Report: Match 38 – RCB v DD

Yuvraj stars as Royal Challengers win by 16 runs

Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated the Delhi Daredevils by 16 runs in Bengaluru. Fuelled by Yuvraj Singh’s 29-ball 68, the hosts set a 187-run target for their opponents. And despite a few sparks in the DD innings, the visitors could only manage 170 runs in their allotted 20 overs.

Earlier, DD chose to field first upon winning the toss, after an hour-long rain delay. Chris Gayle (22) and Parthiv Patel opened for RCB and added 33 runs, before the former was dismissed by Rahul Shukla in the sixth over. Virat Kohli (10) then joined Parthiv Patel in the middle, but was run-out with his team’s score on 45. However, AB de Villiers and Parthiv Patel (29) then stitched together a valuable 49-run stand, before the latter was sent back to the dugout by Mohammad Shami. de Villiers’ (33) 17-ball cameo then came to an end with the RCB score on 107; Siddharth Kaul bowled him out in the 15th over.

However, Yuvraj Singh had got his eye in by then, and on the back of his outstanding performance against RR a couple of days ago, the veteran all-rounder took charge of this innings as well. Despite the DD bowlers’ best efforts, the southpaw belted them to all corners of M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Sachin Rana (15*) held up the other end during his partner’s 29-ball blitz. Yuvraj Singh (68) – who struck a four and nine massive sixes – took the RCB score to 186 for four after 20 overs. En route to his half-century, he even helped plunder 20-plus runs off two separate overs – 21 off the 17th and 27 off the 20th.

In response, DD lost Murali Vijay (1) in the first over itself; he was trapped leg-before by Muttiah Muralitharan. The visitors lost their other opener, Quinton de Kock (6), early as well; Mitchell Starc bowled him out in the second over. Mayank Agarwal and Kevin Pietersen then set about reconstructing the faltering DD innings. They added 63 runs off 44 balls for the third wicket, before Abu Nechim got the better of Agarwal (31). JP Duminy was the next man in, and he added 24 runs with Pietersen (33). But Yuzvendra Chahal had the DD skipper stumped in the 12th over. And soon after that, Muralitharan returned into the attack and claimed Dinesh Karthik’s (1) wicket.

With the Daredevils needing 85 runs off 42 balls, their most successful batting pair of the season – Duminy and Kedar Jadhav – came together.

The duo played some big shots to, and over, the fence and added 45 runs off 28 deliveries. Thanks to their partnership, DD stayed in the hunt. However, Starc bowled Duminy (48) out in the 18th over to leave the visitors on 147 for six. And despite Jadhav’s (37) hard hitting, DD still needed 26 runs off the last over. But after striking the first ball for a six, he could only manage a single off the next. And the wicketkeeper ran him out a couple deliveries later as he desperately tried to regain strike. DD ended up on 170 for seven after 20 overs, resulting in a much-needed 16-run home win for RCB.

Man of the Match: Yuvraj Singh for his match-winning knock

Report: Match 37 – CSK v RR

Another super win for Super Kings in Ranchi

Chennai Super Kings continued with their winning ways in Pepsi IPL 2014 by beating the Rajasthan Royals by five wickets in a last-over finish at Ranchi. Initially, led by Dwayne Smith’s initial boost and Faf du Plessis’ innings-stabilising knock, CSK were taken across the line by the ever-dependable MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja while chasing the 149-run target.

Earlier, RR elected to bat first upon winning the toss. Skipper Shane Watson and Ankit Sharma opened the innings for the hosts. This combination worked out for RR as they gave the team a steady start. They took the score to the 50-run mark in the seventh over. However, R Ashwin finally got rid of Ankit Sharma (30) in the eighth over with the RR score on 60. And while Watson brought up his half-century, Ajinkya Rahane (4) – the new man in – could not make a substantial contribution to the total; he was run-out in the 11th over.

Watson (51) perished in the 13th over, when Mohit Sharma bowled him out. A short while later, Karun Nair (8) was also bowled out; Samuel Badree claimed his scalp to leave RR on 114 for four. Steve Smith (9) and James Faulkner (1), whose heroics saw their team through a couple of nights ago against RCB, failed to make a big impact with the bat today. While the former was cleaned up by Mohit Sharma, the latter suffered the same fate against Ravindra Jadeja a few balls later.

RR then lost Stuart Binny (22); he holed out to Faf du Plessis off the bowling of Jadeja. Dishant Yagnik (4*) and Rajat Bhatia (7) then added 11 runs, before the latter became Mohit Sharma’s third victim. Thanks to some tidy bowling from the CSK’s frontline bowlers, RR were restricted to 148 for eight in their 20 overs.

Mohit Sharma (4-0-31-3) was the pick of the CSK bowlers, while Jadeja (4-0-18-2) and Badree (4-0-19-1) also helped in making regular dents in the RR line-up.

In response, CSK’s trusted opening pair of Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum started in an aggressive manner. They added 20 runs in quick time, before Ankit Sharma got rid of McCullum (6) in the third over. Suresh Raina (2) came to bat at one-down, but even he was dismissed by Ankit Sharma, leaving CSK on 41 for two in 4.2 overs. Dwayne Smith (44), however, rallied on as he took the CSK score past 50 in the seventh over. He added 35 runs with du Plessis for the third over, before he was stumped off the bowling of Kevon Cooper.

At 76 for three in 10 overs, CSK unexpectedly sent Ashwin to bat at No.5. While du Plessis stabilised the run-chase, Ashwin (14) played the supporting role in what was turning out to be a tight game. The pair added 29 runs, before Bhatia bowled Ashwin out in the 15th over. With CSK needing another 44 runs off 31 balls, MS Dhoni walked in to bat. But the CSK skipper had only added 12 runs with du Plessis (37), when the South African batter was cleaned up by Faulkner.

When Ravindra Jadeja joined his skipper in the middle, the run-chase equation read 28 runs off 15 balls. The pair worked the ball around for singles, but CSK needed a few big hits to tilt the game in their favour. That is when Jadeja (11*) stepped up to the plate and struck a maximum to bring the run-chase equation to 17 runs off nine balls. A couple of deliveries later, Dhoni even survived a run-out appeal when he scampered across for a quick double. Thanks to the pair’s efforts, CSK needed 12 off the final over, which was bowled by Faulkner. After a single was scored off the first ball, Dhoni (26*) did what he does best – broke the tension of the run-chase by striking a big one. The home team eventually got over the line with five wickets in hand and two balls to spare.

Man of the Match: Ravindra Jadeja for his all-round performance