Dravid lifts Bangalore past Chennai

Indian stalwart Rahul Dravid and two of the country's rising stars took the Royal Challengers Bangalore to victory in their Indian Premier League semi-final against the Chennai Super Kings at the Wanderers Stadium on Saturday.
Bangalore will meet the Deccan Chargers in the final at the same ground Sunday in a contest between the teams that filled the bottom two places on the log in the first IPL in 2008.
Dravid (44) and 19-year-old Manish Pandey (48) put on 72 for the third wicket to lay the foundation for Bangalore's six-wicket win, then Virat Kohli, 20, finished the match off by hitting 24 not out off 17 balls.
As in the first semi-final, when Deccan beat the Delhi Daredevils Friday, the team finishing lower on the log won the knock-out match.
Chennai made a good start after being sent in, with Matthew Hayden, the tournament's leading scorer, and Parthiv Patel putting on 61 for the first wicket.
But the innings lost momentum when Hayden lofted Vinay Kumar to deep mid-wicket off the last ball of the seventh over after making 26.
Patel followed two overs later when he was leg before to Jacques Kallis for 36.
Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the left-handed Suresh Raina added 35 for the third wicket.
Raina hit a four and six off successive balls against Vinay Kumar but the threatened acceleration was cut short in the next over when he top- edged a pull against Praveen Kumar and was caught by wicketkeeper Mark Boucher for 20.
Dhoni reached 28 without hitting a boundary before he hit Roelof van der Merwe high to long-on and fell to a well-judged catch by Vinay Kumar who managed to maintain his balance just inside the rope.
With the pitch playing slower as the innings progressed even the normally free-scoring Albie Morkel could only manage an unbeaten 20 off 17 balls.
Bangalore started their innings aggressively, with Pandey hitting Morkel through the covers for two fours in the first over, with Kallis punching Manpreet Gony past point for two more boundaries in the next over before eding a drive to be caught behind.
Van der Merwe was sent in as a pinch hitter but after being dropped by Muttiah Muralatharan back-pedalling at mid-off against Morkel in the third over he was bowled next ball.
But Pandey continued to bat fluently and found ideal support from Dravid as the pair added 72 for the third wicket before Pandey missed a sweep against left-arm spinner Shadap Jakati in the 13th over.
Dravid was leg before to Muralitharan, who bowled superbly to take one for 15 in four overs, but Kohli and New Zealander Ross Taylor both hit sixes as Bangalore won with seven balls to spare.

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.

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.

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.

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.

No stopping Deccan Chargers in IPL

Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs clobbered the Chennai Super Kings attack to hand Deccan Chargers their fourth successive win in the Indian Premier League on Monday.
The Australian-South African duo hammered 67 off 34 balls in a spectacular opening stand as the Chargers surpassed Chennai's competitive 165-6 with six wickets and three balls to spare in the Twenty20 clash at the Kingsmead here.
The 37-year-old Gilchrist, leading the Deccan Chargers after retiring from international cricket last year, blazed 44 off 19 balls with five boundaries and three sixes.
Gibbs remained unbeaten on 69 with six fours and two sixes to continue his side's impressive run this year. The Chargers had finished at the bottom of the table in last year's inaugural tournament.
Chennai, finalists last year, now have just one win from five matches with three defeats and one rained-off game.
Chennai's innings revolved around two whirlwind knocks from left-handed veterans Matthew Hayden of Australia and Jacob Oram of New Zealand.
Hayden, who quit official cricket in January, hit 49 off 35 balls to remain the tournament's leading scorer with 215 runs in five innings.
Hayden put on 64 in 39 balls for the second wicket with Suresh Raina (25) and 38 for the third with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (22) after Parthiv Patel had fallen in the first over.
Oram, who replaced England's injured all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, smashed an unbeaten 41 off 29 balls with four boundaries and two sixes.

'Golden oldies' Hayden, Murali sparkle for Chennai

Matthew Hayden

Cricket 'golden oldies' Matthew Hayden and Muttiah Muralitharan powered Chennai Super Kings to a 92-run win over Bangalore Royal Challengers on Monday in the Indian Premier League.
Australian Hayden, who departed the international scene recently at the age of 37, struck a sizzling 65 at Saint George's Park in this southern coastal city before being run out by Rahul Dravid.
The departure of Hayden just one ball after fellow opener Parthiv Patel was out for 30 did slow a Chennai charge that saw them dash to 106-0 after 10 overs, but they finished on 179-5 to set Royals a challenging target.
Enter Sri Lanka wizard Muralitharan to cause havoc and snap up three wickets, including the prized one of former England captain Kevin Pietersen for a duck, and all the damage was inflicted at the expense of just 11 runs.
Bangalore were in trouble from the start, losing opener Praveen Kumar in the third ball of the innings and quickly fell behind the nine-run-an-over victory target.
South African Jacques Kallis made a quick 24 before becoming the next Chennai victim and by the 'strategy break' the Challengers needed a miracle as they languished at 56-5 with 10 overs completed.
There was no miraculous turnaround, only more Chennai wickets on the same track that produced a bucketful of runs when South Africa trumped Australia in an ODI clash last week.
Kallis finished as top scorer and opener Robin Uthappa and Dravid contributed 20 runs each as Bangalore slipped from top spot after the opening round to fifth while 2008 runners-up Chennai climbed two places to third.

Tendulkar leads Mumbai to victory in IPL

Sachin Tendulkar scored 59 runs as he helped Mumbai to 165 for seven

Sachin Tendulkar hit an unbeaten half-century as he led the Mumbai Indians to a 19-run win against the Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of the Indian Premier League at Newlands on Saturday.
Tendulkar's 59 not out provided the foundation for Mumbai's 165 for seven after they were sent in on a blustery, grey day.
Former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden hit 44 and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni 36 for Chennai but the 2008 runners-up could only manage 146 for seven.
Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga bowled superbly to take three for 15 in four overs for Mumbai.
Mumbai's innings was anchored by Tendulkar, who largely played conventional cricket, punctuated by lofted off-drives.
Although he opened the batting he faced only 48 balls, hitting seven fours.
Tendulkar and Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya (26) put on 39 for the first wicket. He then shared a second wicket stand of 43 with Shikhar Dhawan (22).
Batting conditions were tricky under grey skies and Mumbai were struggling at 102 for four in the 15th over before the left-handed Abhishek Nayar lashed 35 off 14 balls in a fifth wicket stand of 46 with Tendulkar.
Nayar slammed three sixes in an over from Andrew Flintoff which cost 22 runs. Flintoff, who is on a 1.55-million dollar a season contract, was the most expensive Chennai bowler, conceding 44 runs in four overs.
Flintoff made 24 in Chennai's reply as he helped Hayden put on 52 for the third wicket. He hit two fours and a six off 22 balls before he heaved a ball from Harbhajan Singh high in the air for the off-spinner to take a catch off his own bowling.
Hayden hit his 44 off 35 balls before Zaheer Khan took a stinging catch in the cover off a fierce drive against Jayasuriya's left-arm spin. Dhoni hit 36 off 26 balls before being bowled by Malinga in the final over.

Chennai Super Kings VS Mumbai Indians in IPL 2009

Indian Premier League T20 2009 - LIVE18 April : Chennai vs MumbaiIPL season 2 starts with the last time runner-up gets in action against the Mumabai team. Dhoni lead Chennai Super Kings will play heir opener with the Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians. he opening match as well as he opening ceremony of the IPL will be hosted by Cape Town, South Africa.The opening match is scheduled as :1st match: Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai IndiansAt Cape TownOn Apr 18, 2009Match scheduled to begin at 4:00 Indian time, 12:30 local time (10:30 GMT)

Preview:

History : In their two meetings on IPL 2008 last season boh the teams had bagged one match each. But Chennai were ino the finals of the series whereas Mumbai struggling on their early phases did miss he chance to enter the semi-finals and had o finish fifth on the points table. It was comfortable vicory for Chennai in the 1s match against Mumbai in 2008 by six wickets. he match was ery much high scoring match where more tham 400 runs were scored. Chennai chased the target of 203 runs. On the other match, Mumbai were looking in grea touch as they won he second battle by 9 wickets wih 37 balls to spare.

News Facts:

Chennai Super Kings: Chennai have had lots some changes in 2nd edition of Indian Premier League. First change is that they brought English player A Flintoff as the most expensive player. Australian Micheal Hussey is not going to play the 2nd IPL edition as he was given rest. New Zealander Jacob Oram, who was ruled out of test series in India is also in doubt due to injury to play.

Mumbai Indians :

In 2009 Mumbai Indians have signed in Mohammad Ashraful, JP Duminy and Kayle Mills. In addition Shikahr Dhawan is transferred in their team along with Zaheer Khan.

Live Action :

In Computer for paid links : He whole IPL is going to be Live streaming in some online pages. The Chennai VS Mumbai match is also live streaming on tvnsports.com and willow.tv. The links are official broadcasters and you can enjoy the whole IPL for 20 to 70 dollars only. They have extremely good quality video sharing and they are

LIVE.In TV :

Chennai Super Kings VS Mumbai Indians match will be shown live in various channels in different countries. Sony Television network has the official broadcasting rights for IPL 2009. Se max will be broadcasting the series in India, Dish TV network in USA, Super Sports in SA and other African countries.

Highlights of Chennai Super Kings VS Mumbai Indians in IPL 2009:

The highlights of the match will be provided in various links legally for free. The official website of the Indian Premier League iplt20.com will provide all forms videos, final score card and text of Chennai VS Mumbai match. The youtube link www.youube.com/ipl will also show the video highlights of the match.