A struggling Rajasthan Royals will look to save their title while a rampaging Delhi Daredevils will strive to continue their unbeaten run when the two sides lock horns in an Indian Premier League encounter on Tuesday.

The Virender Sehwag-led Delhi team is gradually emerging as one of the strongest title contenders and is comfortably second in the points tally after winning all their three matches played so far.

On the other hand, Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals have managed three points by virtue of the tied match against Kolkata Knight Riders which they won in the ‘Super Over’ and are languishing seventh in the table.

The Delhi Daredevils’ formidable batting line-up, which managed 189-5 – the highest score of the tournament so far – against last year’s runner-up Chennai Super Kings in their second outing, have made them a force to reckon with.

Their explosive opening pair of Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, followed by the likes of Tillakaratne Dilshan, who scored a gutsy 67 to guide the team to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday, will be a worry for Rajasthan bowlers.

In-form all-rounder AB de Villiers and Mithun Manhas have also proved themselves in trying moments and the side is seemingly poised for chasing down stiff targets.

In the bowling department, Dutch-born Australian left-arm paceman Dirk Nannes, along with India discard Ashish Nehra, is showing some ominous penetration power and getting early breakthroughs.

The new-ball pair is finding supports from the spin duo of Amit Mishra and New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori, who is drawing from his vast experience to make Delhi’s bowling formidable.

In contrast, Rajasthan have seemed like a shadow of the winning unit they were last season.

Young paceman Kamran Khan, who scalped two wickets for 15 runs for a losing cause in Sunday’s match against Kings XI Punjab, and speedster Munaf Patel are surely doing their bit but the batting has failed to back their consistent effort.

The team will be desperate for some fireworks from South Africa skipper Graeme Smith, who is yet to make any notable contribution.

The middle-order consisting Australian Rob Quiney and British Dimitri Mascarenhas will also have to strike form for the side to climb up in the points ladder.

Tags: Ab De Villiers, Amit Mishra, Ashish Nehra, Chennai Super kings, Daniel Vettori, Daredevils, Delhi Daredevils, Delhi Daredevils Vs Rajasthan Royals, Dimitri, Dirk Nannes, Gautam Gambir, Graeme Smith, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL Updates, Kamran Khan, Kolkata Knight riders, Mithun Manhas, Nannes, Raj Kundra, Rajasthan Royals, Shane Warne, Shilpa Shetty, Super Over, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Virender Sehwag, Yusuf Pathan

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Here is the interesting information from the Mumbai Indians Vs Kolkata Knight Riders match of the Indian Premier League that ended favourable for Sachin led Mumbai Indians.

• Mumbai Indians (187/6) registered their highest ever total against Kolkata Knight Riders, bettering the 138 for three at Kolkata last year.
• Mumbai Indians, with a 92-run victory (their biggest in terms of runs in the IPL) have now won all their three IPL encounters against Kolkata Knight Riders.
• With a comprehensive win over Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians have posted their second win in four matches in the 2009 edition of the IPL.
• Overall, Mumbai Indians have won 9 and lost eight out of 17 IPL games.
• Kolkata Knight Riders have lost 9 and won 7 out of 17 games played till date (1 No Result). They could win only a single game out of five IPL games in the 2009 edition.
• Kolkata’s 95 is their second lowest total in the IPL. In the first edition of the IPL, they had made 67 against Mumbai at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
• Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya, with their 127-run partnership for the first wicket, posted Mumbai Indians’ first century stand for this wicket-position in the IPL.
• Sachin’s 68 off 45 balls is his highest score in the IPL, bettering the 65 off 46 balls against Kings XI at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai last year.
• Sachin has made 351 (ave.43.87), including three fifties in 10 IPL matches.
• Sachin has been adjudged Man of the Match for the second time in the IPL.
• Lasith Malinga and Abhishek Nayar have recorded their his best bowling figures in the IPL.
• Jayasuriya (52 off 32 balls) has posted his first fifty in the second edition of the IPL, which is his third overall besides a hundred in the first edition.
• Mumbai Indians posted their biggest victory by runs margin in the IPL while Kolkata Knight Riders recorded their biggest defeat in terms of runs in the IPL.

Tags: Abhishek Nayar, Brendon McCullum, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, IPL Updates, Knight Riders, Kolkata Knight riders, Malinga, Mumbai Indians, Mumbai Indians Vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Sourav Ganguly

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Mumbai Indians scored 187/6 in 20 overs against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 17th match of the second edition of the Indian Premier League at St. George’s Park in Port Elizabeth.

Captain Sachin Tendulkar and his opening partner Sanath Jayasuriya put the Kolkata Knight Riders attack to the sword with a blazing partnership of 127 runs in just 12.1 overs as Mumbai Indians notched up the highest total at St. George’s Park in any form of Twenty20 cricket.

Winning the toss and batting first, Tendulkar led the brutal assault with a knock of 68 runs off 45 balls that was studded with 4 sixes and 6 fours, slamming his third IPL fifty in the process.

Jayasuriya also hit his third IPL fifty with the help of 4 sixes and 2 fours and was dismissed for 52 that came off 32 deliveries.

Both Tendulkar and Jayasuriya were dismissed by Laxmi Ratan Shukla in consecutive overs. Shukla first trapped Tendulkar in front of the wicket in the 13th over and in his next over had Jayasuriya caught by Arindam Ghosh at backward point.

Harbhajan Singh, promoted to the number three position, hit 2 sixes and a four in his 18-run knock that came off 8 deliveries.

He was dismissed when he pulled a low full toss from Brad Hodge to deep mid-wicket for Ajantha Mendis to take the catch.

Tags: Ajanta Mendis, Ajantha Mendis, Harbhajan Singh, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, IPL Updates, Knight Riders, Kolkata Knight riders, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Mumbai Indians, Mumbai Indians Vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Shah Rukh Khan, Shukla

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Table-topper Deccan Chargers’ fairytale campaign continued in the second Indian Premier League with the Adam Gilchrist-led side edging out Chennai Super Kings by six wickets to maintain their clean slate here today.

Chasing 166, Deccan Chargers rode on Herschelle Gibbs’ (69 not out) second half-century of the tournament and captain Gilchrist’s scoring 44 off 19 balls to cruise to 169 for four in 19.3 overs to record their fourth win on the trot.

Put into bat, Chennai Super Kings had earlier posted 165 for six, courtesy Matthew Hayden’s belligerent 49 and Jacob Oram’s breezy unbeaten 41 down the order.

Gilchrist and Gibbs were clearly in a hurry to wrap up the match and with both the batsmen going after the bowlers, Chennai simply had no respite.

Gilchrist hit Lakshmipathy Balaji for back-to-back fours in the first over to signal his intention. The Chennai pacer had a chance to settle scores in the next over but Balaji grassed a difficult caught-and-bowled chance and Gilchrist was simply unstoppable as he hit the pacer for two sixes and a boundary in that productive over.

Tags: Adam Gilchrist, Chennai Super Kings Vs Deccan Chargers, Dhoni, Hershchelle Gibbs, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, IPL Updates, Jacob Oram, L Balaji, Mathew Hayden

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Depleted by star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff’s pull-out due to injury and struggling with poor form, last year’s runners-up Chennai Super Kings start unlikely underdogs against rampaging table-toppers Deccan Chargers in an Indian Premier League match on Monday.

The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai side have won just one of their four matches so far, losing two while splitting points in their fourth game against Kolkata Knight Riders following a wash-out.

Deccan, on the other hand, have been simply unstoppable winning all three of their matches, riding mostly on their good batting led by in-form skipper Adam Gilchrist.

In contrast, Chennai have been surprisingly off-colour and the only win they have managed so far came against bottom-placed Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Opener Matthew Hayden’s good form and the fact that he is available for the entire tournament seems to be the lone highlight of Chennai’s campaign so far.

The burly Australian, who retired from international cricket last year, is the leading scorer of the tournament having accumulated 166 runs in three matches, including two fifties, at a strike rate of over 171.

But the rest of the Chennai batting has not been able to back Hayden’s form much as yet, quite evident in their loss to Delhi Daredevils. Set 189 to win, Hayden’s 57 and Suresh Raina’s 41 were the only notable contributions for Chennai in their nine-run loss.

Dhoni, considered one of the best international skippers right now, has somehow failed to inspire the team and his lacklustre form with the bat has also become a concern.

On the other hand, last season’s laggards Deccan have have completely turned it around under Gilchrist this year and much of it has been possible because of their in-form batting line-up.

Gilchrist himself have been in excellent touch and is fourth on the leading scorers list with 119 runs at a strike rate of 150.

South African Herschelle Gibbs and West Indian Dwayne Smith have ensured that Gilchrist’s blazing run is complimented well at the top.

Add to this, pacer R P Singh and spinner Pragyan Ojha’s good form with the ball and Deccan have become unexpected favourites against Chennai.

Tags: Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Flintoff, Chennai Super kings, Chennai Super Kings Vs Deccan Chargers, Deccan Chargers, Hershchelle Gibbs, Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, IPL Updates, L Balaji, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Mathew Hayden, Muttiah Muralitharan, Pragyan Ojha, RP Singh, Suresh Raina

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The rain seems to keep following the Knight Riders since the IPL’s kick-off. There has been one game where the Kolkata team have not faced heavy showers.

Kolkata Team co-owner Shah Rukh Khan has quoted that the pitch here in South Africa will provide some assistance to the spinners like now, it being the fag end of their season. This is one of the reasons why we have got Ajantha Mendis in the squad and I am sure he will have an important role to play in the matches to come.

The whole team was disappointed with the result of the game against the Rajasthan Royals, a game we should have won easily. But we need to put this behind and focus on the nexst match. The Mumbai Indians are a pretty balanced team with their strength lying in the top order in the form of Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya. If we can get them early, we would have gone a long way towards winning the game. It will not be easy for players like JP Duminy and Dwayne Bravo to play Mendis for the first time. Sachin has been in good form and I am sure the Knight Riders would love to see him make an early exit in Monday’s game.

The Mumbai Indians have a good bowling attack with Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga, Bravo and Harbhajan Singh. Especially Malinga, who looks to be in good form after his comeback from a long injury break and is bowling with a lot of variation. Zaheer has had an outstanding year in Test cricket and although he might be a bit tired with the amount of cricket he has played, he will still be a major force to reckon with.

Tags: Ajanta Mendis, Ajantha Mendis, Brendon McCullum, Duminy, Dwayne Bravo, Harbhajan Singh, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, IPL Updates, Knight Riders, Kolkata Knight riders, Malinga, Mumbai Indians, Mumbai Indians Vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Shah Rukh Khan, Zaheer Khan

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Highlights of match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.

• Kings XI have now recorded four points in four outings with a Net Run Rate of +0.271. Rajasthan Royals are placed at the seventh position with three points with a Net Run Rate of -1.700.
• The 75-run fifth-wicket partnership between Irfan Pathan and Kumar Sangakkara and Irfan Pathan is Kings XI’s best stand, obliterating the 63 between Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan against Rajasthan at Jaipur last year.
• Shane Warne and Ravindra Jadeja put on a seventh-wicket stand of 60, which is the best in the IPL, bettering the 54 between Dilshan and Maharoof for Delhi Daredevils against Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur last year.
• Irfan Pathan (39 off 33 balls) recorded his second highest IPL innings, next only to the 40 off 18 balls against Chennai Super Kings at Chennai last year.
• In Rajasthan Royals’ innings, Irfan bowled splendidly to claim two wickets for 26 runs and became the first all-rounder to post a 35-plus and bag two wickets in the same match in the second edition.
• Irfan is now the second all-rounder after James Hopes from Kings XI to achieve the double.
• Ravindra Jadeja (37 off 44 balls) posted his best innings in the IPL, bettering an unbeaten 36 off 25 balls against Kings XI at Jaipur last year.
• Shane Warne’s unbeaten 34 off 33 balls is also his best IPL knock, outstripping the 22 not out off 9 balls against Deccan Chargers at Hyderabad last year.
• Kumar Sangakkara posted his fifth IPL fifty – his first fifty in the second edition.
• With 60 off 51 balls and two catches, Sangakkara has received his second Man of the Match award in the IPL.
• Kings XI Punjab, with a 27-run victory, have won two games out of three against Rajasthan Royals.
• Kings XI Punjab (139/6) recorded their lowest total against Rajasthan Royals.
• Rajasthan Royals also posted their lowest total against Kings XI Punjab.
• Kings XI Punjab recorded a 27-run win, which is their second in four matches this year in the IPL.

Tags: IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, IPL Updates, Irfan Pathan, James Hopes, Kings XI Punjab, Kings XI Punjab Vs Rajasthan Royals, Kumar Sangakkara, Maharoof, Preity Zinta, Raj Kundra, Rajasthan Royals, Ravindra Jadeja, Shane Warne, Shilpa Shetty, Yuvraj Singh

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Tillakaratne Dilshan struck a match-winning unbeaten 67 to help Delhi Daredevils beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets and register its third consecutive victory in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.

Dilshan’s 47-ball knock, studded with five boundaries and two sixes, took Daredevils home after some initial hiccups.

Earlier, skipper Kevin Pietersen and Mark Boucher helped Royal Challengers Bangalore post a modest 149 for seven after opting to bat.

Chasing 150 for victory, Daredevils again lost skipper Virender Sehwag (7) early after he pull off Pankaj Singh to give an easy catch to Pietersen at mid-on in the second over.

In walked the determined Dilshan. He hit R. Vinay Kumar for a four in the third over and then struck a cheeky six over the ’keeper’s head off Pankaj in the next over.

Dilshan, however, got a reprieve on 18 when Pankaj grounded a difficult chance off his own bowling in the sixth over. The bowler made amends a ball later by having Gambhir (16) caught behind.

Dilshan and AB de Villiers, who had scored a century in the previous game against Chennai Super Kings, found the going tough against the spin duo of Anil Kumble and young left-armer K.P. Appanna. The duo kept the scoreboard ticking with ones and twos. It was Appanna who broke their 42-run stand, beating de Villiers with a gem of a delivery that turned viciously.

Needing 61 off 36 deliveries, Dinesh Karthik (12) began with a six off Kallis but perished soon.

Dilshan, however, was in no mood to give up as he hit Kallis for a huge six over mid-wicket and then some sloppy fielding in the deep gave Mithun Manhas two easy boundaries as 19 runs came from the 17th over bowled by the South African.

Royal Challengers lost its grip on the match in the last four overs due to some poor fielding.

Needing 15 from the last two overs, Pietersen called back his best bowler Pankaj, but the move had hardly any affect on Dilshan as he hit the pacer for a boundary off the very first ball and Daredevils scored 12 off the penultimate over.

The Delhi team reached its target with four balls to spare, Manhas hitting the winning run.

Tags: Bangalore Royal Challengers, Daredevils, Delhi Daredevils, Dilshan, Gautam Gambir, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, IPL Updates, Jacques Kallis, Kevin Pietersen, Mark Boucher, Pankaj, Royal Challengers Vs Delhi Daredevils, Virender Sehwag

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Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and decided to bat first against Delhi Daredevils in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.

Royal Challengers made three changes in their playing eleven, bringing in wicket-keeper batsman Mark Boucher, KP Appanna and Balachandra Akhil in place of Rahul Dravid, Praveen Kumar and Jesse Ryder.

While Daredevils have fielded in middle-order batsman Mithun Manhas and left-spinner Amit Mishra in place of Manoj Tiwary and pacer Abhishek Salivi.

Scoreboard:

Bangalore Royal Challengers innings (20 overs maximum)

Kallis                            b Nannes                             0
Uthappa                      c Sangwan b Nehra         3
Pietersen                    b Vettori                           37
Taylor                          lbw b Mishra                   31
Kohli                            c Dilshan b Nehra          22
Boucher                      c Mishra b Sangwan     36
Vinay Kumar            run out (de Villiers)       0
Akhil                            not out                                 8
Pankaj                          not out                                 1
Extras     (lb 5, w 5, nb 1)                                    11

Total     (7 wickets; 20 overs)                         149

Ashish Nehra took 2 wickets while Nannes, Vettori, Sangwan and Mishra took one wicket each restricting the Royal Challengers for 149 -7.

Tags: Akhil, Ashish Nehra, Bangalore Royal Challengers, Delhi Daredevils, Dilshan, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, IPL Updates, Jacques Kallis, Kevin Pietersen, Mark Boucher, Robin Uthappa, Ross Taylor, Royal Challengers, Royal Challengers Vs Delhi Daredevils, Sangwan, Virat Kohli

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A thrilling encounter is on the cards with the tactful Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals challenging win-hungry Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League match on Sunday.

The Rajasthan Royals pulled off a win via ‘Super Over’ in a nerve-wrecking tie against the Kolkata Knight Riders, putting behind their two successive losses to emphasise that they are in a serious business to defend their title in the eight-team tournament.

Warne fulfilled its promise to hit back strongly after it had collapsed to the lowest IPL total of 58 runs in their opening match while their second match had been washed off by rains. The Jaipur brigade would now try their best to build on their success and improve the run rate to fire up their title defence instead of slipping below the fourth position from here on.

With all-rounder Yusuf Pathan coming of age and rookie pacer Kamran Khan living up to Warne’s expectation, Rajasthan have also showed they were not missing any previous season players.

Kings XI Punjab, with just a single win in their pocket, requires to be extra cautious as they face Rajasthan Royals, who would be again waiting to surprise their opposition by flinging yet another surprise after baffling Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous match.

Punjab skipper Yuvraj Singh, on his part, would rely on another stint of apt execution of plan, especially by his bowlers to tame the Rajasthan Royals by causing their yet another batting fiasco.

Riding on the heroics of their new revelations young England batsman Ravi Bopara, who hammered a match winning knock of 85 runs, and bowler Yusuf Abdullah, the Preity Zinta-owned team would hope to climb the rungs on team standing table, where they are languishing at lowly sixth among eight contenders.

Besides, Yuvraj Singh and Co would also be praying that rain may not play a spoilsport as they bid to continue with their winning ways.

Tags: bollywood, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, IPL Updates, Kings XI Punjab, Kings XI Punjab Vs Rajasthan Royals, Preity Zinta, Raj Kundra, Rajasthan Royals, Ravi Bopara, Shane Warne, Shilpa Shetty, Super Over, Yusuf Abdulla, Yusuf Pathan, Yuvraj Singh

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