FINALS WON BY DC WITH THE ROYAL STYLE

The Deccan Chargers completed a fairytale turnaround to win the 2009 Indian Premier League with a six-run win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Johannesburg.
The side that finished at the bottom of the table last year, and fourth this time around, posted 143 for six before restricting the Challengers to 137 for nine in a tense finale to the 59-match tournament in South Africa.
Herschelle Gibbs played the leading role with the bat before Pragyan Ojha, with three wickets, and two wickets in two balls at a crucial stage from Andrew Symonds ensured that as with both group matches between these two sides, the side batting first prevailed.
Gibbs stroked an unbeaten 53 in 48 balls with three fours and two sixes as he anchored the Deccan innings which never really got into top gear on a pitch that was playing slower than it had for yesterday's semi-final, which made quick batting tricky.
Symonds excelled again, smashing 33 in 21 balls before he pulled Anil Kumble onto his stumps. Kumble's first move had been to open the bowling himself and have Adam Gilchrist bowled with a googly for a duck but he would end up on the losing side, marooned at the non-striker's end as Robin Uthappa failed to hit the necessary boundaries as the run-rate spiralled out of control.
Rohit Sharma helped himself to a four and a six, hitting a neat and tidy 24 before Kumble hit back, finishing with four for 16, dismissing Symonds, Sharma and Yalaka Venugopal Rao (0).
Vinay Kumar, who took two for 30, including the wicket of Azhar Bilakhia for six in a superb final over, was the other bowler to get in the wickets.
The Challengers must have been confident in pursuit fo 144 and for a long while they appeared in pole position to make it. Jacques Kallis made 15 before he pulled RP Singh onto his stumps and there was to be no heroics for Manish Pandey, who made four from eight before Ojha had him caught by Gilchrist.
However, Roelof van der Merwe kept things ticking along, thumping three sixes and a four in a barnstorming innings of 32 in 21 balls to give the Challengers a much-needed boost.
His dismissal, however, sparked a mini-collapse as Rahul Dravid (9) perished, losing his leg stump to Harmeet Singh and the dangerous Ross Taylor (27) and Virat Kohli (7) were dismissed in consecutive deliveries by Symonds. Taylor holed out to Rao before Kohli was stumped by Gilchrist, a fine piece of work down the leg side.
That left the Challengers reeling and when Boucher, a man who has a long association with successful run chases at Johannesburg, steered Singh into the hands of Herschelle Gibbs for just five, the Chargers sensed victory.
With Uthappa unable to do more than one six in the penultimate over, and Praveen Kumar (2) and Vinay Kumar (8) losing their wickets, the win was sealed thanks to a nerveless final over from RP Singh.
The Challengers are left to reflect on losing a game they should have won, ruing the fact that they bowled five wides to Deccan's one, and failed to build any lasting partnerships during their chase.
That allowed the Chargers to complete their stunning turnaround from bottom of the pile to top dog in just over a year.

SACHIN FROM CHILD WOOD TO IPL

SACHIN PHOTO SLIDE SHOW

MUMBAI INDIA'S RAISES AGAINST KINGS PUNJAB

Mumbai Indians 122-2 (Bravo 70no, Tendulkar 41no) beatKings XI Punjab 119-9 (Sohal 43, Duminy 2-15) by eight wicketsScorecardIndian Premier League, Centurion
The Mumbai Indians juggled their batting order once again and came up with a winner as a Dwayne Bravo half-century from the top of the order saw them ease to an eight-wicket win over the Kings XI Punjab at Centurion.
However, they were only chasing 120 after the Kings XI made just 119 for nine from their 20 overs and Bravo's blast unbeaten of 70 in 59 balls ensured that the Indians raced to victory in the 17th over.
Sunny Sohal top scored for the Punjab side with 43 in just 23 balls but wickets tumbled throughout their innings, JP Duminy returning two for 15 in four overs and Lasith Malinga, Dhawal Kulkarni, Harbhajan Singh and Ajinkya Rahane all taking a wicket apiece.
Simon Katich and Irfan Pathan failed to score, Kumar Sangakkara made just eight and captain Yuvraj Singh 12 but despite having Karan Goel (20 not out) at number eight, Brett Lee (8) at number nine and Piyush Chawla (0) at number nine, they were helpless against a fine bowling display.
Bravo lost opening partner Sanath Jayasuriya (4) and number three Rahane (1) but he was already into his stride, so much that the score was 40 for two when Rahane fell, trapped in front by leg-spinner Chawla.
Bravo formed an unbeaten third-wicket partnership worth 82 with captain Sachin Tendulkar, who contributed 41 not out in 29 balls with four fours and one six.
Bravo, not deemed fit enough to take part in the West Indies' Test series in England, thumped seven fours and three sixes

DRAVID BETTER'S GANGULY

Royal Challengers Bangalore 176-4 (Taylor 81no) beatKolkata Knight Riders 173-4 (McCullum 84no, Vinay Kumar 2-33) by six wicketsScorecardIndian Premier League, Centurion
Brendon McCullum returned to form with 84 and pulled off a stunning catch to dismiss Jacques Kallis, but he was overshadowed by his compartriot Ross Taylor, whose own unbeaten half-century saw the Royal Challengers Bangalore to a much-needed six-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders at Centurion Park.
McCullum blasted an unbeaten 84 in 64 balls as the Knight Riders made their way to 173 for four but Taylor was even more impressive, striking 81 not out in just 33 balls as the Challengers got home with four balls to spare.
The match was another example of how a team can never be counted out in Twenty20 as before Taylor got going, the Knight Riders were well ahea of the game after they removed free-scoring openers Jesse Ryder (22) and Jacques Kallis (32). Kallis cut Murali Kartik powerfully only to see McCullum dive full length to his left at cover to pull off a stunning catch. Kallis was as stunned as anybody, but he had to go and soon after, Ryder sliced a catch to Saurav Ganguly and once Robin Uthappa fell for seven and Rahul Dravid for 12, the Challengers were in trouble at 122 for four in the 16th over.
Step forward Taylor, who soon took Kartik for two sixes in two balls to get the run chase back on track and the deal was almost complete when Taylor and Mark Boucher (13 not out) took Ishant Sharma for 17 runs in the 18th over, Boucher hacking a chest-high full toss over the boundary ropes to exact a double punishment as the umpire had no choice but to call it a no ball.
Two more sixes off of Agit Agarkar left just five runs required from the last over and after Boucher scampered a leg bye, Taylor ended the match in supreme style by hoisting Angelo Mathews into the crowd at midwicket with his fifth six.
Earlier, the Knight Riders welcomed a return to form for captain McCullum, who led by example by hitting ten fours and two sixes, employing some deft touches to score boundaries over the wicket-keeper's head as well as some crashing strokes through the off side.
He was supported by David Hussey, who hit 43 in 27 balls on his first start of the 2009 IPL, with three fours and two sixes. McCullum kept hitting despite losing Ganguly (4), Arindam Ghosh (7), and Mathews (16) along the way.
Ranganath Vinay Kumar took advantage of some early movement to have Ganguly and Ghosh caught by wicket-keeper Boucher as the decision by the Royal Challengers Bangalore to bowl first after winning the toss eventually paid off

GILLY TURNS SHANE WARNE HEADS TO DOWN

Deccan Chargers 166-7 (Smith 47, Pathan 3-34) beatRajasthan Royals 113 (Asnodkar 44, Sharma 3-12) by 53 runsScorecardIndian Premier League, Kimberley
The Deccan Chargers moved to within two points of the top of the Indian Premier League with a comprehensive 53-run win over reigning champions Rajasthan Royals.
Dwayne Smith hammered 47 as the Deccan Chargers racked up 166 for seven in Kimberley beforethe Royals were bowled out for 113, Rohit Sharma taking three wickets.
Smith, keeping home favourite Herschelle Gibbs out of the side as the Chargers recalled Chaminda Vaas, justified his selection by hitting four sixes in his 32-ball innings before he was the last man to fall with one ball remaining in the innings.
Andrew Symonds chipped in with 30 in 19 balls after Tirumalasett Suman hit 29 in 19 deliveries at the very top of the order.
Vaas also hit a maximum as he contributed 20 in 15 balls coming in at number six as Yusuf Pathan picked up three for 34 and Ravi Jadeja two for 26.
The Royals, a shadow of themselves in 2008, never threatened the target, Vaas removing Graeme Smith (1) and Lee Carseldine (8) to put the Chargers in control.
Naman Ojha was run out for 16 before Yusuf Pathan chipped a catch to Dwayne Smith off Naman's namesake Pragyan and all hope was lost when Swapnil Asnodkar's punchy innings of 44 in 39 balls was ended in another farcical run out.
Rohit Sharma then picked up two wickets in two balls to dismiss Morne Morkel (8) and Shane Warne (0), who had torn a hamstring in the field, the off-spinner finishing with three for 12 having also clean bowled Abhishek Raut for one.
Siddharth Trivedi (1) was then bowled by RP Singh and Munaf Patel was run out in the final over, summing up their night.
Vaas, playing his first game of the tournament, showed he has lost none of his control, delivering a superb early spell and returning at the death to complete figures of two for 18 from four overs, leaving Jadeja unbeaten on 19.
The result means the Chargers replace the Royals in third place as the Royals drop to fourth.

KOLKATA FALLS AGAIN, DELHI MOVES A HEAD

Delhi Daredevils 125-3 (de Villiers 40no, Warner 36) beatKolkata Knight Riders 123-8 (Ganguly 44, Mishra 3-14) by seven wicketsScorecardIndian Premier League, Johannesburg
The Delhi Daredevils coasted to a seven-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders in Johannesburg to move back to the top of the Indian Premier League table.
The Knight Riders' were restricted to 123 for eight, Amit Mishra ripping through their middle order with three for 14, before AB de Villiers guided the Daredevils home with nearly three overs to spare with an unbeaten 40.
The result leaves the Kolkata side well adrift and their batting, apart from Saurav Ganguly (44) and Agit Agarkar (39) failed to fire. Highly-rated overseas stars Brad Hodge and Morne van Wyk failed to muster a run between them while Brendon McCullum was unluckily given out trapped in front shortly after he had smashed Ashish Nehra for a six.
Man of the match Mishra dismissed Yashpal Singh (13), Wriddhaman Saha (0) and Moises Henriques (2) before Agarkar's late rally offered Kolkata hope.
A quick blast of 36 in 29 balls from David Warner ensured that the Daredevils were always ahead of the rate as he shared a 53-run opening stand with Gautam Gamhir (18).
Tillakaratne Dilshan (1) fell to a superb boundary catch by Henriques as he just failed to clear the ropes when he took on Ishant Sharma, but the cool heads of de Villiers and Dinesh Karthik (17 not out) ensured there was no way back for the Knight Riders.

Capital won the match with the manchester of India i.e Mumbai Indians

Delhi Daredevils 118-3 (de Villiers 50no)Mumbai Indians 116 (Bravo 35, Bhatia 3-15) by seven wicketsScorecardIndian Premier League, East London
Rajat Bhatia picked up three for 15 to help set up a comprehensive seven-wicket Indian Premier League win for the Delhi Daredevils over the Mumbai Indians in East London, a result which puts the Daredevils top and leaves the Indians under pressure.
Bhatia's medium pace accounted for Pinal Shah (11), Ajinkya Rahane (12) and Rohan Raje (1) as the Indians, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, were bowled out for 106 in 20 overs.
Dwayne Bravo top scored with 35 in 30 balls, with two fours and the only two maximums of the innings as left-arm pacers Ashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes picked up two wickets apiece as the new Mumbai opening partnership of Luke Ronchi (0) and JP Duminy (0) failed spectacularly.
Captain Sachin Tendulkar, batting at number four, made 15 before he was run out by wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik.
The Daredevils' innings was a complete contrast as all four batsmen made their runs at a useful rate and it was a half-century stand between AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan that ensured there was no way back into the match for the Mumbai side.
Openers Gautam Gambhir (19) and David Warner (21) made 42 in 50 balls to lay the platform for de Villiers (50 not out) and Dilshan (17) to see them to the brink of victory. Shortly after de Villiers completed his half-century, Karthik (5 not out) thumped a four through midwicket to win the match.
Harbhajan Singh had Gambhir caught by wicket-keeper Ronchi while Duminy had Warner stumped and Dilshan was caught behind off of compatriot Lasith Malinga.

Problem for Royals Amit singh

In-form Rajasthan Royals fast bowler Amit Singh has been reported for a suspected illegal bowling action following the Indian Premier League game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on 7th May.
He becomes the second Royals fast bowler to be reported, after Kamran Khan, and follows the news that Australian all-rounder Shane Watson will not be joining the squad after he suffered a groin injury in Dubai.
Umpires Daryl Harper and K Hariharan reported the bowler and after watching TV footage of his bowling action, decided more action was necessary under Law 24.3, which governs bowling in the game.Singh, who has played for Gujarat since 2004, had taken seven wickets in his last two matches, taking four for 19 as the Royals beat the Challengers by seven wickets.

Chennai Smashes Kings Punjab with a 11 runs difference

Chennai Super Kings 185-3 (Hayden 89, Dhoni 56no) beatKings XI Punjab 174-3 (Yuvraj Singh 58no) by 12 runs (D/L)ScorecardIndian Premier League, Centurion Park
The Chennai Super Kings beat the Kings XI Punjab by 12 runs in a rain-affected high-scoring IPL match in Pretoria, Matthew Hayden leading the way with a fine innings of 89.
The Australian left-hander extended his lead at the top of the Orange Cup standings for leading run-scorers by hitting eight fours and six sixes as the Super Kings scored 185 for three in their 18 overs following a mid-innings rain break.
He was supported by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who scored an unbeaten 56 in 27 balls with seven boundaries in two sixes. Suresh Raina chipped in with 32 after Subramaniam Badrinath fell to the first ball of the match.
Irfan Pathan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and Piyush Chawla picked up a wicket apiece.
Duckworth/Lewis adjusted the Punjab's target to 187 and despite losing Sunny Sohal (2) and Karan Goel (14) cheaply, they remained in the hunt until the death.
Simon Katich blitzed his way to 50 in 25 balls with some powerful on side strokes, Mahela Jayawardene crafted an innings of 44 not out in 24 balls and Yuvraj Singh, dropped on 19, closed on 58 not out in 36 deliveries, one of his two sixes travelling 119 metres.
Two overs of off-spin from Raina that conceded just eight runs tightened the screw on the Kings XI before Lakhsmipathy Balaji ensured that Yuvraj and Jayawardene were unable to get near the 24 required from the final six deliveries, putting the Super Kings back on top of the table.