This week in IPL has been pretty eventful. There were many ups and downs, many upsets and above all, many changes in the standings of the teams.
In this Edition, we would be covering the matches from 26th March 2010 to 1st April 2010.
The start of the week was with the 22nd match of the tournament which was between the Rajasthan Royals and the Deccan Chargers. With many hopes stacked on the latter, Deccan Chargers put on the board a score of 148 with the help of a 49 run knock from Rohit Sharma. Shane Warne was the pick of the bowlers for Rajasthan Royals with a fine 3.75 economy of his 4 Overs and a crucial wicket of the dangerous Herschelle Gibbs. But the hopes of Deccan Chargers were crushed after a firing knock of 73 of just 34 balls by Yusuf Pathan. This knock included 2 fours and 8 sixes which helped the Rajasthan Royals to cruise to an 8-wicket victory over the Deccan Chargers.
The 27th March saw the clash of Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders in Mohali. KKR won the toss and decided to bat. After a 40 ball 50 from Saurav Ganguly, the captain, and a quick 75 off 47 balls from Manoj Tiwary, KKR put forth a target of 184 for the home team KXIP. But lack of a partnership and an economical bowling effort from Shane Bond and Iqbal Abdullah saw KKR win the match comfortably by 39 runs.
The 24th Match of the tournament was played on 28th march between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. RR won the toss, chose to bat and had a wonderful knock of 80 runs from the youngster Naman Ojha saw RR putting up a total of 177 with 8.85 runs per over. However, the total proved to be too big for CSK who made 160 after Shaun Tait bowled brilliantly wid the figures 2for 22 in his 4 overs. S.K. Trivedi bowled his four with an economy of 4.50 .
The same night saw, according to many, the clash of the week, between Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians. The defending Champs won the toss and put Mumbai to bat first. After another classic from the Little Master and a quick 49 off 18 balls from Harbhajan, MI reached a score of 172.But a poor batting performance and a crucil three wicket breaks each from Harbhjan, Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga ensured a huge 42 run victory over the Chargers.
29th of March was a crucial night for the Delhi Daredevils who were trying to cope up with the losses of the past. But the intentions of Kolkata Knight Riders were as solid as ever. Choosing to bat first , Delhi put on a 177 with a great century from David Warner.The same match saw one of the greatest catches being taken in the history of cricket when David Hussey jumped the ball in from the ropes to dismiss Paul Collingwood. But a target of 178 seemed way too big for the KKR who managed to reach a 137 for 9 in their 20 overs .This 40 run victory boosted the morale and the points of the Delhi Daredevils.
The match on the night of 30th march was something Lasith Malinga will remember for a long time.With Kings XI Punjab batting first, Malinga restricted them to a 163 taking 4 wickets and giving away just 22 runs in his 4 overs. The total seemed very easy for the Mumbai Indians who reached the target with 3 balls to spare and Malinga was adjourned as the Man of the Match.
Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore met face to face in Chennai on 31st March in Chennai. RCB, batting first put forth a score of 161 after a resilient Kallis scored a 52.But CSK outshone them and reached the target easily after a beautiful knock of 78 by Murali Vijay. CSK were 5 down when they reached 162 with 7 balls to spare.A comfortable victory for the Dhoni led CSK under M. Vijays charge.
Daredevils faced off the Royals in Delhi on 31st march . Dare devils won the toss, chose to bat and after a firing knock from Karthik who scored a 69 off 38 balls. DD posted a total of 188 on the board and put pressure on the RR from the first over where Maharoof got Lumb out without any score on the board. RR managed just a 121 and were beaten by a margin 67 runs.This pushed delhi to the second spot in the league table.
There was no one to fool on the April Fool’s Day when Kolkata Knight Riders took on the Deccan Chargers. Choosing to bat first, KKR piled up a total of 188 after being led from the front by the captain, Saurav Ganguly. The total proved to be too big for the champs of 2009 who failed to score the target even after a good knock from Symonds and Gibbs . The biggest disappointment, according to me, as the first from the bottom last year defeated the first from the top by a margin of 24 runs.
The week was full of surprises. Delhi climbed to the 2nd spot whereas Chargers fell to the second last. Momentum was still lying with the Mumbai Indians. KKR where the black Horses of the week.
But in the end, the cricket was enjoyable.
See you in the next edition.
The writer is a correspondent of Youth Ki Awaaz.