IPL 2...match reviews

Sorry, guys. I have been rather occupied with some other pressing work & could not gather time to comment on all matches. Am just putting up a brief write up on 4 matches that I missed covering. Do accept my apologies.

1)Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi DareDevils :

RCB won the toss & chose to bat & ended up scoring 149 for 7 in their alloted 20 overs, a total that was achieved mailny due to Pieterson with top score of 37 & Boucher, playing his first game of the season putting up an enterprising 36 towards the end. The total was not enough to challenge the batting depth of the Delhi DareDevils, & they cruised to victory with Dilshan scoring a magnificient unbeaten 67. The only worry for the DDD is that their fancied opening pair of Gautam & Sehwag have not fired yet in the tournament. However they still managed to notch up their 3rd victory with considerable ease. For RCB it has been their 4th straight loss & are now at the bottom of the table.

2)Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals:

KXIP won the toss & elected to bat & got into trouble early on losing a few wickets, but Sangakkara along with Irfan Pathan got the team out of trouble & got to a respectable total of 139. Sanga had gathered 60 runs while Pathan managed a vaualble 39. The bowling of young sensation Kamran Khan had been outstanding for the RR. Howeverin reply, the RR batting never took off, & the top order collapsed in a heap to be at 42 for 6 even before reaching midway. the RR finally crumbled for a dismal total of 112 & the KXIP had won the game with ease. The RR batting looks extremely brittle & only a magical touch can make the last year's Champion regain any hold in this edition of IPL.

3)Deccan Chargers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings :

The dream run of DCH continues in ths tournament as they overcame a stiff challenge by the CSK. Put into bat, the Chennai team fired through the prolific bat of Hayden as usual, but could not keep the momentum going & it was only a late flurry of hits by Jacob Oram that got them to a respectable total of 165. Hayden had scored 49, while Oram chipped in with an unbeaten 41. In reply, the DCH were off to a flying start, making nockery of the CSK bowling, with Gilly just about hitting every bowler all over the park. The opening stand had produced 67 runs within 6 overs, & though they lost a few wickets after that, Gibbs took them to victory with a magnificient unbeaten 69. DCH till now have a clean record of all wins, while the CSK has lost three games on the trot. A matter of worry for the last year's finalist.

Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders :

The KKR is going through a nightmarish run & nothing is going right for them. First the MI opening pair of Sachi & Sanath tore the bowling apart & posted the highest opening partnership of 127 runs before Sachin finally got out. The KKR managed to pull things back a little & did not allow the marauding MI to go beyond 200 & restrcited them to 187. It was a treat to watch Sachin & Sanath batting as they simply toyed with the KKR attack. However the total was too much for them to chase & as the opening pair fell quickly it was but a matter of time, before the Kolkata team was to be vanquised. Some resistance was put up by the old warhorse Ganguly, but it was way beyond him to get any semblence for the KKR, who eventually were routed by 92 runs. They have been struggling with their internal sqabbles & look quite lost as a team.