) was dismissed with the side still needing 33 to win from 26 balls but Irfan Pathan kept his cool, hitting three sixes en route his unbeaten 21 to take his team home in their must-win tie.
Erratic Farveez Mahroof, playing his first match of the tournament, took a wicket off his first ball to finish with 2-29 while left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra conceded just six runs off his four overs while picking one wicket.
Delhi, who lead the eight-team tournament, can still make the semis even if they don't win any of their remaining three games.
Delhi have 16 points from 11 matches, followed by Chennai (13/11), Rajasthan (13/12), Deccan (12/11), Bangalore (12/12), Mumbai (11/12), Punjab (12/12) and Kolkata (3/11).
Delhi were off to a poor start with swashbuckling openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag being sent back cheaply inside the first four overs.
Paceman Brett Lee was the most impressive bowler with 3-15 off four overs, for which he was named man of the match, while Pathan and Santhakumaran Shreesanth chipped in with two wickets each.
Dinesh Karthik top-scored with 32 and shared a 50-run stand with Mithun Manhas to lend some respectability to the total.

Warne's Rajasthan clinch a last-over thriller

Munaf Patel bowled a tight last over under pressure as Rajasthan Royals posted a thrilling two-run victory over Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League match here on Thursday.
Mumbai needed four runs in the final over to achieve a 146-run target, but seamer Patel conceded just one to boost Rajasthan's chances of making it to the semi-finals.
Three wickets fell in the last over, including two run-outs.
Skipper Sachin Tendulkar hit a solid 40 off 30 deliveries and Abhishek Nayar an 18-ball 35 to raise Mumbai's hopes of victory following man-of-the-match Shane Warne's triple-strike, but Rajasthan hit back in the closing over.
Former Australian leg-spinner Warne finished with 3-24.
Mumbai's hopes rested on Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya (16), specialist openers batting in the middle order, after three wickets had fallen for 23 runs but skipper Warne removed both the batsmen at the right time.
Delhi lead the eight-team tournament with 16 points from 10 matches, followed by Chennai (13/11), Rajasthan (13/12), Deccan (12/11), Bangalore (12/12), Mumbai (11/12), Punjab (10/11) and Kolkata (3/11).
The top four sides advance to the semi-finals.
Australian opener Rob Quiney and Indian middle-order batsman Ravinder Jadeja earlier boosted Rajasthan with a 61-run stand for the third wicket off just six overs.
Quiney top-scored with a 40-ball 51 for his maiden half-century of the tournament, while Jadeja scored 42 off 32 balls.

ICC hits back over Pakistan World Cup claims

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday hit back at Pakistan over a legal challenge launched by the Asian giants after they were stripped of matches in the 2011 World Cup.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Saturday it would challenge the ICC decision to move matches out of the country over security fears. The PCB branded the decision legally flawed.
But the ICC Board said on Thursday that they had not decided to remove the PCB as a joint host of the event, but only that the matches assigned to the PCB should be played outside Pakistan.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said: "We are naturally disappointed that the PCB has chosen to pursue its grievance with the ICC through legal channels but, having received correspondence from its lawyers, we have now responded.
"We used our response to clarify inaccuracies and misunderstandings in the PCB's claim, including confirmation of the fact that the agenda and the Board papers for the recent ICC Board meetings did very specifically raise the question of whether the World Cup 2011 matches assigned to the PCB as joint hosts should be relocated outside of Pakistan.
"We also pointed out that the ICC Board agreed only that the matches should be moved away from Pakistan, not that the PCB should be removed from its position as a joint host of the event itself.
"The suggestion the ICC Board was not empowered to decide that matches should be moved away from Pakistan and that such a decision was 'legally flawed' is also incorrect and without foundation."
The ICC insisted that concerns over security were paramount.
"We need to deliver a tournament that is safe, secure and, above all, successful and it was on that basis that the decision was taken that matches could not be played in Pakistan," added Lorgat.
"We hope the PCB realises that by attempting to pursue the matter through legal channels, it will result in the diversion of funds and resources better served to ensure a safe, secure and successful tournament in 2011, something that will benefit all our members, including Pakistan."

Taylor fashions Bangalore victory

Ross Taylor hit a crucial 46 to steer Bangalore Royal Challengers to an exciting two-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League match here on Thursday.
The New Zealander added 56 for the fourth wicket with Virat Kohli (38) as Bangalore achieved a 130-run target with two balls to spare to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Man-of-the-match Taylor fell in the final over after hitting one six in his sensible 50-ball knock, but his team needed just five to win at that stage. Vinay Kumar completed the victory when he smashed Jacob Oram for a four.
Kohli cracked two sixes in his 35-ball knock.
Delhi lead the eight-team competition with 16 points from 10 matches, followed by Chennai (13/11), Deccan (12/11), Bangalore (12/12), Mumbai (11/11), Rajasthan (11/11), Punjab (10/11) and Kolkata (3/11).
The top four sides will qualify for the semi-finals.
Veteran Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble earlier led Bangalore's fightback with two wickets for just 12 runs off four overs.
Chennai were strongly placed at 101-3 following Australian opener Matthew Hayden's brisk half-century, but lost the last seven wickets for 28 in a sensational collapse.
Kumble started the slide when he had in-form Hayden caught by Kumar at deep mid-wicket. Hayden smashed three sixes and five fours in his 38-ball 60 -- his fourth half-century of the tournament.
Hayden propped up the innings after South African seamer Jacques Kallis had bagged two early wickets, but received no support from the other end. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the second-highest scorer with 18.

Shoaib Akhtar to miss Pakistan's T20 camp

Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said Wednesday he would skip the Twenty20 team's conditioning camp at a luxury holiday resort due to a skin problem.
"I have skin problems in the groin... a doctor advised me a week's rest, so I will miss the conditioning camp starting from Thursday," Akhtar told AFP.
The 33-year-old Akhtar was selected for Pakistan's 15-man squad despite question marks over his fitness. He played only four Twenty20 games last year owing to fitness and discipline problems.
When Akhtar returned in February this year, he was dropped from the team after getting just one wicket in the two one-day matches against Sri Lanka. He was later ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka because of knee problems. The series was abandoned after a deadly attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore.
Akhtar played four one-day matches in Pakistan's latest one-day series against Australia in United Arab Emirates, taking three wickets without completing 10 overs in any of the matches.
Pakistan's World Twenty20 squad will undergo fitness drills at the Pakistani hill resort of Bhurban before playing three practice matches ahead of the second World Twenty20 tournament starting in England from June 1.
Akhtar hoped he would be fit in time for the practice matches.
"I will be fit when the practice matches start and will play these matches. Playing Twenty20 is a great challenge and hopefully I will be up to it," said Akhtar.
The mercurial paceman was also included in the inaugural World Twenty20 squad held in South Africa in 2007 but was expelled two days before the event on disciplinary action for assaulting team-mate Mohammad Asif with a bat.

Watson on track for Twenty20 championship, Ashes

Injury-prone Australian all-rounder Shane Watson is expected to be fit for the Twenty20 world championship and the Ashes series against England, Cricket Australia said Wednesday.
Watson suffered a groin injury last week while in Dubai playing against Pakistan, forcing him to miss the lucrative Indian Premier League, in which he was named player of the tournament last year.
Australian team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said the 27-year-old, whose career has been plagued by injuries, was assessed by medical staff this week.
"Scans have confirmed a minor right groin injury to Shane and we expect him to be fit to play in the ICC World Twenty20," Kountouris said.
"He?ll be monitored over the coming weeks and is expected to be available for consideration for Ashes selection."

Delhi survive Gilchrist blitz

Deccan Chargers skipper Adam Gilchrist smashed a rapid-fire half-century, but failed to stop Delhi Daredevils from posting a 12-run win in an Indian Premier League match here on Wednesday.
Delhi scored 173-7 before restricting Deccan to 161 despite Gilchrist's 33-ball 64 to boost their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Delhi lead the eight-team competition with 16 points from 10 matches, followed by Chennai (13/10), Deccan (12/11), Mumbai (11/11), Rajasthan (11/11), Bangalore (10/11), Punjab (10/11) and Kolkata (3/11).
The top four sides will advance to the semi-finals.
Gilchrist went for his shots from the beginning, hitting seamer Ashish Nehra for four boundaries in the opening over. He cracked five sixes and as many fours before inside-edging seamer Pradeep Sangwan's delivery on to his stumps.
Andrew Symonds kept the momentum with a 22-ball 41 before seamer Rajat Bhatia (4-15) triggered a dramatic collapse which saw Deccan lose their last seven wickets for just 12 runs.
Dinesh Karthik earlier helped Delhi set a stiff target with a 23-ball 44 not out, including 18 runs off the last five deliveries from Sri Lankan paceman Chaminda Vaas.
Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan set the pace, plundering 24 runs in an over from paceman Shoaib Ahmed. He cracked one six and seven fours in his 18-ball 37 before being caught by Ravi Teja in the deep off Symonds.
South African AB de Villiers kept the scoreboard moving after Dilshan's dismissal, scoring a 36-ball 44.

Smith, Sharma star in Deccan victory

Dwayne Smith smashed a brisk 47 and Rohit Sharma grabbed three quick wickets as Deccan Chargers thrashed Rajasthan Royals by 53 runs in an Indian Premier League match here on Monday.
Deccan rode on West Indian Smith's 32-ball knock to post 166-7 before restricting Rajasthan to 113 for their sixth win in 10 matches. Rajasthan have so far won five of their 11 games.
Delhi lead the eight-team competition with 14 points from nine matches, followed by Chennai (13/10), Deccan (12/10), Rajasthan (11/11), Punjab (10/10), Mumbai (9/10), Bangalore (8/10) and Kolkata (3/10).
Defending champions Rajasthan faltered against the pace-spin combination, with opener Swapnil Asnodkar alone offering resistance with a 39-ball 44.
Veteran Sri Lankan seamer Chaminda Vaas (2-19) did the early damage with two wickets in a lively opening spell to reduce Rajasthan to 19-2.
The left-arm paceman trapped South Africa skipper Graeme Smith (one) leg-before and then had Australian Lee Carseldine (eight) stumped by Adam Gilchrist.
Off-spinner Sharma ensured an easy win with three wickets for just 12 runs off three tight overs.
Deccan earlier plundered 58 runs in the last five overs, thanks to man-of-the-match Smith who smashed four sixes in a superb exhibition of hard and clean hitting.
Spinners Yusuf Pathan (3-34) and Ravinder Jadeja (2-26) threatened to restrict Deccan to a modest total before Smith propped up the innings with a 37-run stand for the fifth wicket with Vaas (20).
Off-spinner Pathan struck with his third delivery when he trapped Gilchrist (10) leg-before and then accounted for Vaas and Smith.
Left-arm spinner Jadeja also kept pressure on the batsmen and got a big wicket when he bowled Andrew Symonds, who hit a 19-ball 30.

Delhi crush Kolkata and regain top spot

The Delhi Daredevils bowlers paved the way for a seven-wicket Indian Premier League thumping of strugglers Kolkata Knight Riders Sunday as they reclaimed top spot in the table.
Kolkata were restricted to 123-8 at chilly Wanderers after they lost the toss and were sent in to bat and Delhi cruised home, reaching 125-3 with 17 balls to spare.
Openers David Warner, who made 36 off 23 balls, and 18-run Gautam Gambhir got Delhi off to a good start in the chase with a 53-run first-wicket partnership.
While Gambhir, Warner and Tillakaratne Dilshan were removed within three overs, South African AB de Villiers and Dinesh Karthik combined to carry them home.
The pair put on an unbroken 56 runs for the fourth wicket with De Villiers making 40 from 32 deliveries and Karthik contributing 17.
Earlier, Ashish Nehra had struck twice in Kolkata?s first over, and in the second Australian Dirk Nannes removed South African Morne van Wyk to leave them struggling at 9-3.
Opener Sourav Ganguly and Yashpal Singh forged a 36-run partnership for the fourth wicket, but Amit Mishra sent Singh packing in the eighth over and three balls later added the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha to break Kolkata?s momentum.
Ganguly, who made 44 runs off 45 balls, stuck around to anchor the innings, but was removed by Nannes in the 17th over.
Ajit Agarkar, dropped by Rajat Ghatia off his own bowling on 21, contributed 39 off 29 deliveries.
He was removed with the last ball of the innings after sharing a stubborn 40-run stand with Murali Kartik.
Mishra was the pick of the Delhi attack, returning 3-14 while Nannes and Nehra claimed two wickets each.

Duminy, Rahane keep Mumbai afloat in IPL

Mumbai Indians rode on a record stand by Jean-Paul Duminy and Ajinkya Rahane to beat Bangalore Royal Challengers by 16 runs in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
The duo put on 104 off 72 balls, the highest third-wicket partnership in the IPL, as Mumbai scored 157-2 in 20 overs before restricting Bangalore to 141-7 at St George's Park here.
Mumbai's fourth win in 10 matches took them to nine points and kept their hopes alive of making the semi-finals. Bangalore were stuck on eight points from 10 games.
Both teams have four more league matches to play.
Rahane and Duminy came to the crease after skipper Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed for zero in the second over and Sri Lankan veteran Sanath Jayasuriya fell for 29 in the eighth.
Rahane, a 20-year-old from Mumbai, remained unbeaten on 62 off 49 balls with four boundaries and a six.
Duminy, the left-handed South African, made 59 not out off 41 balls, a knock that was studded with three sixes and two fours.
Bangalore's challenge faded after four wickets fell for 58 by the 10th over, including those of Jacques Kallis (12) and Rahul Dravid (10).
South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher smashed an unbeaten 48 off 33 balls, but his gallant effort was not enough for Bangalore to snatch an unlikely win.
India spinner Harbhajan Singh was Mumbai's star bowler with two wickets for 15 runs in his four overs.

Chennai prevail in high-scoring affair

Following a thumping win against the Deccans, A confident Chennai captain MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first. The were two changes in the Superkings team - George Bailey and Manpreet Gony replaced Murali Vijay and Jacob Oram. Punjab had one change in their eleven - VRV Singh came in for Ramesh Powar.

Chennai had a change in the batting line-up. With Murali Vijay not playing, Hayden was accompanied by Badrinath at the opening slot. However, the new combination did not work for Chennai when Badrinath tried to upper-cut an Irfan Pathan delivery but was caught by VRV Singh. Raina joined Hayden at number three and the duo started off a show of brilliant stroke-play. Though the conditions were overcast, it did not deter Raina and Hayden, who took an attacking approach and decimated the Punjab bowling. Chennai were 68/1 after 7.3 overs when the rain gods came to the help of Punjab by halting the play.

The play resumed after the rain delay with the match being reduced to 18 overs a side. Punjab got their first break-through after the delay when Raina attempted a pull off Chawla but could only find Goel latch on to a catch. The captain MS Dhoni once again promoted himself and came in at number four. He looked in good touch, timing the ball sweetly. Meanwhile, Matthew Hayden continued from where he left off and went on to score his fifty.

MS Dhoni opened up towards the end of the innings, scoring at an express rate. VRV Singh was at the receiving end when Dhoni scored 24 runs in his over which inculded 2 fours and 2 sixers. Hayden went one step further, scoring 3 sixers off Sreesanth in the penultimate over.

The duo brought on the 100 partnership off just 46 balls. However, Hayden departed in the same over, holing out to Jayawardene at long-in. The hard hitting Hayden managed to score 89 runs off just 58 balls. His innings included 8 fours and 6 sixers. Meanwhile, Dhoni reached his fifty with a four in the last over, taking just 24 balls to get there. Chennai ended the innings with a mammoth score of 185 on board. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 56 off just 27 balls. His innings included 7 fours and 2 sixers.

Punjab started the innings requiring 188 runs to win as per Duckworth and Lewis. Punjab's uphill task started off on a wrong note when Sunny Sohal was bowled by Morkel in the first over. Meanwhile, Simon Katich took charge, scoring at quick rate. Karan Goel gave him good company at the other end, playing for singles and rotating the strike. Simon Katich took the fight back to Chennai scoring 3 consecutive sixers off Gony. Karan Goel tried to emulate Katich by trying to hit Jakati over the top. However, he holed out to Gony at long-on, bringing Yuvraj Singh to the crease. The Kings XI captain started positively, dealing in boundaries and sixers. Not to be left behind, Katich played at a brisk pace and reached his fifty off just 24 balls. Just when things were looking good for Punjab, a loose ball from Balaji resulted in the dismissal of Katich. At this stage Punjab were 84/3 requiring 104 runs off 53 balls.

Yuvraj survived a chance in the 11th over when his attempted shot over long-on, off Muralitharan's bowling was put down by Gony. Meanwhile, an in-form Jayawardene was striking boundaries and sixers at will, taking the attack to his Sri Lankan counterpart, Muralitharan. Yuvraj Singh made Chennai pay for the dropped catch, decimating the Chennai bowling attack. With 3 overs remaining, Punjab required 39 runs to win. Leading from the front, Yuvraj Singh brought up his fifty in just 28 balls.

An exciting finish was in place when Punjab required 30 runs off the last two overs with Yuvraj and Jayawardene putting up the fight. Suresh Raina was given the ball for the penultimate over and he just gave away 6 runs. Punjab required 24 runs off the last over. Balaji, who was chosen to bowl the last over, kept his cool and bowled consistently in the block hole, giving away just 12 runs in the over. In the end, Chennai emerged victors by 12 runs.

In a closely fought encounter, Chennai held their cool and ultimately ended on the winning side thanks to the batting efforts of Hayden, Dhoni and Raina. Punjab gave Chennai a good fight but were not good enough at the end.

Rajasthan cruise to victory

There were a lot of similarities in the two teams that took to the field today, apart from the obvious one of both having 'Royal' in their team name. They had both had fitful starts to the tournament, but were coming into the match having built up great momentum, and both were led by leg-spinning legends of the game who were contemporaries.

Anil Kumble lost the toss to Warne, who decided to bowl first on a fresh pitch. Bangalore went in with an unchanged side, while Rajasthan brought in Munaf Patel and local boy Morne Morkel instead of Siddharth Trivedi and Shane Harwood.

The impressive Amit Singh again provided the breakthrough for Rajasthan when he had Wasim Jaffer caught with Lee Carseldine taking a well judged catch at short cover. Last match hero Jacques Kallis couldn't repeat his batting performance and fell to Munaf Patel in the fifth over, leaving Bangalore in a bit of a hole, with the run-rate below 5 and two wickets down. They were dealt a body blow when they lost returning hero Rahul Dravid for a duck. Dravid got a ball down the leg-side and uncharacteristically, instead of tickling it fine for a boundary, got a feather-touch through to the keeper, giving Lee Carseldine a big wicket in his debut over. Bangalore slid further, losing Robin Uthappa plumb lbw to part-time spinner Jadeja, and only a dropped chance by 'keeper Ojha off Warne kept Virat Kohli at the crease and prevented Bangalore from losing half the side before half the overs were up. As it was, they were a none-too-healthy 49 for 4 at the halfway mark, and true to form, they lost a wicket immediately after, when Boucher was bowled by Jadeja.

Jadeja continued to have a dream spell with the ball and snaffled Virat Kohli who's cut only succeeded in finding the safe hands of a tumbling Morne Morkel.

Amit Singh then bowled a beautiful slower delivery - an off-cutter who's turn would have done Murali proud - to bowl the dangerous van der Merwe.

An excellent all-round bowling display meant Rajasthan got Bangalore all out for 105 off the last ball of the innings, with Amit Singh returning figures of 4-0-19-4 and Ravindra Jadeja having 4-0-15-3.

In an innings that lay in shambles from start to finish, the most exciting moment came when No.10 Vinay Kumar attempted a switch hit - you read that right, a switch hit - off Amit Singh in the last over of the innings.

Rajasthan's chase got off to a sedate start, but with no requirement to go slam bang, Smith and Ojha could afford to take their time to settle in. Just when he looked about to explode though, Smith was castled by South African team-mate Kallis.

Rajasthan kept ticking the runs off though, and even though Lee Carseldine was run-out in a bad mix-up with Naman Ojha, the score progressed at above the required rate, reading a comfortable 62 for 2 at the strategy break, with Yusuf Pathan at the crease.

Bangalore did manage to get Yusuf out, it was too little too late, as by then Rajasthan needed just 15 runs to win and had 6 overs and 7 wickets in hand to get them.

This they duly did, with Naman Ojha scoring another fifty and remaining unbeaten on 52 not out off 37 balls, to give Rajasthan victory by 7 wickets and 5 overs to spare.

At the end of the match, another similarity had emerged between the two teams - both stayed true to the form they had displayed in IPL '08!

Turning Point of the Match: A thoroughly professional display by Rajasthan ensured that they had their second successive one-sided victory, with possibly the only turning point being the fact that the toss landed in Warne's favour rather than Kumble's!

Man of the Match: Amit Singh for his sterling bowling performance in just his second IPL match, which really set up the victory for Rajasthan by putting Bangalore on the back-foot from the start.

Hope Dhoni was watching me perform: Rohit

Deccan Chargers' Rohit Sharma hopes the hat-trick against Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League was watched by India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as he attempts to cement his place in the one-day squad. Despite the bundle of talent, Rohit has been in and out of the one-day squad but feels yesterday's performance would serve as a message to the India think tank. "I hope he (Dhoni) watched the game... Maybe... yes... he may have," Rohit said. His hat-trick was spread over two overs with scalps of Abhishek Nayar, Harbhajan Singh and JP Duminy and Rohit said he was taking his off-spin seriously. "I am a good bowler and have been working hard at my bowling. I didn't get enough opportunities at international level. I have been bowling well in whatever opportunities I have been getting. I am happy that I came out with a hat-trick," Rohit told IPL's official website. The 22-year-old Mumbai Ranji player was quite surprised that he got the hat-trick, the second of the ongoing IPL after Yuvraj Singh's feat, and considered himself lucky. "I never thought so, to be honest. I was lucky to get a hat-trick. I never thought I would get wickets, so let alone get a hat-trick. So quite surprising actually," said Rohit. Since his was a split hat-trick, Rohit was confused of at first and it needed Ryan Harris to inform him about his feat. "I started running all over the ground and I enjoyed it." After yesterday's bowling performance, Rohit feels he could now be called an all-rounder. "I think so maybe, you can call me that now."

Gambhir half century takes Delhi to the top

A half-century from stand-in skipper Gautam Gambhir led Delhi Daredevils to the top of the Indian Premier League table with a nine-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday.
Gambhir's measured innings of 71 not out eased Delhi to their target of 155 with one over to spare, although he did enjoy some luck after being dropped by Kolkata captain Brendon McCullum on 21 and was given not out after being caught behind just short of his half-century.
David Warner's quickfire innings of 36 from 23 deliveries got the Daredevils off to a flying start and eased the pressure on his team-mates, allowing Gambhir and Tillakaratne Dilshan (42 not out) to ride home.
Gambhir has struggled for IPL form, but was pleased to finally register a good innings.
"I am not spotting the ball well, but was happy I batted through," he said. "We discussed that someone had to finish the job, and with two batsmen set we managed to do that."
It was Kolkata's seventh loss from nine matches, and they rued some poor fielding with a number of dropped catches and unnecessary boundaries after their batsmen set a reasonable total.
McCullum finally found form to record a speedy 35, but it was fellow opener Morne van Wyk who really sparkled with 74 from just 48 balls.
The South African hit 11 fours, but was at times starved of the strike by a struggling middle order as the innings tailed away and ended with a total that was a shade under par.
"I thought probably another 20 on top would have been good, but the way they chased them down was thoroughly professional," conceded McCullum.
Defeat leaves Kolkata rooted to the bottom of the table with just three points.

Smith boundary blitz steers Rajasthan to IPL win

South Africa skipper Graeme Smith staged a boundary blitz as Rajasthan Royals cruised to a 78-run triumph over Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League Tuesday.
Smith struck 12 boundaries at balmy Kingsmead as he shared a 135-run first wicket partnership with Naman Ojha that set up the defending champions for a fourth win in eight outings.
The Protea made 77 off 44 balls before being caught at the boundary by Piyush Chawla and the 68-run innings of wicketkeeper Ojha included five sixes and five fours.
Royals made 211-4 in 20 overs and while Punjab recovered from a disastrous start in reply to reach 133-8, the outcome was obvious longer before the final ball was bowled.
Rajasthan bettered the previous highest total this season by 22 runs and the Smith-Ojha stand was also a 2009 IPL record as the round-robin phase of the Twenty20 tournament reached the halfway mark.
No Punjab bowler suffered more than Shantha Sreesanth, who bowled two no balls in the penultimate over and conceded 23 runs, including a six from 33-run Ravindra Jadeja.
Punjab made the worst possible start in pursuit of a 10.60-run-an-over target with Sunny Sohal caught by Rajasthan skipper-cum-coach Shane Warne off the first ball of the innings.
Karan Goel contributed just one run before he headed for the pavilion and when Australian Simon Katich departed in the fifth over, Punjab were 25-3 and staring humiliation in the face.
Skipper Yuvraj Singh established some middle-order stability with a 48-run spell at the crease that included three sixes and three fours, but only Irfan Pathan (19 runs) offered support.
Victory lifted Rajasthan from second last to second on the eight-team standings, behind leaders Chennai Super Kings on net run rate, while Punjab slipped from second to sixth.

Jakati shines again for Chennai in IPL cricket

Left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati picked up 4-22 as Chennai Super Kings thumped Deccan Chargers by 78 runs for their third win on the trot in the Indian Premier League on Monday.
Jakati removed top-scorer Dwayne Smith (49) and Rohit Sharma in the space of four balls to help Chennai restrict Deccan to 100 all out in 14.4 overs in a one-sided contest at Buffalo Park here.
The 28-year-old unheralded bowler from Goa had also turned in a match-winning performance in Chennai's win against Delhi Daredevils on Saturday.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni earlier led the batting charge with an unbeaten 58 while tournament's leading run-getter Matthew Hayden slammed a 26-ball 43 to take Chennai to an imposing 178-3.
The win propelled Chennai to the top of the points table while Deccan slumped to their third defeat in a row.
Deccan's chase began on a disastrous note as they lost their explosive openers Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs inside the first two overs.
Albie Morkel snapped up Gilchrist off the first ball of the innings when he trapped the Deccan skipper plumb in front while Suddep Tyagi accounted for Gibbs.
Morkel returned to dismiss Venkatsai Laxman (0) in his next over but was unlucky not to claim Smith whose easy skiers were dropped twice in a row by clumsy Chennai fielders.
Smith, who also survived a crazy mix-up at the crease, briefly sustained Deccan's hopes, putting on 72 runs for the fourth wicket with Sharma (21).
But Deccan's fate was sealed once Smith was trapped leg-before by Jakati. The West Indies' all-rounder slammed five sixes and two fours in his 23-ball knock.

Kallis, Uthappa pave way for Bangalore victory

A superb unbroken stand between Jacques Kallis and Robin Uthappa led Bangalore Royal Challengers to a nine-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League clash on Sunday.
After winning the toss at the Wanderers and opting to bat, Mumbai recovered from a poor start to reach 149-4 and in reply, Bangalore made 150-1 with 11 balls to spare.
Kallis got off to a cracking start after fellow opener Wassim Jaffer had fallen early on and although he slowed, still reached his half-century off 39 balls.
Uthappa was even quicker, making his fifty off 36 deliveries.
The pair shared 126 runs for the second wicket with Kallis 69 not out from 59 balls, including five fours and two sixes.
Uthappa was unbeaten on 66, having faced 42 deliveries in an innings that included eight fours and two sixes.
Bangalore seamer Dillon du Preez, who returned with 3-32, got his IPL debut off to a dream start, bagging three wickets before conceding a run.
Coming on at first change, Du Preez removed Sachin Tendulkar and Ajinkya Rahane with successive deliveries in his first over.
And in his next, he had JP Duminy caught behind to leave Mumbai reeling at 23-3 before Sanath Jayasuriya and Dwayne Bravo compiled 60 runs for the fourth wicket to stage a recovery.
Jayasuriya smashed 52 runs from 43 balls with six fours and one six. The Sri Lankan veteran was removed by spinner Roelof van der Merwe in the 15th over, but Abhishek Nayar joined Bravo in an unbroken 66-run stand for the fifth wicket to keep Mumbai in control.
Bravo made 50 not out from 40 deliveries with one boundary and two sixes, and Nayar was unbeaten on 29 off 20 balls.

Jayawardene leads Punjab to last-over IPL win

Mahela Jayawardene struck an unbeaten 52 to guide Kings XI Punjab to a nail-biting six-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League here on Sunday.
The Sri Lankan batsman hit seven fours in his 41-ball knock as Punjab surpassed Kolkata's competitive 153-3 in a last-ball finish at St. George's Park.
Needing seven from the final over by Kolkata paceman Ajit Agarkar, Jayawardene hit a four while Irfan Pathan (19 not out) fetched the winning runs for Punjab.
The victory helped Punjab climb to the second position in the points table while the struggling Kolkata continued to languish at the bottom with their sixth defeat from eight matches.
The Yuvraj Singh-led Punjab have now won four of their seven matches in this Twenty20 competition.
Punjab were off to a disappointing start with Ishant Sharma claiming Kumar Sangakkara for a duck in the first over but a slew of dropped catches and poor fielding did Kolkata no favours.
Simon Katich (34) was dropped on five by Chris Gayle while debutant Sunny Sohal also thrived on a grassed chance to make a fine 26-ball 25 on debut.
Kolkata's innings was built around Brad Hodge who top-scored with an unbeaten 70 off just 43 balls and shared key partnerships with Sourav Ganguly (22) and Morne van Wyk (18 not out).
The Australian smashed 10 fours and a six in a late assault that saw Kolkata put on 101 runs in their last 10 overs.
Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla was the most successful bowler with 2-27 from four overs.

Jakati spins Chennai to victory

Left-arm slow bowler Shadap Jakati spun the Chennai Super Kings back into contention in the Indian Premier League with an 18-run win over the Delhi Daredevils at the Wanderers Stadium Saturday.
David Warner (51) and Dinesh Karthik (52) took Delhi within sight of overhauling a disappointing Chennai total of 163 all out on the best batting pitch of the tournament so far.
Warner was making his IPL debut because regular Delhi captain Virender Sehwag needed four stitches in his left hand after trying to take a catch in his team's win against the Deccan Chargers Thursday.
But both men fell to Jakati and Delhi limped to 145 for eight. Jakati took four for 24.
The win lifted Chennai, last year's beaten finalists, from seventh to fifth on the log.
Chennai seemed set for a big total when they hurried to 112 for two in the 13th over with Matthew Hayden (30), Suresh Raina (32) and Subramanian Badrinath (45) all scoring comfortably at better than a run a ball on a true, hard pitch.
Raina and Badrinath were dismissed in the 13th and 15th overs respectively, bringing the Chennai side's big hitters, Albie Morkel and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, together.
Instead of a burst of scoring in the closing overs, left-arm fast bowlers Dirk Nannes and Ashish Nehra ploughed through the middle and lower order batting.
Morkel fell to Nehra for six and Dhoni to Nannes for the same score.
Both bowlers took three for 27.
Delhi were rocked by fast bowler Sudeep Tyagi, 21, who dismissed stand-in captain Gautam Gambhir and AB de Villiers with successive deliveries with the total on 20. Gambhir fell to a reflex catch by Raina at short cover, while De Villiers was bowled by a ball which straightened between bat and pad.
Jakati bowled Tillekeratne Dilshan with a superb delivery before Warner and Karthik came together in a fourth wicket stand of 74.
But Warner took a wild swing at a ball from Jakati and was stumped in the 16th over to start a Delhi collapse.

Rajasthan snatch thrilling IPL win over Deccan

Rajasthan Royals staged a dramatic fightback to upset table-toppers Deccan Chargers by three wickets in their Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.
Defending a competitive 141-5, Deccan looked set for victory when they reduced Rajasthan to 3-3 in the second over but some sloppy efforts in the field saw the defending champions steal a sensational win with two balls to spare.
It was only the second defeat for Deccan from six matches while Rajasthan registered their third win from seven outings to throw open the tournament.
Charismatic all-rounder Yusuf Pathan, tactically brought down to number eight in the batting order, once again did the trick, hitting 24 from 14 balls with two fours and two sixes.
Pathan, named man of the match, came in with Rajasthan needing 49 from 35 balls but reduced the asking rate to a mere 11 from 12 balls.
Abhishek Raut, who remained unbeaten on a 23-ball 36, and Lee Carseldine (39) were the other contributors with the bat.
Tirumalsetti Suman earlier top-scored for Deccan with an unbeaten 41 after captain Adam Gilchrist gave the side a blazing start, scoring a 41-ball 39 with five fours and two sixes.
Suman paced his 30-ball innings intelligently and also shared a rollicking stand of 59 runs off 49 balls for the fourth wicket with Rohit Sharma (38) to rescue the side from a shaky 58-3.
Sharma's knock was laced with two fours and two sixes while Suman hit one six and two boundaries.
Debutant paceman Shane Harwood of Australia took a wicket off his very first ball and also scalped another at the death to finish with impressive figures of 2-25.

Yuvraj heroics not enough to deny Bangalore

Kings XI Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh took a hat-trick and slammed a half-century but it was not enough to secure a win for his side in their Indian Premier League match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at Kingsmead on Friday.
Instead, feisty South African all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe spurred Bangalore to an eight-run win, hitting 35 off 19 balls, taking two wickets for 22 runs and pulling off a crucial run-out.
Bangalore seemed in desperate trouble at 84 for six after Yuvraj dismissed Robin Uthappa, Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher with successive deliveries.
But Van der Merwe chanced his arm and hit three sixes and three fours to enable Bangalore to reach 145 for nine.
Yuvraj, playing on the ground where he hit six sixes in an over for India against England in the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, opened the batting with Karan Goel and the pair seemed to have put their side well on the way to victory with an opening stand of 70.
But the game changed dramatically when Anil Kumble had Yuvraj caught in deep in the tenth over. Yuvraj made 50 off 34 balls with four sixes and three fours.
Kumble, captaining the Challengers following the return of Kevin Pietersen to England, admitted afterwards: "Another five overs of Yuvy and the game was probably over."
Van der Merwe dismissed Goel in the next over and then ran out Simon Katich with a superb diving stop and quick throw.
The Kings XI were unable to regain their momentum and their target became almost impossible when Van der Merwe had Mahela Jayawardene caught in the covers, leaving Punjab needing 30 off 17 overs.
Struggling with a wet ball, Van der Merwe's over cost 13 runs including four leg byes and a wide, but Kumble bowled Kumar Sangakarra in the next over and Praveen Kumar killed Punjab's hopes with two wickets in the final over.
"We should have won the game but Bangalore bowled well," said Yuvraj, who was named man of the match despite being on the losing side.