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Seamers hand WI the advantage

West Indies 17 for 1 trail Bangladesh 238 (Mortaza 39, Shahadat 33, Roach 3-46) by 221 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Tino Best leaps in joy after dismissing Tamim Iqbal, West Indies v Bangladesh, 1st Test, St Vincent, 2nd day, July 10, 2009
Tino Best got rid of Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful with similar deliveries © DigicelCricket.com/Brooks La Touche Photography
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Players/Officials: David Bernard | Tino Best | Mashrafe Mortaza | Kemar Roach | Darren Sammy | Shahadat Hossain | Shakib Al Hasan
Matches: West Indies v Bangladesh at Kingstown
Series/Tournaments: Bangladesh tour of West Indies
Teams: Bangladesh | West Indies

It was a dreamy day for the second-string West Indies team. Make no mistake, they are still just a makeshift attack but Bangladesh played poor cricket to be bowled out for 238. It could have been worse, as they were struggling at 172 for 8, but Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain swung their bat bravely post-tea - after rain robbed much of the second session's play - to push Bangladesh towards respectability. They then dealt West Indies an early blow, Shakib Al Hasan trapping Dale Richards, who celebrated his Test debut with a stunning pulled six to get off the mark, plumb in front to ensure Bangladesh ended the day on a high.

In that phase of relative recovery led by Mortaza and Shahadat and later during Shakib's two-over spell, there was turn and bounce on offer to the spinners which would have interested Bangladesh immensely. It would have offered them hope that they could still come back in the game after the meek capitulation by their top-order batsmen against a spirited West Indies team.

West Indies fans wouldn't have expected magic balls from a weakened attack and there weren't any today. However, what they would have hoped for is discipline, commitment, and hunger from the group of men who had been given this unexpected honour to play Test cricket. And they didn't disappoint today. It was a professional, disciplined performance from the bowlers who repeatedly kept hitting the right line and length on a slow wicket. Nearly everyone produced their top game.

Take Tino Best for example. He has, in the past, been guilty of trying to bowl faster than what he was capable of and being erratic as a result. Today, he repeatedly hit the short-of-length in the off-stump channel and slipped in the occasional bouncer. He struck the early blow, luring Tamim Iqbal into a fatal drive with a full delivery outside off in his first over of the day. He returned later to repeat the delivery against Mohammad Ashraful, who also edged it behind. His celebrations after taking a wicket - the wild run and pumping of the fist - remained as colourful as ever.

While Best is a known name in international circuit, what would have really warmed the hearts of Caribbean fans is the emergence of the 21-year old fast bowler Kemar Roach. There was enough on show today to make one believe that Roach won't need a strike by the main players to play for West Indies in the near future. It was said that early in his career he used to chiefly dart his deliveries into the right-handers but in the recent past, he has worked hard to get the one that straightens and even curve away.

There were two Roach moments that stood out today. The first was a lovely rueful smile as he stood in the middle of the pitch after beating the bat for the nth time without any luck. The second, an act of pride, arrived when lady luck eventually smiled on him; he kissed the Caribbean emblem on his shirt after taking every wicket.

His day's work had started with a series of heartbreaks as he repeatedly harassed Raqibul Hasan outside the off stump without any luck. Time and again, Raqibul drove and jabbed his bat inside the line of the deliveries that straightened outside the off stump. Roach got the edge on one occasion but the ball flew straight between first and second slip. Ironically, Roach himself gave a reprieve to Raqibul when he dropped a sitter at backward square leg off the bowling of Darren Sammy. Roach was impressive against the right-hand batsmen but, against the left-handers, he kept pushing the deliveries a touch wide across the body. In the second session, he returned to trouble Mahmudullah with a mixture of outswingers and yorkers before inducing an edge to backward point. And in the final session, he took out Mashrafe Mortaza with a lovely leg cutter.

Like Roach and Best, every bowler did his job. Sammy is your essential bits-and-pieces player who looks unthreatening with ball or bat in hand. But no can accuse him of over-extending himself and being unaware of his limitations. Today, again, he kept it simple, honing in and around the off stump with gentle medium pace. He was a touch lucky to get the wicket of Imrul Kayes, who looked the best of Bangladesh top-order batsmen. Kayes shouldered arms to a length delivery that straightened a touch on the off stump line and was struck on the pad. He was given out lbw though the ball appeared to be missing off.

Dave Bernard's art is very similar to that of Sammy: steady supply of well-directed medium pace bowling. After ending Raqibul's misery with a full delivery that was squeezed straight to gully, he troubled the left-handed Junaid Siddique with his length deliveries that angled away outside off stump. In between, he hurled a short-pitched delivery that was swatted so weakly to cover that he was encouraged to try another one. That did the trick as Siddique pulled weakly straight to short midwicket.

The bowling, though disciplined, didn't deserve six wickets in the morning's play but the Bangladesh batsmen seemed to be in a zombie mode, self-destructing systematically and regularly. Only two batsmen, Kayes and Shakib Al Hasan, showed the right approach and the skill but, unfortunately for Bangladesh, both fell to wrong umpiring decisions. Shakib, who looked assured in his brief stay, tried to sway away from a short delivery from Roach and the ball bounded off his forearm straight to gully.

However, the rest of the main batsmen weren't up to the mark and would have only added more fuel to the critics of Bangladesh. Luckily for them, Mortaza and Shahadat, the bowlers, saved them from total embarrassment.

Clarke and North push Australia ahead

Michael Clarke is destined to follow Ricky Ponting as captain of Australia and he took the lead of the current skipper on the third day in Cardiff to guide the visitors ahead by 44 runs. Clarke and Marcus North added 143 for the fifth wicket after England had threatened a fightback during the morning session, but any hope the home side had of remaining on level terms was remorselessly pounded into the Welsh dust.

Clarke appeared set to become the third century-maker of the innings before gloving a pull off Stuart Broad, during the first period of Test cricket in England and Wales played under floodlights, after the players returned following a two-hour rain break. More wet weather is forecast for Saturday and could yet have a major say in the route and outcome of this match. However, the more time that is lost means makes Australia the only side that can take a positive result from this opening encounter.

Ponting and Katich carried their second-wicket partnership to 239 before Katich fell for 122 and when Ponting dragged Monty Panesar into his stumps for 150 Australia were still more than 100 behind. England harboured hopes of first-innings parity, but they couldn't break through during the afternoon session as the attack laboured on a surface that made the five-man unit appear unthreatening.

Clarke is Ponting's heir apparent in so many ways and his innings bore many similarities with that of his captain. There was a swiftness of footwork against the spinners and conviction of strokeplay especially with his driving. He lofted Panesar straight over long-off for six and brought up his half century from 100 balls when he drove the Graeme Swann past mid-off before repeating the dose from the next delivery.

North settled into his first Ashes innings and the talk of his uncertain early-tour form now seems a long time ago. Buoyed by the 191 he made against England Lions last week he watchfully negotiated the early part of his stay before expanding his range. He slog-swept the spinners through and over the leg side and when they tried to go wider outside off he cut through the covers.

Top Curve
Prime Numbers

*

13
The number of scores of 150 or more for Ricky Ponting in Tests, which puts him in fifth place. Brian Lara leads the way with 19 such scores.
*

4
Number of centuries Ponting has scored against England when leading the team. Among Australians, only Allan Border (5) and Don Bradman (10) have scored more hundreds as captains.
*

239
The number of runs added by Ponting and Katich. It's Australia's fourth-highest for the second wicket in Tests in England.
*

39.64
Michael Clarke's average in overseas Tests. At home he averages 58.70.
*

7
The number of times in England that Australia's fifth wicket has added more than the 143 that Michael Clarke and Marcus North put together.

Bottom Curve

Clarke took Australia into the lead with a meaty pull off Flintoff and North reached his half-century from 107 balls. Apart from when the ball was new England's attack posed little threat with Broad leaking runs at more than four-an-over and the spinners unable to build sustained pressure. At least Broad's mood brighten in the evening gloom when he enticed Clarke into a pull that brushed the glove, two overs before the players were off again, but it was another concerning day of hard toil for the home attack.

There were nine overs until the second new ball when play began and if Andrew Strauss was in any doubt whether to take it his mind was soon made up as Panesar and Swann leaked boundaries. Ponting's swift footwork created scoring opportunities against Panesar who had a tendency to bowl too short, while Swann continued to pitch too full with two full tosses racing to the boundary.

The harder ball immediately provided more of a threat although it also raced off the bat as Ponting drove supremely through cover. Finally, after 70 overs, England found a way through as Anderson speared in a yorker at Katich and most importantly for the bowler the ball swung late to end a superb display of concentration and application.

The intensity lifted as Flintoff steamed in and struck Michael Hussey on the helmet, while Anderson was now moving the ball in both directions. Anderson's second scalp came with another full delivery which lured Hussey into a flat-footed drive and Matt Prior took a low catch. England now had the advantage of bowling at two right-handers and Anderson gave Clarke's technique an early probing, but until the 2005 version he withstood the test impressively.

Ponting was continuing along his classy path, only occasionally being discomforted by Anderson's late swing and a beauty from Flintoff that beat the outside edge, although he did top-edge a six over Panesar at long-leg as went to 150 from 221 deliveries.

With the ball still hard Panesar was recalled for another spell and the move paid off handsomely when Ponting got a bottom edge into the stumps. He had played so solidly that it was almost a shock to see him walking back, but it was far from the end of England's problems.

Yuvraj and Ojha fashion strong win

It took Yuvraj Singh 18 balls to undo 10 overs' hard work by Bangladesh that had pulled India back after another solid start from Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma. It took Pragyan Ojha five balls to undo their eight overs of keeping pace with a stiff total and eventually India became the first side in this tournament to successfully defend.

The crisp sound from Yuvraj's bat resonated regularly at Trent Bridge, with sixes flying here and there as India managed 59 runs in their last four overs. Ojha came on and removed Junaid Siddique and Shakib Al Hasan in his first over, after which a promising chase stumbled.

If the defining moments of this Group A match were easy to identify, it was hard to not recognise the hard work Bangladesh put in to stay in the match and force India to come up with something special. The match started with Gambhir and Rohit continuing to ensure that India didn't miss the injured Virender Sehwag.

Rohit batted like a seasoned Twenty20 opener and took charge after Gambhir had got off to a quick start with a square-cut boundary off the second ball of the match. The first ball he faced today, he leant into a good-length and creamed Mashrafe Mortaza through extra cover. Bangladesh were apprehensive about using their spinners in the Powerplays, and Rohit capitalised on the medium-pace coming on to his bat. He drove well off either foot, clipped off his pads, and played only one slog shot.

Although Gambhir slowed down, India reached 54 in the first six overs, with Rohit scoring 32 off 18. Mohammad Ashraful immediately introduced spin, and Rohit got out trying to dominate them.

MS Dhoni came out first drop, but at the same time Shakib slowed things down, giving the batsmen no pace to work with. Shakib was exceptional with his control, making sure India stayed in that consolidation mode for a considerable period.

Shakib's three-over spell went for 17 and included Rohit's wicket, and India managed only 44 - with one seix and one four - between the seventh and 13th over. Mortaza came back to bowl one more tight over, and the pressure resulted in Dhoni's wicket in the next over. With Shakib finishing off strongly, India had got only 62 runs in the middle 10 overs. Gambhir managed a laboured 50 off 46 balls.

But Yuvraj carried out an assault that broke Bangladeshi hearts - and resistance. Just like lightning he struck after seven quiet deliveries. He took an impressive Naeem Islam for back-to-back sixes, and one more two balls later. He welcomed Rubel Hossain back with a six and consecutive boundaries before being dismissed for 41 off 18.

Bangladesh then clawed their way back, keeping Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan quiet. Rubel had bowled a superb first half of the 20th over, giving away only two and cleaning up Raina. But in walked Irfan Pathan and smote a six and a four to post a challenging total.

That final assault wasn't enough to deflate Bangladesh's confidence. Tamim Iqbal and Siddique came out swinging, tasting some success against the left-arm opening bowlers, Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan. Both the bowlers bowled length, and that's where most Bangladeshi batsmen love it. Especially spectacular was Siddique's approach - he pulled the first ball he played for six.

In the first two overs Bangladesh got 20, and although Tamim fell to Yusuf in the third, Siddique didn't slow down. He hit Zaheer for back-to-back boundaries, and then Yusuf for a six before Ashraful got out in an unfortunate manner in the sixth over. He played a crunching cover-drive off Ishant Sharma, backing away, but found Gambhir at cover.

Out came Bangladesh's best player, Shakib, but it was Siddique who kept the pace up even as Shakib looked to rebuild. He set the agenda by stepping out and hitting Harbhajan Singh for a six in his first over. Once again, just when it seemed Bangladesh had done well to stay with India, the defending champions produced another game-breaker: Ojha, making his Twenty20 international debut.

Shakib looked to pull the first ball he bowled, but it skidded on, and took the top edge. Siddique chose an inopportune time to hit Ojha out of the ground, and holed out to wide long-on four balls later.

India could sense from there on that the chase had died, and so it turned with the inexperienced lower-middle order. Ojha took two more wickets and Yuvraj took two diving catches. Bangladesh managed only 81 runs from the time that Ojha came on to bowl, and India closed the game out professionally.

Dutch Shock England in Cricket's World Twenty20 Tournament

LONDON — Convention holds that a successful World Cup needs two things: shocking results and the host nation sticking around for the duration, or very close to it. Cricket’s World Twenty20 tournament certainly got one, but it may be at the expense of the other.
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Tom Hevezi/Associated Press

The Netherlands' Edgar Schiferli, left, and Ryan ten Doeschate celebrate after scoring the winning runs against England in their World Cup cricket match at Lord's cricket ground.

The Netherlands, 500-1 to win the 12-team tournament, defeated England by four wickets from the last ball of Friday’s opening match at London’s Lord’s ground. England must beat Pakistan on Sunday to avoid elimination.

The Dutch have a cricket tradition, though it is played by only about 6,000 enthusiasts. The Netherlands has beaten major cricket nations — Australia in 1964 and England in 1989. Both of those, though, were friendly matches.

The Netherlands’ captain Jeroen Smits hailed the result as “without doubt the biggest day in Dutch cricket history.” Most of his team are part-time cricketers.

“It cost me a lot of money to come here because I had to take days off,” Smits said. “But I don’t really mind at this moment.”

England’s captain, Paul Collingwood, said the Dutch had played with “‘freedom and belief”’ and that they had surprised England with their batting and running between the wickets.

The match was decided in a tumultuous final six-ball over, the last of the 20 the Dutch had to chase down England’s total of 162. At the beginning they needed seven runs. It became a nightmare for the bowler Stuart Broad. He is one of the brightest young players in cricket, but appears ill-fated at this tournament. The last time it was played, in South Africa in 2007, he was struck for six sixes — cricket’s equivalent of a home run, with the ball hit out of the playing area — in a single over by India’s Yuvraj Singh.

Broad had chances to throw out a Dutch batsman running to his end from the first two deliveries, but failed both times. Then he dropped a catch.

From the final ball the Netherlands needed two runs from the bat of Edgar Schiferli, who is picked for his bowling skills.

Schiferli struck the ball back towards Broad, who picked up and threw toward the stumps at his end of the pitch. Had he hit, England would have won by one run. Instead he missed, and his throw went so far past the stumps that the two exultant, disbelieving Dutch batsmen were able to turn for the second run that gave them their victory. Their teammates poured from the dugout and formed an orange-clad pileup in the outfield.

Earlier, England had looked set for the expected victory as its opening batsmen Luke Wright and Ravi Bopara scored 102 runs before they were parted. Teams are expected to score faster in the second half of an innings, but instead England slowed. The batsmen who followed showed too little aggression in both stroke-play and running. England did not hit a single six.

The Dutch showed clear intent when the opening batsman Darren Reekers hit two sixes. He and his partner Alex Kervezee were soon dismissed, but the Dutch batsmen continued to hit hard and run aggressively — frequently turning single runs into twos.

England helped it by conservative field placing, with men too deep to prevent those second runs. It also fielded badly at vital moments.

Cricket does not record fielding errors. If it did, England would have piled up an embarrassing total even before Broad’s last-over horrors.

The Dutch closed in calmly on their target. The middle-order batsman Tom de Grooth struck 49 runs before he was caught trying for his personal half-century.

At the end it was the highly paid full-time international players of England who panicked and made basic mistakes, while the outsiders kept their nerve for a famous victory.

We are a superbly united team: Dhoni

Nottingham: Mahendra Singh Dhoni made a unique and unprecedented statement — that his team stood united — here on Friday.

On the eve of the India versus Bangladesh duel in ICC World Twenty20, the Indian skipper left the media stunned during the pre-match captain’s press conference.

It was not skipper Dhoni alone but the entire Indian team, including the support staff, that made an appearance during what was expected to be a routine media interaction between the press and the skipper.

Then, Dhoni, flanked by his men, read out a statement. “This message is for the people of India, and for Indian cricket fans worldwide and comes from the whole team. That is why we are all here.”
Making a statement

Dhoni added: “As we prepare for the Twenty20 World Cup, we are a superbly united team. The team spirit is as good as it has ever been, with each individual supporting each other, both on and off the field.

“Recent reports in the Indian media of a rift between myself and (Virender) Sehwag amount to nothing but false and irresponsible media (reporting),” he said.

The Indian captain further said: “Our fans and supporters can take confidence from the wonderful unity that continues to exist in the team. We thank our fans for their continued support and look forward to entertaining you during this tournament, into which we go into as a well-prepared, confident and unified Team India.”

Dhoni had been, “hurt”, as team coach Gary Kirsten revealed, by reports in a section of the media that spoke about differences between the skipper and senior batsman Sehwag.
Shoulder tear

Sehwag, Kirsten said, was suffering from a grade 1 tear in his right shoulder. He said Sehwag was progressing well but was not willing to commit himself to a time-frame for his complete recovery. Sehwag has been ruled out of the first game.

Left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan, another cricketer recovering from fitness concerns (strained bowling shoulder), bowled at the nets at Trent Bridge on Friday. But then, the team-management is unlikely to risk a prime bowler in the early stages of the competition.

Apart from Sehwag and Zaheer, Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja may not figure in the eleven for Saturday’s game. It could, however, be a toss-up between Jadeja and Irfan Pathan for the final spot. Left-arm spinner Ojha has been bowling well but Harbhajan’s greater experience and the ability to clear the ground in the end overs is expected to clinch him a place.
No complacency

Despite being a strong and balanced side with explosive strikers of the ball and an incisive attack, India will not take Bangladesh lightly. The memories of the debacle against Bangladesh in World Cup 2007 will ensure against any complacency.

India has a healthy blend of right and left-handers, the power hitters and those who can rotate the strike. It is a line-up that can disrupt the rhythm of an attack.

It is an outfit of exemplary energy and intensity levels. Importantly, the side is not daunted by adversity.

The team could, however, have to grapple with chilly conditions at night in a game that begins at 6 p.m. local time (10.30 p.m. IST).

It is becoming increasingly cold in these parts at night and spells of icy winds will not make the players’ job easier. Dew could be a factor during the chase and defending may be a better ploy.

There, traditionally, is a measure of assistance for the pacemen at Trent Bridge. Ishant Sharma & Co. could probe the Bangladesh line-up.

Bangladesh is an enthusiastic fielding side and has in skipper Mohammad Ashraful and paceman Mashrafe Murtaza — despite his IPL misadventure — men who can swing games.

Given that an innings is limited to 20 overs, individual performances can impact a match more in this format.

Shakib Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim have pulled their weight for Bangladesh in the past.

But then, the odds are clearly in favour of the defending champion.

The teams:

India (from): M.S. Dhoni (captain), G. Gambhir, R. Sharma, S. Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Y. Pathan, I. Pathan, P. Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, R.P. Singh, Ishant Sharma, R. Jadeja, P. Ojha, Zaheer Khan.

Bangaldesh (from): M. Ashraful (captain), Shakib Hasan, Roqibul Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Shahadat Hossain, Tamim Iqbal, Naeem Islam, Mahmud Ullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mushfiqar Rahim, Shamsur Rehman, Syed Rasel, Abdur Razzak, Zunaed Siddique.

Umpires: S. Taufel & B. Bowden. Third umpire: N. Long.

Match referee: C. Broad.

Match starts at 10.30 p.m. IST.

Champions League expanded from eight to 12 teams

The domestic Twenty20 winners of West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, as well as Delhi Daredevils, will also get an opportunity to participate in the inaugural Champions Twenty20 League, to be held from October 8-23 in India, just after the Champions Trophy. Lalit Modi, the tournament's chairman, said the prize money for the tournament will be US$ 6 million, and the draw will be held in London on June 23 after which the venues will be finalised.

Delhi have been included on the basis of having topped the round-robin stage of the 2009 IPL. They will be joined by Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore, the 2009 IPL finalists.

Other 2009 domestic finalists and winners include Victoria and New South Wales (Australia), Cape Cobras and Eagles (South Africa), Otago (New Zealand), Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies) and Wayamba (Sri Lanka). England's Twenty20 Cup only begins on Monday and the finalists will only be decided on August 25.

There will be a total of 23 matches and the teams will be divided into four groups of three each to play on a league basis before the top two teams from each group move on to the second stage. The four top teams from there will play the semi-finals.

Last year's IPL finalists Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings will not be eligible. Sialkot Stallions, the winners of Pakistan's domestic Twenty20 tournament, will not feature as originally scheduled because their government has restricted travel to India.

"Unfortunately, the Pakistan government won't give them clearance to come to India, and since yesterday was out cut-off date, it's not possible to have a team from Pakistan this year," said Modi. "Delhi Daredevils this year have highest points from the league. But from next year, the third team from India will be decided from a play-off between the two losing semi-finalists."

Modi also said that players from the unofficial ICL could also represent their domestic teams, provided they resign from the league before May 31. However, if their domestic sides qualify for the Champions League those players will not be allowed to play as part of a "one-year cooling period".

The tournament was initially supposed to held from December 3-11 2008 in Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore but was put off after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The cancellation came as a huge blow for the teams that qualified for the 2008 edition, as they would have received at least US$250,000 as participating fees. Each team gets a minimum guarantee amount for playing in the tournament.

On the night of the IPL final in Johannesburg, Modi said on television that the fourth season of the IPL, in 2011, could feature ten teams instead of eight.

Symonds' double blow proves crucial

The IPL final could have gone either way but Andrew Symonds' back-to-back strikes tilted the balance in favour of Deccan Chargers, according to captain Adam Gilchrist and his Bangalore counterpart Anil Kumble.

Chasing a modest 144, Bangalore looked on course for victory until Symonds struck twice in the 15th over, removing both Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli with the second and third deliveries respectively. Gilchrist believed the match was evenly poised until then and congratulated Bangalore on making it a great contest. "I think for us, Pragyan Ojha did really well claiming three crucial wickets but those two wickets in two balls, that really hurts especially when a team is chasing," Gilchrist said.

Kumble agreed that over was the turning point. "On this track, chasing 144 was not a big task and we needed seven runs an over. But losing Taylor and Kohli in two balls hurt," Kumble said. "Earlier, we lost Rahul [Dravid] and that put the brakes on. We didn't have partnerships and still were one hit away from a win."

They were also plenty of positives for both captains to dwell on. Gilchrist, who was adjudged the Player of the Tournament, was delighted with the performance of the youngsters in the team and he singled out Harmeet Singh, who took two wickets and a stunning catch, for special praise.

"We have a number of youngsters in the side and all of them are eager to learn and grow," Gilchrist said. "It was amazing to see Harmeet tonight, the way he bowled and then took that amazing catch."

Kumble credited his team-mates for the incredible turnaround in the tournament, having finished second from bottom last season. "Two weeks ago, after the match against Mumbai, we said it was tough to win five in a row and reach the final. I credit my teammates for doing just that and coming so far," Kumble said. "Of course it was so near and yet so far but it was a good game of cricket today."

He also pointed out that it was a deliberate ploy to open the bowling, since he wanted to get rid of the hard-hitting Gilchrist at the earliest. "If you let someone like Gilchrist get away, he would run away with the match. It was for me to put up my hand and bowl. Fortunately it worked well," Kumble said.

Life came a full circle for Gilchrist and his team following a spectacular reversal of fortunes from the previous season, when they finished at the bottom of the table. Gilchrist felt the lack of pressure had a positive effect on his side.

"I really encouraged our team to try to play everything down and fly under the radar if you like, because we were happy with that, without having any expectations on us," Gilchrist said. "This is only the cricket I play now, so given what we went through last year, this is just a really tremendous effort from the whole franchise to turn it around. It's just been a great experience.

"The first thing I said at the start of our first meeting was, 'Guys, we're all in it together'. That was my first line of our first team meeting and yeah, we're all going to enjoy this together."

He was also full of praise for the way Bangalore scripted a very similar revival against the odds. "I'm thrilled for him (Kumble) and their franchise, the way they turned it around," Gilchrist said. "They experienced a lot of the pain and disappointment that we went through last year."

Gilchrist reflects on a job well done

Deccan Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist has said he would have picked team-mate Andrew Symonds in Australia's Ashes squad on the strength of his performance in the second IPL season. Symonds didn't make the Ashes cut but played a huge role in Deccan winning the tournament.

With Deccan clinching the title on Sunday following their six-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final in Johannesburg, Gilchrist had spoken of how Symonds played a key role in the team's success. Symonds took the wickets of Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli with successive balls to effectively end Bangalore's chances.

"He [Symonds] would be in my [Ashes] team," Gilchrist said. "Ever since I've played with Andrew Symonds he's been a real team man. You saw a glimpse of that last year when he only played four games - the respect he had from the Indian players and international players alike. He became an instant favourite in the squad. He's a great personality and a wonderful talent on the cricket field who can turn matches."

Gilchrist also had words of praise for VVS Laxman, from whom he took over as captain after the team finished bottom of the league last season. "Although we made changes in the coaches and the captain, everyone in the squad bought into it, including VVS," Gilchrist said. "He went through a lot emotionally. The captaincy was taken away from him and he only played five games, then the selectors decided we didn't need him."

Laxman remained a good team man despite being dropped, Gilchrist said. "He continued to contribute around the group with his experience and his vast knowledge. He wants to learn to be a better Twenty20 player. That's a wonderful example to young players to see a player at his age wanting to evolve into a better player."

Gilchrist said Laxman even worked with the team's coaches to improve his Twenty20 skills. "It's not just the young kids who are learning all the time, it applies to all of us. VVS epitomises what this franchise is all about."

Gilchrist attributed the team's turnaround to several factors, including emphasising to the players to "make sure every ball is the most important thing in their life at that moment". He said the team's owners had also played a role by agreeing to his requests for some changes in personnel.

"The main one was [coach] Darren Lehmann, who has a wonderful cricket brain." Gilchrist also brought Australian fielding coach Mike Young and fitness trainer Steve Smith on board.

IPL Points table

IPL Points table 15 May,2009

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Delhi Daredevils	14	10	4	0	0	20	+0.311	1978/255.2	1953/262.4
Chennai	14	8	5	0	1	17	+0.951	2086/255.3	1855/257.1
Bangalore	14	8	6	0	0	16	-0.191	1994/276.0	2027/273.2
Deccan Chargers	14	7	7	0	0	14	+0.203	2111/272.4	2097/278.1
Kings XI Punjab	14	7	7	0	0	14	-0.483	1787/251.2	1887/248.3
Rajasthan Royals	14	6	7	0	1	13	-0.352	1688/253.1	1810/257.5
Mumbai Indians	14	5	8	0	1	11	+0.297	1897/256.2	1802/253.4
Kolkata	14	3	10	0	1	7	-0.789	1757/248.5	1867/237.5

Sehwag finds form in easy win

Barring a late scare by Harbhajan Singh , who took 4 for 17, the Delhi Daredevils go into the semi-final with a confidence boosting six-wicket win against the Mumbai Indians. At the toss Virender Sehwag said he wanted to field to give his side some much needed practice chasing. And a fair bit of practice they got, with Sehwag leading the power-hitting top order who stayed ahead of the fairly steep required run-rate.

Gautam Gambhir and David Warner, Delhi's openers, blitzed to 30 in the first three overs. It started from the sixth ball of the first over. Lasith Malinga found bounce and bowled over 140kph but Gambhir picked his slower bouncer and pulled it for four to square leg. Then Gambhir and Warner hit 22 off the next 12 balls. Gambhir walked out and hit Dhawal Kulkarni for a four behind square leg before lifting a fuller one down the ground for another boundary.

Rahil Shaikh began his IPL campaign with a high full toss that Warner pulled to midwicket boundary before being picked for another in the same area by Gambhir. Warner lofted Kulkarni for a six over long-on but then top-edged one and ended up losing his wicket and his bat. But Delhi couldn't afford to slow down, needing over seven an over. Not that they would slow down when Sehwag joined Gambhir at the crease. Kulkarni was the one to suffer as Sehwag scored boundaries off whatever length he bowled. He gave away 36 in three overs.

Harbhajan came on at the end of the Powerplays with Delhi at 60 for 1. He kept it tight by mixing flighted deliveries with flatter and sharper ones but it didn't help as Sehwag and Gambhir instead picked the boundaries from the other end. Gambhir played Abhishek Nayar's shorter deliveries to the fine leg and midwicket boundaries while Sehwag hit a half-volley over the bowler's head for a six. After ten overs Delhi were 93 for 1 in contrast to Mumbai, who were 72 for 3 at the same stage.

Prime Numbers 17 The number of runs conceded by Harbhajan while claiming the best figures for a Mumbai bowler 10 The number of innings taken by Sehwag to reach his first half-century of the tournament 10 The number of overs in which Delhi scored 10 runs or more 4 The number of Delhi bowlers in today's match who have taken 10 or more wickets in the tournament 24 The number of extras conceded by Delhi, the second highest in the tournament

Gambhir finally fell in the 12th over, again walking down the track but mistiming a loft to a diving Mohammad Ashraful at third man. But by then the required run-rate had come down to under seven an over, mostly owing to the wides conceded by Sanath Jayasuriya. Tillakaratne Dilshan waited only two balls before going for the big shot. He hooked a slower ball by Malinga to deep backward square leg for six. Jayasuriya further pulled down the asking rate to less than six, this time owing to Sehwag who made room to hit him for four over extra cover and a six over long-on. Dilshan stuck into Malinga in the next and overs 12 to 14 cost Mumbai a whopping 39. Sehwag got his fifty immediately after that but the two batsmen fell off successive balls to Harbhajan.

There were some tense moments for Delhi after that. Harbhajan gave away only three and JP Duminy two. Harbhajan came back to pick up AB de Villiers and Rajat Bhatia off successive balls as well. de Villiers was caught at midwicket trying to flick him for a six and Bhatia misread an offbreak and was bowled for 2. At the end of that over, Delhi needed 12 off 18, with four wickets in hand. Amit Mishra ensured they needed only three of those balls, hitting Duminy for a six and a four, and Mumbai ended their IPL campaign at No.7, after having being a semi-final contender at one point.

However their batsmen, led by Ajinkya Rahane, had given them a chance to end on a positive note. Rahane began attacking after the Powerplay overs and added 73 with Sachin Tendulkar. Bhatia, bowling his slow-medium stuff, had sent down four tight balls and a wide before Tendulkar messed up the over with two beautifully executed fours. He late-cut the first to the third-man boundary and drove the next straight past the bowler to long-on. After the strategy break, the two took advantage of Mishra's poor length and scored 15 off his third over. Even after Tendulkar fell, Rahane kept the scoreboard ticking and got to his second half-century of the season from 37 balls. Mumbai scored 56 off the last five overs but Delhi's batsmen came in to form and spoiled their farewell.

Manish Pandey century takes Bangalore to No. 3

In a campaign that has included matches insipid and inspiring Royal Challengers Bangalore have well and truly come to life. Maintaining the momentum of three consecutive wins, they pulled the rug from under Deccan Chargers' feet and went to No. 3 in the points table, setting up a semi-final clash with the Chennai Super Kings on Saturday. Deccan will play Delhi Daredevils in Friday's semi-final.

At the end of a clinical win, Bangalore can thank Manish Pandey and RP Singh. Promoting Pandey to open in a pressure situation, Bangalore nearly lost him in the third over but RP's gross misjudgment at third man settled the nerves and then some. Either cutting solidly or swatting and slapping with efficiency rather than grace, Pandey grabbed the opportunity and notched up just the second century this season - and the first by an Indian in either season. Few in South Africa would have heard of the Under-19 batsman before today but should remember him after this amazing effort.

Teams have struggled to defend under lights at Centurion, and Bangalore were put on the backfoot as Herschelle Gibbs waded into the attack. But Anil Kumble took pace off the ball and once Gibbs and Andrew Symonds were dismissed in relative succession it all got too tough for Deccan.

RP's drop in the third over came after Jacques Kallis pulled his seventh ball to short square leg. It proved a costly error. Pandey began his innings looking out of sorts, twice inside-edging Ryan Harris on the bounce to Adam Gilchrist and top-edging safely to third man. Batting as though Bangalore needed to chase 250, Pandey clouted the ball through the leg side with abandon.

Roelof van der Merwe showed a liking for RP on the leg side, twice crashing him over through and over mid-on for boundaries, and weighed in with 23 from 18 balls. After he was well stumped off Symonds in the tenth over, Pandey weighed the situation and hung on. By this time he was 33, and on resumption after the strategic break dumped T Suman's offspin for consecutive sixes to raise his half-century. Now his timing had improved considerably and Bangalore were going at seven an over.

Very strong through the leg side, Pandey's main scoring option was the swipe across the line. RP returned to bowl the 14th over and Pandey reminded him of his reprieve, swatting and edging fours. He continued the same way after Pragyan Ojha accounted for Rahul Dravid in the next over, clearing his front leg and slogging against the turn. The caress - Pandey steered Jaskaran for four - was followed by the clubbed - next ball disappeared for six - and the fortuitous - an edge beat Gilchrist for four - as Pandey moved to 97 at the end of the 17th over.

Top Curve
Prime Numbers

*

410
The number of runs scored by Gilchrist in the tournament. He becomes the fourth batsman to go past the 400-mark
*

45
The number of runs conceded by Praveen Kumar, making it the second-most expensive spell by a Bangalore bowler this season. Kallis went for 51 off his four overs against Kings XI Punjab in their first meeting this season
*

106
The number of runs scored in the last 10 overs by Bangalore
*

3
The number of half-centuries for Gibbs in the tournament, making him the batsman with most fifty-plus scores for Deccan

Bottom Curve

The landmark came up with a single down the ground and there wasn't much fanfare. Virat Kohli took a cue and pulled six more, followed by a top edge that dropped safely between two clueless fielders, and deposited the last ball over the ropes. That last over summed up the course the two teams had run.

With Gilchrist struggling for timing, Gibbs took over the responsibility of scoring and did so in imitable fashion. He survived a shout against an Kumble topspinner when on 5 but didn't refrain from walking across his stumps, lapping and pulling the bowlers to distraction. Kallis hobbled off with a troublesome hamstring and Gibbs decided to take on Praveen Kumar. The first two balls were short-arm-flicked for sixes, the third was lapped for four, and Gilchrist put away a low full toss. Gibbs then dismissed van der Merwe for a couple of sixes upon introduction. Taking full toll of the half-volleys and stray balls that were on offer, Gibbs blasted 45 of the 68 runs added by the openers, lashing boundaries on both sides of the wicket.

He was dropped on 49 - soon after Gilchrist went for 15 - but didn't do much damage after Deccan went into the strategic break on a healthy 79 for 1. Symonds walked out in the 11th over after Kumble got Suman, and Rohit Sharma followed him in second ball of the 15th when Gibbs lost his grip and skied one to a tumbling Pandey in the deep. With 52 needed in five, Kumble called back van der Werwe and he bowled Symonds first ball. The pressure was on Rohit and Venugopal Rao but neither contributed; Rao was run out in the 18th over and in the next Rohit lofted Kumble to a very calm Kohli at long-on. The 26 needed off the final over was too much.

Bangalore showed an intensity that indicated how keen they were to erase the loss from the last time these two teams met. Pandey has said he would like to join the army, like his father, if he is unable to become a professional cricketer. If he can score hundreds like this going forward he won't need to reach for that application form.

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Match-fixing in IPL?: KKR under scanner

Kolkata Knight Riders has been hit by the match-fixing charge, after they lost a close encounter to Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Centurion on May 12. Kolkata scored a competitive 173 for 4 but lost by 6 wickets with just 4 balls remaining.

The team management left out the side's highest run-getter Brad Hodge from the match and the Australian batsman was seen in the hospitality box rather than the team dug-out during the game.

Meanwhile, IPL Chairman Lalit Modi confirmed that he'll look into the matter and investigate why Hodge was in the hospitality area. He said, "There is an anti-corruption unit. We will look into the TV footage and investigate about Hodge's presence in the hospitality box."

The incident comes even as IPL withdrew a controversial SMS game that sports minister MS Gill said encourages betting.

Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab, IPL, Bloemfontein

It's a do-or-die match for Kings XI Punjab in this, the last lap of the league matches, and they could not have asked for tougher opposition. Yuvraj Singh and his men have been indifferent throughout the tournament and it will be up to the captain to rally his troops if they are to make giant strides from their current second-last position to a top four spot. But the going promises to get tougher with matches against the top tier teams still to come. The confidence from a win here could provide the fuel for the final push.

Delhi have been on song with near-flawless performances this season. They were outdone on two occasions by brilliant individual performances - succumbing to Shadab Jakati while chasing 164 versus Chennai and to Yusuf Pathan's late tornado while defending against Rajasthan. AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan have been magnificient in the middle order while the bowlers have backed them up suitably and played a big part in the team's success. Virender Sehwag's lack of runs and Gautam Gambhir's lack of authority at the top have been minor concerns for Delhi.

Form guide (completed matches, most recent first)

Delhi Daredevils: WWWWL

There seems to be no apparent problem - the title favourites tag gaining further credence with their remarkable win against Deccan - but Delhi would be wary of complacency. With the teams separated by a few points in the table, they would look to stay in pole position and seal their passage to the final four with a win here.

Kings XI Punjab: LWLLW

Bowling has been the biggest letdown for Kings XI Punjab. Yusuf Abdulla, Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla seem to have run out of steam after a promising start. The rest of the pack have had forgettable performances - notably Sreesanth and VRV Singh. With matchwinners aplenty in the batting department, Yuvraj would believe a collective effort which results in a big score may just be the only way to ensure maximum points.

Watch out for

Virender Sehwag: Expect some fireworks from the Delhi captain who has not had a standout innings as yet. The captain would be keen to cash in on Punjab's weak bowling and bat himself into form. Incidentally, his highest score of the tournament came against the same opposition in a rain-marred match in Cape Town.

Teams

Sreesanth has received more hurt, following his recuperation from the stress fracture to the back. With two wickets from the four matches at 69.50 at an economy rate of 10.69, he will surely make way for Abdulla, their leading wicket-taker, who has sat out the last three games. Word is also not out on Mahela Jayawardene's availability after picking up a hamstring injury. Vikramjeet Malik may be drafted in to aid Abdulla's inclusion.

Kings XI Punjab (probable): 1 Sunny Sohal, 2 Simon Katich, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Karan Goel, 5 Yuvraj Singh (capt), 6 Wilkin Mota, 7 Brett Lee, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 VRV Singh, 10 Vikramjeet Malik, 11 Yusuf Abdulla.

Delhi have been on song throughout this season and it is unlikely that they will change the winning XI. Sehwag, though, might bat higher, up from the No. 5 he came in at in the last match.

Delhi Daredevils (probable): 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 David Warner, 3 Virender Sehwag (capt), 4 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Pradeep Sangwan, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Dirk Nannes.

Stats and trivia

# This will be the first of the two matches being played at the OUTsurance Oval in Bloemfontein. A sparingly-used pitch at the international level, the last ODI played here between South Africa and Kenya in October last year, the only game since September 2006, saw the hosts piling on 336 batting first as they stormed to a 159-run win.

# AB de Villiers currently holds the record for the most catches, with 11 from 10 matches, including three against Chennai at Johannesburg.

Head-to-head record

A rained-out affair at Newlands saw Delhi prevailing by 10 wickets via the D/L method. Punjab won both their games against Delhi last season. In the first match Punjab's fast bowlers wrecked Delhi's top-order in Mohali to help secure a four-wicket victory in the final over. The second game was marred by weather and Punjab won by six runs under the D/L method after Delhi had scored 118 for 4 in 11 overs.

Warne could not resist playing Tendulkar: Barry

Durban (PTI): He was almost ruled out of rest of the IPL owing to his hamstring injury but Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne made a surprise appearance against Mumbai Indians as he did not want to miss possibly his only chance to play Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian Premier League here.

The previous match between the two teams was washed out by rains so with Tendulkar again on the opposite side yesterday there "no way to stop" Warne, who had his leg strapped up, says Rajasthan Royals Director of Coaching Darren Barry.

"We, Jermy (Snape), the physio, and I gave Shane every warning against playing today. You would have needed a semi trial to stop Shane from playing against the Mumbai Indians.With Sachin Tendulkar in their team, there was no way to stop him," Barry said.

"His leg was strapped up but he said he was playing. And when he says he is playing, it doesn't matter what we are saying," he was quoted as saying by the official IPL Website.

Acknowledging man-of-the-match Warne's role in the win, Barry also showered lavish praise on all his boys for their collective effort to pull off the win in the nerve-wrecking encounter.

"I think without a doubt all the players look up to him (Warne). He is one of the greats of all time. He enjoys an enormous amount of respect among our group. But, to be honest, it was actually a collective effort from all our players. He is a wonderful captain. Tactically, very good. The guys believe in him and that is important," Barry said.

On playing so many close matches, Barry said "Rajasthan Royals have played quite a few of those in the last couple of years. Last year we had two on the last ball and one on the penultimate ball against Deccan Chargers.

"Tonight (Thursday) I think, the most pleasing aspect from our point of view is that we came out on a winning side.It was also a great game of cricket. Both the sides really had a crack at it and it was fantastic. Warne vs Tendulkar – it doesn't get better than this," he added.

Barry also lauded the efforts of Munaf Patel and Rob Quiney in Jaipur winning the crucial match.

"Rob Quiney innings at the top was important. To come back into the team and get a half-century at the top was good.

"Full credit to Munaf Patel. The last over and four runs to defend with seven wickets down and he pulled it off. I think three wickets fell for just one run. It was all happening towards the end. When it came to the last over I am sure that most of the people would have had their money on Mumbai Indians. Munaf and Rajasthan Royals pulled off a great victory," he said.

Bangalore sneak home in thriller

Royal Bangalore Challengers beat Chennai Super Kings with two balls and two wickets to spare to keep alive their semi-final hopes in a match that swung - rather, careened - between the sides.

Needing 130 to win, after Chennai's lower-order capitulation following Matthew Hayden's 38-ball 60, it seemed Bangalore would sail through. But by the end of the Powerplays, struggling at 33 for 3, the semi-final looked a distant dream. Ross Taylor then played a mature innings, unlike his attacking one against Kolkata Knight Riders, taking on the anchor role while Virat Kohli hunted for boundaries. The match had swung in Bangalore's favour at the end of the 19th over, largely because of a six from Praveen Kumar that left them needing just five off the last.

Taylor nearly undid his efforts by stepping out and wildly swinging at a shorter delivery from Jacob Oram only to get the top edge, which was caught by Dhoni running back halfway to the boundary. Praveen was joined by Vinay Kumar at the crease, with the equation now a run-a-ball. Praveen took a single off his first ball; Vinay Kumar flicked the next to wide of midwicket and the batsmen scrambled two. There was more drama to follow as Vinay Kumar, using a runner, cut the next ball to backward point and L Balaji misfielded after diving at the boundary. Bangalore were unsure if they had got four and the batsmen, after taking a single, pushed off for one more, before a sheepish Balaji signalled a boundary and the end of the game.

Though the climax was thrilling, Bangalore will know they made a meal of the chase after their bowlers had bowled Chennai out for an under-par total. They started badly but should have never let it get to the final over.

Albie Morkel struck in the second ball of the innings, trapping Jacques Kallis leg before for a duck though replays suggested Kallis was hit just outside the off stump. Rahul Dravid looked in good nick, driving Morkel behind square for a four and then cutting Sudeep Tyagi to third-man boundary. But when he tried to repeat the shot in the next ball, he misjudged the bounce and popped a catch to S Badrinath to backward point. Tyagi's next over went for 11 runs but Morkel, who had conceded three runs in his second, struck in his third: Robin Uthappa was trapped by one that came in and hit him on middle and leg. Morkel, like Kallis, bowled his quota on the trot, finishing with 2 for 13. He varied his length and the new batsmen - Virat Kohli and Ross Taylor - cautious after the early collapse, chose not to take any risks.

Kohli and Taylor collected the runs through singles. Kohli did cut and sweep the spinners for fours but couldn't beat the fielders when driving down the ground. The two added ten more than MS Dhoni and Hayden had managed - 30 - between the Powerplay and the strategy break.

Kohli survived a chance in the 13th over, when he hit Murali for four over mid-on and just out of reach of Hayden, who had run in to take the catch. The over turned into a tug of war between bat and ball after that; Murali followed the four with three dot balls - two of which beat Kohli - after which Kohli charged down the track and hit a six over midwicket. Another big six off Jakati in the next over pushed their run-rate over six. But just as Bangalore looked to be steadying their innings, Chennai yanked the mat from under their feet with two wickets in the space of six balls. Kohli pulled a short ball from Balaji over midwicket and Oram ran in from the boundary to take a tumbling catch. Mark Boucher then missed the doosra by Murali and edged a catch to Hayden at slip. Murali gave away only two runs in that over which also featured an un-Twenty20 field for the final two balls: a slip, short leg and leg gully were in place for the new batsman Roelof van der Merwe.

Prime Numbers 2 The number of times a team has won a match with 2 balls remaining in the second innings 87 The percentage of runs scored by Virat Kohli on the leg side 262 Number of runs scored by Hayden in the Powerplays in 11 matches 3 Anil Kumble's economy rate in the match 8 The number of times a wicket has fallen of the first ball of the innings

With Taylor and van der Merwe at the crease Bangalore held the initiative. But that slipped from their grasp with an unnecessary move from van der Merwe: after Taylor pulled Balaji for a six over midwicket, the two batsmen took a single only to see an overthrow go past them. Van der Merwe was late on the second run would still have made the crease at a stretch. However, he ran in sluggishly, not grounding his bat and was run out.

Bangalore live to bat another day but they'll have to work on it in the meanwhile. As will Chennai, who just imploded towards the end of the innings. Chennai crossed 100 in the 13th over but managed only 28 more in the next seven.

However the collapse was triggered by some tight bowling by Bangalore in the middle overs. Kallis were chiefly responsible for staunching the run flow with Kallis taking a two wickets in consecutive overs, including a maiden one.

Hayden had power-hit Chennai to 52 in the Powerplay overs and then looked to consolidate the score with Dhoni. Vinay Kumar and Praveen went for 28 runs in their first two overs as Hayden messed up their lengths by stepping out and swatting them over the fielders for boundaries. The run-rate was over nine an over even after the loss of two wickets but things began to crumble with Dhoni's fall. Dhoni tried going for a big shot but van der Merwe pulled off a stunning catch off his own bowling by diving to his wrong side. The fall of wickets hadn't affected Hayden's batting - he launched van der Merwe for a six over his head one ball after Dhoni's wicket - but he fell in the next over by Kumble, when he mistimed a pull and was caught by at the boundary by Vinay Kumar. After that, the other bowlers joined in tightening that noose: van der Merwe conceded three in his final over, B Akhil two off his first, Vinay Kumar and Praveen picked up a wicket each, while Kumble ended S Badrinath's agonising nine-ball stay.

In the end a few more runs lower down the order could have meant Bangalore's exit from the tournament.

Cool Rajasthan take humdinger

The spectators at Kingsmead were treated to yet another humdinger as the Rajasthan Royals prevailed by two runs in a see-saw encounter with the Mumbai Indians. Rajasthan were in control of the game for 14 overs before Sachin Tendulkar and Abhishek Nayar opened out and gave Mumbai hope. It all came down to the final over when Mumbai needed four runs but a combination of some incredible death bowling by Munaf Patel and panic running resulted in three wickets, incredible scenes and a third-place spot for Rajasthan.

When Nayar made room and lofted Johan Botha over deep extra cover in the penultimate over, Mumbai - who battled required rates crossing nine an over - suddenly needed six off nine deliveries. The following delivery, Nayar played all around a yorker, lost sight of the ball and ambled out of his crease, only to be run out by the keeper. The dismissal was as untimely as Mumbai's revival, which came a little too late and resulted in a last-minute scramble for the required runs.

Munaf had leaked 14 off his previous over but Warne was brave enough to toss the ball back to him for the final over. Munaf beat Dhawal Kulkarni off the first ball and then slipped in a yorker to trap him lbw. Chetanya Nanda pushed the third, a full toss, to mid-off but perished to a direct hit. That put Harbhajan Singh back on strike but he could only squeeze a single off the next ball. Three were needed off two balls when Lasith Malinga took strike but yet another suicidal single, this time to cover, closed out the match.

It took a good 15 overs for the chase to actually come alive. Mumbai were kept on a tight leash by some excellent restrictive bowling by Rajasthan, particularly the slower bowlers. The duo of Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar - with 20 years of experience behind them - were silenced, to the extent that they had to settle for singles and an array of dot balls when the situation demanded at least a boundary every over to keep with the rising asking rate.

Much of that had to do with the early loss of wickets. At 23 for 3, Mumbai looked to their most explosive pair to give the innings a shove but the ball somehow just didn't find the boundary. The spinners were spot on target, varied their pace and slipped in the odd yorker. The boundary drought lasted 45 balls, before Tendulkar chipped down the track and lofted Warne over extra cover.

Prime Numbers 307 Number of runs scored by Sachin Tendulkar in the tournament, highest for Mumbai 16 Number of wickets for Lasith Malinga, becoming the joint highest wicket taker at this stage of the tournament 18 Extras conceded by Rajasthan, joint second-highest in the tournament 21 Runs conceded by Harbhajan to Jadeja 1 Number of times that a team has won by 2 runs in the tournament

Jayasuriya tried to break free by slog sweeping the spinners but those heaves met thin air. When he connected, the ball ballooned off the bottom half of his pad and skied to short midwicket where Yusuf Pathan took a diving catch. JP Duminy barely had enough time to settle in before he chopped one from Siddarth Trivedi onto his stumps. It was a smart bowling change by Warne, who decided to bring in a seamer after Tendulkar charged Yusuf and carted him over long-on for a massive six. The anxiety levels in the Rajasthan camp shot up when Tendulkar slammed Ravindra Jadeja down the ground for three consecutive boundaries.

Warne let out a war cry when he trapped Tendulkar fell lbw trying to sweep him but the game was far from over, at least in Nayar's mind. With a stance as imposing Lance Klusener, he took his left leg out of the way to mow Botha for consecutive fours over the on side and the following over, he did the same to Munaf. The equation had come down close to a run-a-ball before panic set in.

There were doubts as to whether Rajasthan had made enough especially after Rob Quiney and Jadeja had given the innings the impetus with a stand of 61 in six overs. Rajasthan Royals' shoddy batting effort against Deccan Chargers demanded a few changes at the top of the order and Quiney responded positively to his recall to the side in place of the inconsistent Swapnil Asnodkar. In his earlier games, Quiney often made starts, only to throw it away. Tonight, he seemed determined to stay at the wicket and play the dominant role in the stand with Jadeja, who matched Quiney in his powerful shots over the on side.

The spinners had held the initiative with some tight bowling to pressurize the top order but the pair chose attack as the best form of defence. Between overs 12 and 15, Rajasthan managed 50 runs and the batsman who started the domination was Jadeja, who cut Harbhajan past point and slog swept over the on side. Quiney was particularly strong over the onside, slog sweeping Duminy high over deep square-leg before tonking Bravo for 19 in an over. The power behind his strokes stood out as he sent the ball sailing at least half a dozen rows back.

An excellent legstump yorker by Malinga sent back Quiney for 51 and after his departure, the runs dried up. Rajasthan managed only 22 off the last five overs and lost three wickets in the final over of the innings, bowled by Jayasuriya. Mumbai also lost three wickets in the final over of their innings but it was Rajasthan who had the last laugh.

Madan Lal applies for ICL release

Madan Lal, the former India allrounder and coach, has applied for a release from the ICL in what is the first officially known response from the unauthorised league's players and support staff to the BCCI's recent amnesty offer. Lal, who was coach of ICL's Delhi Giants, said he expected more cricketers and some support staff to follow suit and hoped the BCCI would utilise his services appropriately.

"I have applied for a release from the ICL contract," Lal told Cricinfo. "I am thankful to the BCCI for allowing an opportunity for those with the ICL to return to the official fold. I have coached various Indian teams at different levels before and I hope the BCCI will utilise my services and experience in the best manner possible."

Lal's request followed an ICL communication to its players and support staff last week to send in their requests for a release, if needed, before May 15. The ICL will then hold a management meeting, possibly on May 18, to decide on these requests and the future course of action.

Sandeep Patil, Balwinder Sandhu and Karsan Ghavri, three former India players, and Ajit Wadekar, a former India captain, had approached the ICL for a release before the BCCI's offer because of a "lack of adequate cricket".

"Days before the BCCI decision, three of us coaches - Sandeep Patil, Balwinder Singh Sandhu (Dhaka Warriors coach) and myself - had a meeting with Himanshu Mody [ICL business head] and Kiran More [ICL board member]," Ghavri told Cricinfo. "We told them about our issues including no cricket being played from November 2007 and also about the salaries not being paid after that. Keeping in the prevailing conditions, we asked them to release us. We then got a call saying we were free to leave and would get our release letter by May 20. On April 30, Ajit Wadekar and I submitted the application for a release."

Patil, who had coached ICL's Mumbai Champs, had stood down from active duty by the end of the last season due to "personal reasons". "At the meeting with the ICL, they gave the coaches the option to continue or step down," Patil told Cricinfo. "In any case I had resigned even before the BCCI decision to grant amnesty to the ICL players, coaches and backroom staff. I have no complaints and no regrets."

ICL officials, however, refused to confirm whether they had received any official requests from players or support staff for a release. "We remain confident about our future plans, especially the October programme," an official said. The ICL had cancelled its March tournament due to the deepening economic recession and the non-availability of Lahore Badshahs, the Pakistan team, due to cross-border political tensions following the Mumbai attacks.

"I have had an excellent relationship with the ICL over the last two years and I have no complaints at all about that association," Lal, a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning squad, said. "But now I feel it's the right time to move on professionally. There are many other ICL players and support staff who think similarly." Apart from his ICL commitments, Lal runs a coaching academy in Delhi and has a media contract with a television channel.

The BCCI had announced on April 30 that ICL players and support staff who wished to return to the official fold should do so by May 31. These players would be immediately allowed to play domestic cricket, including the IPL, and will become eligible for international cricket after a 'cooling period' of one year. Significantly, the ICC's new rules for official and unofficial cricket, which aims to plug existing loopholes, will come into force from June 1.

BCCI officials were not available for comment but it's understood that the board has written to various state associations to confirm the amnesty offer and stipulate the norms that needed to be followed while readmitting such players. "We have been told that we would either have to produce an NOC from ICL or hand over a copy of the contract termination letter that has been sent by us to ICL," a senior ICL player told Cricinfo. "We might then have to sign an official undertaking with the BCCI, which would bar us from participating in leagues or tournaments not authorised by the Indian board."

Gayle wants to give up captaincy

May 13, 2009

	Chris Gayle doesn't want to lead West Indies in the long term © Getty Images

Chris Gayle has said that he doesn't want to captain West Indies for much longer because of the pressure the job entailed.

Gayle also said that he "wouldn't be so sad" if Test cricket eventually gave way to the Twenty20 version and hit back at Andrew Strauss, who had criticised the West Indies captain for arriving from the IPL just two days before the start of the Lord's Test, asking the England captain to "stay out of [other] people's business".

"To be honest with you there's a possibility I might give it [captaincy] up - I will be giving it up shortly," Gayle told the Guardian. "It's definitely not something I'm looking to hang on to. I need some time for myself, to be honest with you, it's a lot of travelling. There's always something you have to go and do, you know, extra. Lunch or dinner, some other thing, there's always something for the captain. I'm not that type of person. I can't take on too much. So soon I will be handing over this captaincy. I [will] soon finish with it."

Gayle, who took over the captaincy from Ramnaresh Sarwan in 2007, said he was looking for potential successors. "We're still looking at quite a few," he said. "So we just have to wait and see when the selectors decide - or whosoever decides. Then I'm ready. The chairman pointed out to me they want me to actually be the captain for right now. We have to see how it goes. I said, 'Don't be too long, though'."

Gayle took over the captaincy in the absence of Sarwan who was injured for the ODI series against England in 2007. The West Indies board initially rejected the selectors' move to appoint Gayle before reversing its decision. Gayle revealed that he was reluctant to take over the captaincy and had to be persuaded into the role. "At the time when I was asked I didn't want to be the captain," he said. "That's when it all started. We won the series and then I said to them, whenever Sarwan is fully fit, I am ready to step down. Maybe they saw something different, something totally different, and they asked me to be captain.

"I thought hard about it. I didn't want to be captain. I wanted to have more free time. I didn't want that added pressure at that particular time, but they actually insist, insist, insist, so I said OK. So I thought, just get on with it."

Gayle was then preferred as captain over Sarwan for the 2007-08 tour of South Africa. He resigned at a West Indies directors' meeting last July following the home series against Australia due to disagreements over selection but was persuaded to stay on by WICB president Julian Hunte.

Gayle was the subject of much criticism for extending his IPL stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders and joining his West Indies team-mates only 48 hours before the first Test at Lord's, a match which they lost inside three days. Strauss had said that "we wouldn't want our players to arrive two days before" a Test. He added that it was important for Test cricket to get the attention it deserved and that it shouldn't be devalued in "any way, shape or form".

Gayle, however, responded to Strauss's comments by saying that the matter "doesn't concern him". "Focus on his team, don't worry about West Indies, don't worry about me. Tell him don't sleep with Chris on his mind, tell him get Chris off his mind," Gayle said.

While Gayle said he wouldn't be worried if the primacy of Test cricket were to be reduced, he said Strauss ought to be because the England captain may not be able to adapt to the shorter format. Strauss, who is England's Test and ODI captain, isn't part of the squad for the World Twenty20 in June.

"I wouldn't be so sad [about the demise of Test cricket]," Gayle said. "Some other players would be. Maybe Andrew Strauss would be sad. Maybe he will be sad if Test cricket dies and Twenty20 comes in. Because there is no way he can make the change. So tough luck. I like Twenty20. Who doesn't? Maybe a couple of the Englishmen wouldn't like to play Twenty20."

Responding to Gayle's criticism of his comments, Strauss told Sky Sports: "I was answering a question about the future of Test cricket. I believe very strongly Test cricket should be the ultimate form of the game, and therefore we should prepare for Test matches in a manner befitting that.

"I feel if our players turned up two days before that wouldn't give us enough time to prepare properly, but Chris' views on Test cricket and the future of that are his own opinion and I don't really get drawn into that. The last thing I want to concentrate on is what is happening with the West Indies squad, that is not of great importance to us really."

"For me personally I think Test cricket is the ultimate form of the game," said Strauss. "I think it is a true test of character, temperament and technique and I think the majority of cricketers around the world still think that. Hopefully that is the case and hopefully there are not more and more players that don't want to play Test cricket. I think that would be a very sad day for the game."

Ponting expects Vaughan,harmison to return

Australia's captain, Ricky Ponting, believes that England's Ashes veterans, Michael Vaughan and Steve Harmison, will be back to face his team come the start of this summer's contest, despite the instant impact that Ravi Bopara and Graham Onions have made since they came into the side for the Lord's Test last week.

Neither Vaughan nor Harmison is in the set-up for the second Test against West Indies, starting at Chester-le-Street on Thursday, and with no more five-day cricket before Australia arrive at Cardiff on July 8, time is running out for them to prove their worth.

But Ponting, speaking to Fox Sports, said: "I've just got a bit of a feeling that they might want to get Vaughan back into the set-up and they might pick Harmison for when we get there. So I think their side might actually shape up closer to the side of 2005 or 2007 than we actually think it might."

Vaughan's No. 3 slot is currently occupied by Bopara, whose 143 in the first Test was the decisive innings of the match. "Bopara made a really good hundred against the West Indies last week, but their batting is fairly similar with Pietersen, Collingwood, Strauss, Cook, those guys.

"We've played a lot against those guys over the years, so it's not too dissimilar, both sides have probably got three or four changes from last time we met."

As for Onions, who took 5 for 38 at Lord's, Ponting remained to be convinced of his long-term role. "He's a lively bowler, and he did well in that game but I'm not sure when they get the Sidebottoms and all those guys back if he'll still be in their side, but we'll wait and see."

Asked about Vaughan's prospects of an Ashes recall, England's captain Andrew Strauss responded: "There's a chance, there's definitely a chance. "There's a lot of cricket to be played between now and the Ashes, and we all know what Vaughany brings in terms of runs and experience. But the ball is in the hands of the players who are in the side right at the moment."

IPL withdraws controversial SMS contest

The IPL has withdrawn a text-messaging competition in which users predicted the outcome of each ball of an over for cash prizes. The game had come in for strong criticism from India's sports minister MS Gill over its similarity with gambling.

"There was no formal complaint about the game but the minister's views were taken into account and the organisers have withdrawn the game," Rajiv Shukla, a member of the IPL's governing council and a senior BCCI official, told PTI.

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said he was pleased with the decision. "I had written to the IPL to inquire on that particular game," Lorgat told Cricinfo. "The developers of that game had come to see us some two years back, but we didn't have enough information on how it worked, so I had written to the IPL requesting for some more information. I'm personally pleased that they have recognised that perhaps it's not the right time to introduce something like that. Simply because I didn't know the details of the game, that was the discomfort."

It's understood that the IPL and the game's promoters discontinued the game two days ago and are currently studying the legal aspects surrounding it before a final decision is taken.

Gill had last week denounced the SMS game - though he did not refer to it by name - saying it amounted to gambling. "I see the commercial use of cricket for business gains that is going on. I am concerned at knowledgeable comments from serious followers of cricket about the latest venture of encouraging viewers to make ball by ball predictions of runs scored for economic gain in the shape of cash prizes," he said in a statement. "This is viewed as 'openly encouraging gambling and betting', which official bodies do not resort to, even in countries where betting is legal."

He had reminded the BCCI of its position in the Indian sports spectrum. "The actions of the BCCI are bound to impact the thinking in other sports, some time or the other. We have already had, sometime back, a match-fixing scandal in the game. It seems the ICC had expressed concerns about such possibilities, in the IPL."

Injured Warne likely to miss Mumbai game

Shane Warne,the captain of Rajasthan Royals, is likely to miss his team's next match, against Mumbai Indians on Thursday, due a hamstring injury he suffered during Monday's game against Deccan Chargers.

Darren Berry, the Rajasthan coach, confirmed the injury but wasn't sure how many games Warne would miss. "He slightly stretched his hamstring in the field yesterday and we are waiting for the diagnosis today," he told Cricinfo. "It is only minor. At this stage we think he may miss one match but we are hoping that's the only game he misses. That's still to be determined and when the physio treats him today we'll have a better indication.

"If he has miraculous treatment in the next three days we will have him for the Mumbai Indians game but we don't know that yet."

A statement from the team management on Tuesday said Warne was currently working with the team doctor and more information would be available in the next 24 hours.

Graeme Smith, who is the senior-most player in the side after Warne and has led South Africa for six years, is likely to replace him as captain. "The logical choice is Graeme Smith, given that he is an international captain," Berry said.

Warne has been Rajasthan's leading wicket-taker with 11 from 10 matches at 26.27. The team is currently placed fourth on the points table, having played one more game than their nearest rivals, Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians, who play each other today.

Looking ahead to the rest of the tournament, Berry said the batsmen would have to step up if the team is to repeat the success from last season. "The main concern is we haven't been able to find consistent form with the bat," Berry said. "Our batting has very been spasmodic apart from Smith and [Naman] Ojha's fantastic 100-run partnership which set up the win against Punjab."

"We may have to win three out of three depending on how the other results go. It is in our hands now. One thing I've recognised about this team is that we have done well in pressure matches. We can't have another game like last night's performance against Deccan Chargers. The boys were all disappointed, so we made a commitment after the game that we will focus on game by game again. We are back in Durban where we did well in our last game there. Jeremy Snape, the team psychologist, and myself are working with the boys to get their confidence back and lead them towards the semi-finals."

Berry admitted that the team had been considerably weakened by the absence of Shane Watson, who has a groin injury and has been asked to rest by Cricket Australia before the World Twenty20, and Sohail Tanvir. "We had made our plans involving Watson so it was a significant blow to those plans and team make-up. I wasn't surprised by Cricket Australia's decision as I didn't think for one minute they were going to let him come with the groin injury with the Twenty20 World Cup coming up it. But without him and Sohail Tanvir, the bowler of the IPL last year, we have actually done really well to be still there in the competition even if we have been inconsistent."

The team's problems have been further compounded by the loss of two of their fast bowlers - Kamran Khan and Amit Singh - because of suspect actions. "Actually, Kamran hurt his knee, which has put him out for six weeks," Berry said. "Yes, his action was questioned and we are seeking some assistance on the matter. He was not reported. The technical committee wanted to have a close look at his action.

"With Amit Singh it has been identified that his slower ball is under question. A professional biomechanist and former South African bowling coach Vincent Barnes are working on Amit."

Taylor blasts Bangalore to victory

Royal Challengers Bangalore, buoyed by Ross Taylor's return to form, overcame a formidable target set by Kolkata Knight Riders to boost their chances of making the top four, winning by six wickets in a tense encounter in Centurion. Brendon McCullum's determined innings was in vain, as Taylor marked a timely comeback, feasting on some shoddy bowling by the seamers at the death, to inflict yet another disappointment on Kolkata, who squandered the edge they had held for most of the game.

Taylor and Jesse Ryder were Bangalore's key batsmen ahead of the season, and their failure, along with Kevin Pietersen's poor performance, had proved embarrassing. Taylor, though, redeemed himself, remaining unfazed by the loss of three quick wickets to time Bangalore's chase to perfection, carting five sixes and seven fours in a brutal assault that overshadowed Kolkata's admirable batting display.

Bangalore were on course in pursuit of 174, led by a solid opening stand of 58 between Jacques Kallis and Ryder. Neither of the two was excessively dominating, but combined their ability to punish bad balls with intermittent displays of improvisation when the situation demanded it. Kallis survived an early chance, when Ajantha Mendis ran too far in from third man, failing to snap an upper-cut, but two half-volleys from Ajit Agarkar were lofted for a six and four the very next over. Ryder looked fluent, in contrast to his terrible form in the early phase of the tournament, pulling Ishant Sharma before dispatching two full tosses over mid-off.

The difference in strategy adopted by both teams was evident before the tactical time-out in each innings, with Kolkata sticking to the tested method of shuffling the attack, using as many as six bowlers in the first eight overs - Bangalore had used three. The spin of Ajantha Mendis and David Hussey was countered well, but a stupendous piece of fielding from McCullum, who flung himself to his left to snap Kallis put an end to the threatening stand. When Ryder sliced Agarkar straight to third man in the next over, and Robin Uthappa slogged one to deep midwicket right after the time-out, Bangalore had lost three in three overs to concede the advantage.

Barring McCullum's acrobatic effort, Kolkata were, yet again, poor in the field, missing attempts to run out both Taylor and Rahul Dravid, giving one a chance to regain some much-needed form, and the other to play the supporting role with flair. The game began to slip from Kolkata's grasp when Taylor spoilt Murali Kartik's figures with two sixes in his final over. The talking point for Kolkata has been the puzzling absence of Mashrafe Mortaza and the experienced Charl Langeveldt. The travails of Angelo Matthews - who was struck for three fours in an over by Taylor - provided more fodder for criticism.

With 55 needed off 30, and seven wickets in hand, Bangalore held the cards but Dravid's scoop back to Mendis in a miserly 16th over added another twist to the see-saw game. Taylor, though, was unflustered, smacking two fours off Ajit Agarkar to reach his half-century, and combined with Mark Boucher, who pulled a no-ball for six, to take 19 off Ishant's final over.

Agarkar's reliability at the death has been questionable throughout his career and he failed his team, gifting two full-tosses to Taylor in the penultimate over, one smashed over midwicket and the other over long-on. The Bangalore batsmen were fed with full-length balls, which they promptly dealt with, proving decisive in the outcome. Mathews provided the fitting end, delivering another full toss, symbolically dismissed by Taylor for six over square leg to end the game and keep his team in the running for a semi-final berth.

Taylor's blitz spoilt an excellent innings from Kolkata's struggling captain, who fought through a patchy phase to take a backseat to the aggressive Hussey, and then changed gears following the Australian's dismissal to hand his team its most satisfying batting performance of the season. The burden of captaincy had proved too hard to bear for McCullum, and had affected his own performance adversely. He remained guarded for much of his innings, after he lost Sourav Ganguly and Arindam Ghosh early on, providing a glimpse of his more conventional side to batting, compared to the raw aggression that has typified his style. The boundaries kept coming, mostly of Hussey's bat, but the feature of the partnership, apart from the two contrasting approaches by each batsman, was the wave of singles and twos that avoided any dip in scoring despite the two early setbacks.

The roles changed once Mathews, the Sri Lankan allrounder, walked in. McCullum switched to his natural mode of play, stepping out to dispatch Kumble, and smashing Akhil for two sixes, bringing up his first fifty in ten innings. The cherry was a burst of three successive fours - two paddle-scoops and one contemptuous pull - off R Vinay Kumar which took his team to a competitive score.

Kolkata, despite being knocked out, still have a significant role to play as their remaining games could well determine who finishes in the final four. However, their tendency to lose, even from winning positions, reinforced their unfortunate status as the tournament's punching bag.

Dazzling Bravo hands Mumbai big win

For the second time in two meetings between these teams, Kings XI Punjab batted first and scored 119, but unlike the game in Durban, there was no redemption in the field this time as Mumbai Indians swept to an eight-wicket win to move up to 11 points and fourth in the points table. The win was set up by Mumbai's offspinners - Harbhajan Singh, JP Duminy and Ajinkya Rahane returned combined figures of 4 for 29 in nine overs to launch a stunning comeback. Dwayne Bravo ensured a hiccup-free run-chase with a magnificent unbeaten 70 in an innings full of expansive drives and pulls.

Mahela Jayawardene's absence due to a leg injury sustained during the previous game hit Punjab badly: not only did they miss his calm presence in the middle order, it also meant there were six left-handers in the top eight, since his replacement was Luke Pommersbach. That suited Sachin Tendulkar's offspin theory perfectly, and Punjab didn't help their cause with some reckless shot-making and brainless running between the wickets.

After the first five overs, though, it seemed this match would be a run-fest just like the previous one of the day, when Ross Taylor's heroics had lit up Centurion. Punjab rattled along to 50 off a mere 32 balls, with Sunny Sohal (43 off 23) plundering boundaries at will, either shuffling across his stumps to flick to leg, or giving himself room to carve sixes over point. Soon, though, Harbhajan came into the attack, beat Kumar Sangakkara with his first three deliveries, and from there Punjab had little to cheer as Tendulkar quickly latched on to the offspin theory.

Coming in to bowl in the eighth over, Harbhajan immediately settled into a magnificent rhythm. Bowling from round the stumps to the left-handers, he flighted the ball, got it to drift in, and the spin away sharply. Sangakkara was clueless off the first three deliveries, and then lost that contest comprehensively when he played all over one from Harbhajan's next over.

Duminy was soon pressed into the attack, and he responded with two strikes in his second over, first getting Wilkin Mota to hoick one to Harbhajan, who juggled repeatedly before holding on, and Yuvraj Singh, who paid the price for hitting against the turn. The twin offspin success prompted Tendulkar to try Ajinkya Rahane, and that move paid off too, as Pommersbach played a rash head-in-the-air shot that typified Punjab's approach.

In between all the spin trouble, Punjab contributed to their own downfall with some extremely sloppy running between the wickets. Mota gave it away with one such effort, making no effort to get back into his crease when Tendulkar misfielded at midwicket.

The bowlers had done much more than had been expected of them, and Bravo and Tendulkar ensured the run-chase would be a canter. Punjab nailed a couple of wickets - including that of Sanath Jayasuriya - to give them some initial hope, but Bravo, who survived a tough caught-and-bowled chance off Irfan Pathan early in his innings, ended the momentary high with a fearsome assault on Sreesanth which turned the momentum completely Mumbai's way.

Only 14 had come off the first four overs when Sreesanth came into the attack, and Bravo duly seized the opportunity, pulling him for four, straight-driving and flicking him over long-on for two glorious sixes, and then flicking through midwicket for another four as the over leaked 21.

Tendulkar soon joined in the fun, dropping down to No.4 and playing himself back into form after a run of low scores. The spinners caused a few problems, but Bravo trusted his footwork, going down the pitch and striking Yuvraj for a straight six. Piyush Chawla spun a few past the bat, Brett Lee bowled a fiery spell and tested the batsmen with pace and bounce - Bravo copped one on the helmet late in his innings - but with such a paltry target before them, the batsmen were never under any pressure. Tendulkar carved a few slog-sweeps through and over midwicket, Bravo finished it off with a spanking pull shot, and Mumbai ended the evening feeling much better about their semi-final chances than they had when they began the match.