IPL 5: Delhi beat Punjab to seal playoff berth

Mahela Jayawardene's scored a match-winning 56 to help Delhi Daredevils beat Kings XI Punjab in the 64th match of the Indian Premier League at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi. Delhi managed to reach the target with an over to spare as they consolidated their position at the top of the table with 20 points and become the first team to seal the playoff berth.

Parvinder Awana (3 for 22) was exceptional with the ball for visitors, especially early on, when they had slumped to 37 for 4, but Naman Ojha (34 off 29) and Irfan Pathan (19 off 10) provided enough support to help Jayawardene confirm Delhi's place in the last four.

This was after the DD top-order failed once again as both Virender Sehwag (9) and David Warner (14) promised a lot of fireworks as 21 runs came off the first two overs but Praveen Kumar gave Punjab early breakthrough in the third over when he dismissed David Warner (14). But Praveen Kumar gave Punjab breakthrough in the third over when he dismissed David Warner.

Soon Awana also struck with the very first ball to dismiss Sehwag in the fourth over as the hosts were reduced to 28 for 2. Then Awana struck twice in the sixth over to dismiss Ross Taylor (0) and Venugopal Rao (7). Awana's effort rocked Delhi run chase. But the gritty Sri Lankan batsman consolidated Delhi's innings as he added 58 runs for the fifth wicket with Naman Ojha (34).

Piyush Chawla dismissed Naman Ojha in the the fourteenth over to reduce Delhi to 95 for 5. But Jayawardene and Pathan added 45 runs for the sixth wicket to help the home team clinch a superb victory.

Earlier, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron produced a fantastic bowling effort for Delhi as they restricted Punjab to a modest 138 for 8. Yadav (3 for 21) and Aaron (2 for 19) shared five wickets between them, while the fielders took some sharp catches as well as inflicting two run-outs.

Punjab's skipper David Hussey top-scored for the visitors with an unbeaten 40 off 35 balls, but he lacked any real support from his teammates. There were no significant partnership as Hussey was the only batsmen trying to take the attack back to the opposition.

Opting to bat first, Punjab were dealt an early blow after Shaun Marsh fell in the fourth over for 13. He tried to flick Aaron on the leg side and instead sent a fine edge to wicketkeeper Naman Ojha. Mandeep Singh (21) hit a few streaky boundaries but he soon fell to Aaron as he was smartly caught by Sehwag.

Punjab were then dealt another blow as Nitin Saini (15) took a long walk back to the pavilion as he edged a ball that moved away from Yadav to Sehwag at first slip. Punjab were struggling at 54 for 3 at this stage. David Miller (4) was then run out by a Pawan Negi direct hit to leave Punjab on 63 for 4 at the halfway stage.

Hussey and Azhar Mahmood (9) tried to do a repair job, but all went in vain as Umesh send back Mahmood courtesy of a stunning catch at wide long-off by Irfan Pathan. Last match's hero Gurkeerat Singh Ahluwalia (8) hit two boundaries but then a classical left-arm spinner's delivery from Negi got better of him. Piyush Chawla (10) helped the Kings past 100 in a 29-run stand with Hussey, but after he fell, the visitors battled and eventually set 139 for victory.

Irfan Pathan blitz helps Delhi beat Kolkata

Kolkata: Irfan Pathan's batting blitz got Delhi Daredevils off to a winning start in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as Virender Sehwag's team beat Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets in a rain-curtailed game here at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.

The match was reduced to a 12-over affair after two-and-a-half hours of play was lost due to wet conditions following a spell of rain. However, the capacity crowd didn't go home disappointed and was treated with a close contest in the end as Delhi scored the winning runs in the last over of their chase

Chasing 98 to win, Sehwag (20) and Aaron Finch (30) raced to a 49-run start, laying a solid foundation for Pathan (42 not out off 20 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (3 not out) to score the remaining runs after the openers left in quick succession. Pathan hit three sixes and two fours in his match-winning knock.

After electing to bowl first, Delhi bowlers Morne Morkel (3 for 18), Umesh Yadav (2 for 9) and Roelof van der Merwe (2 for 28) didn't disappoint their skipper as the visitors restricted the hosts to 97 for 9. Allrounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla (26 off 17 balls) was the top-scorer for Kolkata.

Earlier, Morkel rocked Kolkata's top order with back-to-back wickets. He first bowled Jacques Kallis (4) and Manoj Tiwary (0) in successive deliveries and then followed it up with the wicket of Kolkata's skipper Gautam Gambhir, who played a short ball by the tall South African pacer onto his stumps. And the home side was in a real spot of bother when Yusuf Pathan was caught behind off Yadav.

But young Bengal batsman Debabrata Das (18) took the attack to the opposition with two lusty sixes, though his innings was cut short when he got run out after a terrible mix-up with Rajat Bhatia. A Shukla cameo late in the innings took Kolkata to a decent total; however, it was not enough in the end.

In reply, Delhi raced to 48 for no loss in six overs, with Finch and Sehwag swatting the ball hard. But the wickets of Finch, who was clean-bowled by Kallis, and Sehwag, who was caught brilliantly at the long-on fence by Iqbal Abdulla off Bhatia, in quick succession put the match in balance until Pathan's blitz blew away the opposition.

Bowlers script 50-run victory for India

Mirpur: Irfan Pathan led the Indian attack with a four-wicket haul with R Ashwin and Vinay Kumar taking three wickets apiece, which scripted a middle-order collapse for Sri Lanka to help India recover and register a 50-run victory in their first match of the Asia Cup on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka were on course to chase down India's 304 as they reached 196 for 3 in 35 overs, but losing 4 wickets for 31 runs in the batting powerplay proved decisive in the end. Ashwin (3 for 39) and Vinay (3 for 55) took two wickets each in that period to reduce the Lankans to 227 for 7 in 40 overs. Pathan then returned in the final overs to take his tally to 4 for 32 with the last Sri Lankan wicket of Seekkuge Prasanna

Earlier, India's twin centurions Virat Kohli (108) and Gautam Gambhir (100) put up a 205-run stand for the second wicket to set India up for a huge total. En route his century, Kohli became the fastest man to reach 10 ODI centuries, reaching the landmark in his 83rd match.

MS Dhoni (46 not out off 26 balls) and Suresh Raina (30 not out off 17 balls) then hammered the Lankan attack for 78 runs in the final 7.1 overs to cross the 300-run mark with a six from Raina off the last ball of the 50th over.

Sachin Tendulkar (6) fell early after Sri Lanka put India in to bat. He hit a full toss straight to Jayawardene in short cover; however, the maestro wasn't convinced if the catch was clean and stood his ground. The umpires brought the third umpire into play, who upheld the decision after replays showed nothing wrong with the dismissal.

Thereafter, it was a Kohli-Gambhir show as they stole the limelight by bringing up the 10th ODI centuries of their respective careers.

The Sri Lankan bowlers had no answers for Kohli who scored his second consecutive century in Mirpur after punishing the Bangladeshis in the World Cup opener last year. He and Gambhir fell soon after reaching the landmark but Dhoni and Raina ensured boundaries came thick and fast in the last seven overs to take India's total to 304 for 3.

The islanders lost Tillakaratne Dilshan (7) early in their chase but Jayawardene played a captain's knock of 78 in just 59 balls, which included 10 fours and two sixes. After Dilshan was sent back by Pathan, Jayawardene joined hands with Kumar Sangakkara for a 93-run second-wicket partnership in a 14-over period that saw some delectable strokeplay, especially from the skipper.

The Sri Lankans merrily moved to 124 for 1 in just the 19th over when Jayawardene's cheeky glide led to his downfall. The delivery from Pathan kissed the face of his bat to settle inside the gloves of a diving Dhoni. The wicket got India a foot inside the door as they struck 28 runs later when Ashwin foxed Dinesh Chandimal (13) to bowl him with his carrom ball.

At 152 for 3, Sangakkara found an ally in Lahiru Thirimanne and the duo started bringing the chase back on track by milking the Indian spinners. It was evident that Sri Lanka were eyeing the batting powerplay, especially in the way they approached the chase from that point on.

However, Ashwin sent Sangakkara (65) and Thirimanne (29) back in the first over of the powerplay, while Vinay took care of Nuwan Kulasekara (11) and Chamara Kapugedara (0) in the fourth. Maharoof tried to be a bit adventurous; however, it proved to be futile in the end.

The defending champions will next take on Bangladesh, who lost to Pakistan in the opening match, on March 16.

CB Series: Sri Lanka beat India by 51 runs

Brisbane: A spineless batting display which was preceded by some inexplicable moments on the field saw India crash to a 51-run defeat against Sri Lanka in match eight of the CB series at the Gabba on Tuesday.

Chasing 290 for victory, the Indian innings folded at 238 in 45.1 overs which saw them slump to their third defeat in six outings, and fall behind Australia and Sri Lanka in the points table.

While the Australians lead the points table with 14 points from five matches, the Lankans with the same number of matches lie second with 11 points, and India who have played an extra game find themselves at third place with 10 points.

The Indian innings got off to a shocker of a start, when stand-in captain Virender Sehwag lunged out to a wide delivery by Lasith Malinga off the very second ball; the result was a fine running catch by Nuwan Kulasekara at third man which sent Sehwag back in the hut for a duck.

Sachin Tendulkar - like so many times on the current tour - looked to be in imperious touch at the start of his innings. Some glorious shots on the off side followed by a delightful flick off the pads seemed to have set the tempo before he chopped one on to his stumps on 22, in an attempt to leave one from Kulasekara (38 for 2).

Gautam Gambhir who had struck four boundaries during his innings of 29, was the next to go. The left-hander - batting way outside his crease in an attempt to unsettle the bowler - only succeeded in unsettling himself as he played away from his body, and Thisara Perera at gully took a fine catch diving forward to give Kulasekara his second wicket.

Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina then put on 92 for the fourth wicket with the aid of Dinesh Chandimal fielding at deep midwicket, who dropped a couple of sitters to the relief of the Indians.

However, Farveez Maharoof provided his team with the all-important breakthrough by sending back a well-settled Raina. Raina made 32 off 55 balls before he guided a ball that bounced on him into the hands of Lahiru Thirimanne at short cover. Kohli, who had brought up his 20th ODI fifty, followed suit soon after for 66 when he perished to Perera, with Kulasekara at mid-on taking a simple catch off a mistimed pull shot.

It was an uphill task and a downhill battle for India from then on but Irfan Pathan with a few lusty blows down the order gave his side an outside chance of an unlikely victory. With wickets falling at the other end, Irfan soon ran out of options and was the last man to fall when he hit one straight back to Perera who finished with figures of 4 for 37 off 7.1 overs.

Earlier, Thirimanne struck his maiden half-century in his fifth ODI, and Tillakaratne Dilshan contributed with 51 as Sri Lanka finished with a highly competitive total of 289 for 6. Mahela Jayawardene and Dilshan put on 95 for the first wicket before Jayawardene fell for 45 to Irfan.

Wickets at regular intervals got the world champions back in the match before the Lankans added 94 runs in the last 11 overs as the Indian bowlers failed to come up with the goods. How helpless captain Sehwag felt in the middle was epitomised in the 50th over when Kohli was called up to bowl the last six deliveries which went for 14 runs.

India snatch last-ball tie against Sri Lanka

Adelaide: Needing four to win off the last ball, MS Dhoni's pick-up drive over the covers fetched India three runs that locked both India and Sri Lanka at 236 to end the fifth match of the CB series in a tie here on Tuesday.

It was the 26th tie in the history of one-day internationals and the first between India and Sri Lanka. Interestingly, the 30th over of the innings was called after just five balls had been bowled. Despite not winning the match, India went top of the table with 10 points from four matches. Australia are second with nine points from three matches and Sri Lanka third with two points from three matches.

India had it under control until Dhoni (58*) - playing his 200th ODI - sold top-scorer Gautam Gambhir (91) a dummy to deny him an ODI century for the second match in a row. India then slipped from 178 for 4 to 212 for 7, leaving Dhoni to do the finishing once again.

Smart captaincy by Mahela Jayawardene and some tight bowling by Lasith Malinga (2 for 53) and Thissara Perera (2 for 45) kept India in the hunt throughout after their batting once again disappointed.

Gambhir and Dhoni aside, India’s batting was decidedly ordinary. Sachin Tendulkar (15) was caught behind by wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara off Kulasekara, after which Virat Kohli (15) and Rohit Sharma (15) failed to capitalise. Kohli was trapped in front by Perera while Rohit fell to a direct hit by Jayawardene, which reduced India to 94 for 3. Suresh Raina (8) was the next man to depart at the score at 118. Gambhir crossed his 30th half-century during a 60-run stand with Dhoni, but his run-out in the 41st over started a slide.

Ravindra Jadeja lasted only 10 ball for his 3 and R Ashwin departed for 14, making it 212 for 7 in the 48th over. Irfan Pathan, who was included in place of Zaheer Khan, then brought the game in the balance with a six off a no-ball but sacrificed himself for the skipper after confusion while attempting a cheeky single.

Needing nine off the last over, Dhoni had Vinay Kumar for company but he became the third run-out of the Indian innings off the penultimate ball, leaving Dhoni to score four runs off the last ball with Yadav at the other end. Malinga bowled it wide and full but Dhoni was ready for it as he almost hit a boundary but for a splendid effort by the sweeper cover.

Earlier, Jayawardene won the toss and elected to take first strike on a batting track, leaving India to chase for fourth match in a row. India brought back Tendulkar and Irfan for Virender Sehwag and Zaheer, respectively while Sri Lanka also made two changes by bringing in Perera and Sachithra Senanayake.

India celebrated early as Vinay edged out a shoddy Upul Tharanga for a nought off the second ball of the day. Tillakaratne Dilshan (16) also couldn't find form as he became Irfan's victim.

Dinesh Chandimal brought positive intent to the crease which rubbed off to Sangakkara as the duo brought up a fifty stand. But just one run later, a rush of blood saw Sangakkara (31) gifting his wicket to Ashwin. Jayawardene joined forces with Chandimal, with both playing their strokes uninhibitedly to put India on the back foot.

Chandimal brought up his fifty in just 56 balls with Jayawardene scoring almost run a ball to keep Indian bowlers under the pump. Dhoni brought the series' top wicket-taker Vinay back who answered the skipper's call by getting rid of Jayawardene for 43. From a solid 173 for 3 in the 37th over, the Lankans slipped to 210 for 7, allowing India to put a lid on the score, which at one stage looked set to cross 270.

Chandimal (81) fell in the very next over to some sharp work by Rohit who combined with Dhoni to run him out. Perera (5) and Angelo Mathews (17) followed Chandimal back in the hut to leave the tail collect whatever runs they could in a last-gasp attempt.

Senanayake (22 of 14) hit three crisp fours and combined with Kulasekara (12) to take Sri Lanka to something they could bowl at. But in the end, it just proved one run short.