Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Daredevils, IPL 2012, Jaipur

Rajasthan look to erase Kotla choke

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Match facts

May 1, 2012, Jaipur
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

	Royals are back at their fortress, where they have a 100% record against Daredevils © AFP  Enlarge

Big Picture

Rajasthan Royals will still be wondering how they botched the chase against Delhi Daredevils two days back. With 15 needed off 12 balls, with nine wickets in hand, you would back yourself for a comfortable chase. Yet, what ensued reiterated the theory that all it takes is one good over to tilt the scales in Twenty20s. Leave too much to the end, and the joke's on you. Royals have a chance to set things right against the same opponent, in their Jaipur fortress. They will be boosted by the arrival from the West Indies of the Australian Shane Watson, who will have to conquer jet-lag first, and Morne Morkel next. If Watson does play straightaway, the question is who will make way - either Brad Hodge or Owais Shah. Three consecutive defeats will be at the back of their minds when they take on the in-form Daredevils.

With 14 points, Daredevils are still on top. Should they lose, they will remain in that position. Luck's going their way and their season has been a marked improvement from last year. This will be Kevin Pietersen's last game before he flies back home and his presence as an impact player will be missed. A big plus for Daredevils is the contribution of two low-profile Indian players - Shahbaz Nadeem and Yogesh Nagar. Nagar was the unsung hero of the previous game, making the most of the final over to give the score some respectability.

Form guide

(most recent first)

Delhi Daredevils: WWWLW
Rajasthan Royals: LLLWW

Players to watch

Though Morkel's tight penultimate over in the chase hogged the attention, Umesh Yadav's effort in the final over cannot be ignored. Though he had 12 to defend, he was parsimonious in his first three deliveries, giving away only two runs. A freak six by Ajinkya Rahane nearly overshadowed his efforts, but Yadav held his nerve for the final ball, beating the well-set Rahane for pace.

Royals' Amit Singh picked up two wickets, but was the most expensive bowler at the Kotla, giving 41 runs. Twenty of those came off his final over, the last of the innings, which made the difference in the final analysis. If Siddharth Trivedi returns, Amit Singh's place could be in trouble.

Stats and trivia

• Royals and Daredevils have played each other twice at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Royals won both games.
• Daredevils run-rate in the last six overs stands at 9.15, while their bowlers concede 8.11 per over in the last six.
  Quotes
  "We probably bowled the best of any teams against Delhi, who have such a formidable batting line-up."
  Rahul Dravid finds positives in defeat
  "Great spirit shown by the team. Brilliant stuff from Morne. Must have been heartbreaking for Ajinkya though."
  Virender Sehwag tweets after Daredevils' surprise win

Deccan Chargers v Pune Warriors, IPL 2012, Cuttack

Can Pune kickstart recovery?

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Match facts

Tuesday, May 1, Cuttack
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)

	Australia captain Michael Clarke could debut in the IPL for Pune Warriors © Getty Images  Enlarge

Big Picture

Pune Warriors' previous match was a home game against Deccan Chargers which they lost giving Chargers their first win. Losing points to bottom-placed Chargers will put pressure on Warriors as the race to finish in the top four gets tighter. After theirwin in Delhi, Warriors were third from the top; now, they are third from the bottom.

Chargers' chances in the tournament are diminishing fast and a top-four finish is highly unlikely as apart from Dale Steyn, there haven't been enough quality performances. Ironically, their only win came when Steyn was rested.

Warriors will be boosted by the inclusion of Michael Clarke who is making his first appearance in the IPL. If he is included in the XI, it will be interesting to see who he replaces. Clarke will bring further stability to the batting line-up. Although Sourav Ganguly will have to think about where to slot him in the order. Further, if Clarke plays, will Ganguly drop himself down the order?

Jesse Ryder and Steven Smith have been the most aggressive for Warriors, but in some games, Smith's impact was reduced due to him batting low in the order.

Chargers have come up with two surprising selection moves in the last two games. While Steyn was rested in Pune, Kumar Sangakkara sat out in Mumbai. In Cuttack, where the pitch should be completely different from the the green one in Mumbai, there might be another surprise from the Chargers camp.

Form guide

(completed games, most recent first)

Deccan Chargers: LWLLL
Pune Warriors: LLWLL

Players to watch

Robin Uthappa is the leading run scorer for Pune Warriors this season. However, his strike rate of 117.72 is much lower than previous seasons. He has only hit seven sixes in the season, but with two important points to be had, Uthappa might rise to the occasion with big shots. 

For a batman of the class of JP Duminy, he should be spending maximum time in the middle. Out of the five innings he has played for Chargers, he has remained unbeaten in four. He showed glimpses of his ability in the match against Rajasthan Royals. A potential matchwinner, Duminy contributes with this handy offspin and sharp fielding as well.

Stats and trivia

• Robin Uthappa has played 68 IPL games, only four less than S Badrinath and Suresh Raina's tally of 72.
• Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa's 145-run unbeaten partnership against Delhi Daredevils is the highest this season.
  Quotes
  "It was unusual to change the captain, isn't it? That's the way it happened.."
  Cameron White on Kumar Sangakkara's exclusion in the last game
  "It seems like he's doing a really good job as captain-coach over there, I've spoken to a couple of the boys and they seem to be really happy about how things are. So, yeah, for me it's an eye-opener."
  Michael Clarke is impressed with Sourav Ganguly's leadership

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IPL stats analysis

The slog-over kings

A look at the teams, batsmen and bowlers who've shone in the last six overs of an innings in IPL 2012

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	Lasith Malinga has been the key man for Harbhajan Singh in the last six overs, taking 12 wickets at an average of 3.67 and economy rate of 4.19 © AFP  Enlarge

It turns out that the top two teams in IPL 2012 so far are also the two teams who're best in the slog overs, with both bat and ball. Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders are the top two in the points table, and both sides have especially excelled with the ball in the final overs of these matches.

Daredevils have preferred chasing in this tournament, and they didn't bat first till their eighth game, when they thrashed Mumbai Indians by 37 runs after scoring 207. However, their bowling at the death bailed them out against Rajasthan Royals in their most recent game, when Morne Morkel conceded three in the penultimate over, and Umesh Yadav gave away ten in the last to clinch a one-run win. On the other hand, Daredevils had scored 20 in their last over, when Amit Singh conceded two sixes and two fours. Those last three overs turned out to be the difference between the two teams - Royals scored 13 off their last two, while Daredevils scored 20 off their last.

Similarly, Knight Riders have found the right players to do the job for them at the end. Like Daredevils, they haven't racked up a huge run rate with the bat in the last six, but their bowlers have been quite outstanding: they are the only side to concede less than eight an over in the last six, which means the difference between their batting run rate and their bowling economy rate in these overs is 0.84, which is next only to the Daredevils' 1.04.

The difference for these two teams is far greater than for other sides - Pune Warriors, who are third in the list, have a run rate that's 0.23 better than their economy rate. Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore are the only two sides who've scored and conceded more than ten an over in the last six. Mumbai Indians are pretty low in the table too, though that's largely because of the three matches that Lasith Malinga missed - in two of those games, Mumbai Indians conceded 128 runs in 69 balls, a run rate of 11.13 per over.

At the bottom of the pile are Deccan Chargers, which isn't surprising considering where they lie in the points table. Their batting has been meek in the end overs - their run rate is the second-lowest - while their bowling has been easy to hit around.

Teams in the last 6 overs with bat and ball

Team	Bat ave	Run rate	Bowl ave	Econ rate	Diff*
Delhi Daredevils	24.41	9.15	16.69	8.11	1.04
Kolkata Knight Riders	17.00	8.76	13.87	7.92	0.84
Pune Warriors	21.95	9.64	24.94	9.41	0.23
Rajasthan Royals	23.65	10.20	21.32	10.02	0.18
Chennai Super Kings	17.36	9.07	15.23	9.05	0.02
Royal Challengers Bangalore	20.08	10.18	21.82	10.45	-0.27
Kings XI Punjab	17.88	9.43	19.83	9.74	-0.31
Mumbai Indians	15.92	8.26	12.46	8.58	-0.32
Deccan Chargers	14.13	8.59	35.54	10.28	-1.69

* Run rate minus economy rate

Steven Smith of Warriors leads the list of batsmen who've scored the most runs in the last six overs of IPL 2012 - in just 99 balls he has scored 179, and has contributed in most of the matches: against Super Kings he scored 36 off 17, against Daredevils 34 off 13, and against Chargers 24 off 10.

Most of the other names down the list have done wonderfully too, not only in the number of runs scored, but also in terms of their scoring rate. AB de Villiers has been in stunning form in the tournament, which is reflected in his slog-over stats too - 122 runs in 64 balls, and despite scoring so quickly, only two dismissals. In three of their wins, de Villiers has played key roles with his skill and innovation at the end of the innings - 40 off 16 against Royals, 35 off 18 against Daredevils, and 33 off 14 against Warriors.

Similarly, Royals have had Owais Shah and Brad Hodge to help them out with quick runs at the end - Shah's best in the last six was 51 off 20 against Royal Challengers, while Hodge slammed 47 off 20 against Chargers. Chris Gayle's run rate is the highest among the group below, but his best effort in the slog - 51 off 44 against Knight Riders - came in a match which his team lost handily, with Gayle's charge coming too late to make any difference.

Batsmen who've scored the most runs in the last six overs in IPL 2012

Batsman	Runs	Balls	Dismissals	Average	Run rate
Steven Smith	179	99	6	29.83	10.84
Dwayne Bravo	146	89	3	48.66	9.84
Owais Shah	138	75	5	27.60	11.04
AB de Villiers	122	64	2	61.00	11.43
Brad Hodge	117	77	4	29.25	9.11
JP Duminy	110	65	0	-	10.15
Chris Gayle	102	47	4	25.50	13.02

Among the bowlers, Malinga towers over the rest, with 12 wickets in 63 balls, conceding only 44 runs. His economy rate is outstanding, but his average is quite stunning - he is the only bowler whose average is lower than his economy rate. Sunil Narine has exceptional stats too, and is largely responsible for Knight Riders' superb bowling numbers in the last overs.

At the other end of the table are Vinay Kumar, Ashish Nehra and Amit Singh. They've all gone for plenty of runs at the end, but their captains have persisted with them, perhaps suggesting that there aren't too many other options available for the side. Vinay has bowled 15 overs and conceded 153 runs, while Amit Singh of Royals has gone at more than two runs per ball, which includes the over that cost 20 in that one-run loss against Daredevils.

Bowlers who've bowled at least 60 balls in the last six overs in IPL 2012

Bowler	Balls	Runs conceded	Wickets	Average	Econ rate
Lasith Malinga	63	44	12	3.67	4.19
Sunil Narine	66	70	9	7.77	6.36
Morne Morkel	90	106	8	13.25	7.06
Umesh Yadav	72	94	4	23.50	7.83
Kevon Cooper	78	108	6	18.00	8.30
Zaheer Khan	72	107	6	17.83	8.91
Munaf Patel	64	101	5	20.20	9.46
Vinay Kumar	90	153	7	21.85	10.20
Ashish Nehra	66	119	4	29.75	10.81
Amit Singh	83	170	6	28.33	12.28

Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders

Indian Premier League - 41st match

Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders won by 5 wickets (with 2 balls remaining)

• Twenty20 match | 2012 season
• Played at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
• 30 April 2012 - day/night (20-over match)

	Chennai Super Kings innings (20 overs maximum)		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	F du Plessis	c †McCullum b Lee	3	4	0	0	75.00
	MEK Hussey	run out (Lee/†McCullum)	18	19	2	0	94.73
	SK Raina	c Pathan b Kallis	44	34	4	1	129.41
	DJ Bravo	c Iqbal Abdulla b Kallis	12	12	0	1	100.00
	MS Dhoni*†	not out	34	30	2	0	113.33
	RA Jadeja	c Das b Narine	9	13	0	0	69.23
	JA Morkel	not out	13	8	0	0	162.50
	Extras	(b 1, lb 2, w 3)	6
	Total	(5 wickets; 20 overs)	139	(6.95 runs per over)

Did not bat S Badrinath, R Ashwin, SB Jakati, VY Mahesh

Fall of wickets 1-5 (du Plessis, 1.4 ov), 2-32 (Hussey, 4.6 ov), 3-74 (Bravo, 10.1 ov), 4-88 (Raina, 12.6 ov),5-118 (Jadeja, 17.6 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	Iqbal Abdulla	3	0	18	0	6.00
	B Lee	4	0	34	1	8.50
	YK Pathan	1	0	10	0	10.00	(1w)
	SP Narine	4	0	24	1	6.00
	JH Kallis	4	0	21	2	5.25	(1w)
	R Bhatia	3	0	22	0	7.33	(1w)
	LR Shukla	1	0	7	0	7.00

	Kolkata Knight Riders innings (target: 140 runs from 20 overs)		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	G Gambhir*	lbw b Bravo	63	52	6	1	121.15
	BB McCullum†	c Jakati b Ashwin	2	8	0	0	25.00
	JH Kallis	c †Dhoni b Bravo	26	31	1	1	83.87
	MK Tiwary	c Mahesh b Morkel	13	13	1	0	100.00
	YK Pathan	c du Plessis b Ashwin	12	11	0	0	109.09
	DB Das	not out	11	4	2	0	275.00
	LR Shukla	not out	0	0	0	0	-
	Extras	(lb 4, w 8, nb 1)	13
	Total	(5 wickets; 19.4 overs)	140	(7.11 runs per over)

Did not bat R Bhatia, SP Narine, B Lee, Iqbal Abdulla

Fall of wickets 1-14 (McCullum, 2.5 ov), 2-84 (Kallis, 12.3 ov), 3-112 (Tiwary, 16.1 ov), 4-124 (Gambhir, 18.1 ov),5-136 (Pathan, 19.3 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	SB Jakati	2	0	17	0	8.50
	JA Morkel	4	0	24	1	6.00	(1nb, 4w)
	R Ashwin	3.4	0	22	2	6.00	(1w)
	VY Mahesh	1	0	11	0	11.00	(2w)
	RA Jadeja	2	0	13	0	6.50	(1w)
	DJ Bravo	4	0	27	2	6.75
	SK Raina	3	0	22	0	7.33

Match details

Toss Chennai Super Kings, who chose to bat Points Kolkata Knight Riders 2, Chennai Super Kings 0

Player of the match DB Das (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Umpires BF Bowden (New Zealand) and SS Shamsuddin TV umpire SK Tarapore Match referee RS Mahanama (Sri Lanka) Reserve umpire K Srinivasan

Match notes

Chennai Super Kings innings Powerplay 1: Overs 0.1 - 6.0 (Mandatory - 43 runs, 2 wickets) Chennai Super Kings: 50 runs in 6.6 overs (42 balls), Extras 1 Chennai Super Kings: 100 runs in 15.3 overs (93 balls), Extras 5 Innings Break: Chennai Super Kings - 139/5 in 20.0 overs (MS Dhoni 34, JA Morkel 13) Kolkata Knight Riders innings Powerplay 1: Overs 0.1 - 6.0 (Mandatory - 37 runs, 1 wicket) Kolkata Knight Riders: 50 runs in 7.3 overs (46 balls), Extras 7 2nd Wicket: 50 runs in 38 balls (G Gambhir 25, JH Kallis 16, Ex 9) G Gambhir: 50 off 43 balls (4 x 4, 1 x 6) Kolkata Knight Riders: 100 runs in 14.6 overs (91 balls), Extras 12