Raina, Dhoni star in Chennai triumph

Chennai Super Kings 168 for 5 (Raina 57*, Dhoni 22, Fernando 2-23) beat Mumbai Indians 146 for 9 (Tendulkar 48, Pollard 27, Jakati 2-27) by 22 runs

MS Dhoni has added another feather to his captaincy hat. It was he who started the turnaround against a formidable Mumbai Indians attack, his deputy Suresh Raina capitalised on two dropped catches to score a crucial fifty, and Chennai Super Kings defended with aggression, smartness and flair to win the third IPL. Chennai were struggling at 68 for 3 after 12 overs when Dhoni got into the act: 100 runs were added in the last eight, and Raina scored 44 at a strike-rate of 200 after the first drop. The win concluded a fourth consecutive one-sided knockout in the tournament.

Ever since R Ashwin started the defence with a maiden over, Mumbai never really threatened Chennai. Sachin Tendulkar, playing with a split webbing, played his least fluent innings of the tournament, scoring a laboured 48 off 45. Mumbai tried some strange moves: promotions for Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh bombed, and even at the fall of the fifth wicket, with 69 required off 31, Kieron Pollard was not the man making his way out of the dugout.

There were no problems with tactics for Chennai: they went with the old-fashioned approach of keeping wickets in hand, never mind the slow start, and with M Vijay breaking free, had reached a perfectly acceptable 40 for no loss at the end of Powerplay. Dilhara Fernando brought Mumbai back, removing Vijay with his split-finger slower ball in the eighth over. Pollard ended Matthew Hayden's 31-ball 17-run misery, and S Badrinath holed out in the 12th over.

Dhoni left alone the first ball he faced, was beaten by a legcutter after that, was almost bowled the next ball, and worked a single to end that testing Fernando over. Mumbai can file for lack of sufficient warning for what was to come next. The first ball Dhoni faced from Pollard he charged down and hit him into the second tier - with one hand. The next ball Pollard ran in and didn't let go, stares were exchanged, and Tendulkar rushed in to apologise to the batsman: it was the second time Pollard had done this in his 2.1 overs. Dhoni's bat spoke emphatically, though, with a punch for four to end the over.

Tendulkar was warned sufficiently by now: he had to bring Lasith Malinga, whose yorkers have been near perfect, back before he would have ideally liked to. Dhoni charged at him, converted one into a low full toss, and hit a boundary to extra cover.

Zaheer Khan was brought back in the next over. He produced a top edge that neither Fernando (running in from third man) nor Abhishek Nayar (running back from point) claimed. Salt was in ready supply for Zaheer's wound: out of nowhere Raina produced timing and a four and a six to take Chennai to 108 after 15 overs. In the over that followed, Pollard eked out a skier from Raina, which Zaheer dropped. The next ball Raina made room and lofted over extra cover for six. The ball after was hit to Tendulkar, and cannily they exposed his injured hand by stealing a second. And the next was slogged over midwicket for six. Mumbai needed a time-out to figure out what had hit them.

Fernando, three overs for 12 until then, bowled a poor last over to nearly double the tally. Malinga started the last over superbly: bat couldn't meet ball for the first four deliveries, and Albie Morkel was run out in panic. Then it came apart: five wides, followed by a length ball driven over extra cover, and some manic running, and they were chasing the biggest total in an IPL final.

A maiden over was not the best way to start for Mumbai, but losing Shikhar Dhawan in the second was even worse. The next 10 overs featured smart spin bowling, hustling fielders, run-out opportunities created, signs of desperation of Tendulkar, and eventually the wickets of Nayar and Harbhajan in the 12th over. With the required rate going past 12 an over, Tendulkar holed out to long-off, and Raina pulled off a blinder, running in from deep midwicket, to send back Saurabh Tiwary. To everybody's surprise, JP Duminy walked out, and by the time he walked back, he had left Mumbai 55 to get in three overs.

Pollard made a match out of this too: taking 22 runs off Bollinger's 18th over. Morkel bowled a tight 19th over, with a long-off, and a mid-off up in the circle and so straight it was almost behind him. Pollard hit a catch to him: it just highlighted which captain had got it right on the night.

James Franklin hundred sets up Gloucestershire win

Gloucestershire 230 for 5 beat Derbyshire by 51 runs James Franklin's first one-day century inspired Gloucestershire Gladiators to a 51-run win over Derbyshire Falcons in the opening Clydesdale Bank 40 fixture at Bristol.

The New Zealand all-rounder responded to his new position as opener by hitting 133 off 121 balls, with 10 fours and three sixes, as his side ran up 230 for 5 after losing the toss. Alex Gidman (35) and Chris Taylor (32) offered good support.

Steve Kirby (3 for 44) then took two early wickets to reduce Derbyshire to 31 for 2 and, despite 37 from Chris Rogers and 41 from John Sadler, the visitors were restricted to 179 all out. It was an important win for Gloucestershire, beaten at home in their first two County Championship games of the season. Batting frailty in those matches led to the experiment of promoting Franklin up the order and he responded with a superbly-paced innings.

Overcoming the early loss of Jonathan Batty and Hamish Marshall, the elegant left-hander added 89 in 17 overs with Gidman and 70 in 10 overs with Taylor. Franklin owed his hundred to Taylor's quick thinking. On 95 he would have been run out had his partner not sacrificed himself by crossing before bowler Tom Lungley's throw hit the stumps.

Soon afterwards the Kiwi reached three figures off 104 balls. Surprisingly for an international player of his pedigree, it was the first time he had done so in any one-day competition at home or in England. Franklin's three sixes were all hit straight down the ground.

Tim Groenewald was the pick of the Derbyshire attack conceding 37 runs from his eight overs. After Kirby's double strike, Rogers and Greg Smith put on 47 in 11 overs for the Falcons third wicket before Smith (28) was caught at the second attempt by wicketkeeper Batty off Gidman.

There was still hope for Derbyshire at 103 for 3. But then Garry Park, on 13, carelessly swung off-spinner Taylor's first ball of the game down the throat of Steve Snell at deep mid-wicket. The key wicket of Rogers followed when he had a swing at Franklin and skied a steepling catch to Batty. At 107 for 5, the Falcons were suddenly staring down the barrel.

Sadler ensured their total would reach respectability by being last man out, having hit his 41 off 34 balls, but it was always in a losing cause. He became Kirby's third victim, while Anthony Ireland and Taylor claimed two each.

Somerset ease to 38-run win

Somerset 224 for 5 (39 overs) beat Glamorgan 186 by 38 runs Half-centuries from Nick Compton and James Hildreth were enough to help Somerset open their Clydesdale Bank 40 account with a 38-run win over Glamorgan at the Swalec Stadium. When Somerset defended their 224 for 5 from their 39 overs they were indebted to Alfonso Thomas, who took three for 27 in 7.1 overs and was also responsible for a key run out and a catch as Glamorgan were dismissed for 186 with 11 balls remaining.

Thomas bowled the dangerous Mark Cosgrove, who hit 31 from 21 balls, and then caught Tom Maynard, who had given Glamorgan hope with 48 from 59 balls including two big sixes. After winning the toss, Somerset's final score was rather better than they might have hoped for when they were reduced to 21 for 2 despite winning the toss.

David Harrison claimed both wickets, dismissing Arul Suppiah leg before for a first-ball duck with only the fifth delivery of the contest. And Harrison also claimed the prize scalp of Marcus Trescothick, who edged a short ball behind. But after that Compton, the former Middlesex batsman who had scored a one-day century at the same ground last season, launched a positive recovery helped when he took three fours from one David Brown over.

He also hit a six off Chris Ashling over mid-wicket before he lost Zander de Bruyn as Somerset slipped to 83 for 3 at the halfway mark of the innings. Compton went on to his fifty from 59 balls and looked solid enough until he went leg before as Somerset reached 123 for four in the 26th over.

The positive Peter Trego showed his ability of accumulating quick runs but was dismissed giving Jamie Dalrymple a high catch running in from extra cover. And as Hildreth pressed the accelerator Ashling was dispatched for a second six, and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler also claimed a maximum off Harrison. Hildreth finished unbeaten on 68 from 59 balls.

In reply Glamorgan were not helped when the positive Cosgrove stepped back and was bowled by Thomas's first ball and two overs later Thomas ran out Jamie Dalrymple who was called through for a suicidal single by Gareth Rees.

That put Glamorgan on the back foot from which they never recovered despite a good effort from Maynard, Brown, 28 off 22 balls on debut for his new county, and Mark Wallace.Ben Phillips finished with 3 for 26 from his eight overs including the wickets of Brown and Wallace.

Chennai topple leaders Mumbai

Chennai Super Kings 165 for 4 (Hayden 35, Pollard 2-27) beat Mumbai Indians 141 for 9 (Tendulkar 45) by 24 runs

Chennai Super Kings completed a sweep of their three-match home leg after the Mumbai Indians' batting fell apart in a rash of poor strokes following Sachin Tendulkar's retirement due to dehydration. On a track where 467 runs were plundered three days ago, boundaries were hard to come by and, despite being hampered by dew, Chennai easily defended their moderate total.

Tendulkar was on his haunches and breathing heavily as early as the fourth over of the chase. However, he and Shikhar Dhawan provided their customary solid start, hitting a four an over in the Powerplay to take Mumbai to 46 for 0. Dhawan chopped on Thilan Thushara's first delivery, but Mumbai progressed smoothly, if slowly, to 62 after nine overs when Tendulkar decided to retire.

After looking in control of the match till then, Mumbai imploded, losing a wicket in each of the next six overs. Ambati Rayudu was the first to go, stumped after tearing out of the crease and missing when looking to loft a short ball from Suresh Raina. When Chennai celebrated, Rayudu practised the stroke that would have served him better, a cut.

The potentially explosive Trinidad pair of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard have done little of note with the bat all tournament, and the trend continued at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Both looked to launch the ball into the crowds beyond the sightscreen but got more height than distance on their strokes, and a pair of well-held catches sent them on their way.

Rayudu sets up comprehensive win for Mumbai

Mumbai Indians 178 for 5 (Rayudu 55*, Tiwary 44, Ojha 3-26) beat Deccan Chargers 115 (Zaheer 2-10, Harbhajan 2-16, Pollard 2-26, McLaren 2-28) by 63 runs

Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary once again outshone a glittering batting line-up to give Mumbai Indians a big total, which their bowlers defended smartly and comprehensively. The two added 65 in 7.4 overs for the fourth wicket to resurrect an innings that threatened to come undone, Rayudu went on to register his second fifty of the tournament and provide Mumbai a big finish.

In three overs, Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma had brought Mumbai down from 53 for 0 to 62 for 3, but Deccan Chargers' fielders and death bowlers refused to play ball, dropping Tiwary twice, and going for 64 in the last five.

By the time Ojha was introduced in the seventh over, Sachin Tendulkar, along with Shikhar Dhawan, had scored quick risk-free runs as if it was everyday business. On a pitch assisting spinners - even Andrew Symonds bowled offbreaks from a long run - the real test would come against spin.

Dhawan stepped out to the first delivery from Ojha, found himself short of the pitch of the ball, and was stumped. In the next over, Rahul got Tendulkar with a slider, perhaps the first time he bowled to the batsman. In the next over, Ojha set Dwayne Bravo up with two big flighted offbreaks, both slow through the air, both teasing him, asking him to play the extravagant flick. The third ball was the quick arm ball, Bravo was slow, and the middle stump was no more.

It seemed that finally Kieron Pollard, yet to announce himself in the IPL, would have to bat in a pressure situation. Tiwary and Rayudu, though, had other ideas. They started off consolidating, and Rayudu's placement meant they didn't stagnate, recovering to 90 in 13 overs.

The 14th over proved to be crucial: Rahul came back for a return spell and should have had Tiwary twice. One of the chances went for a six, parried by Herschelle Gibbs, who was a few yards in from the boundary at long-on. The other, a low one to point, was dropped by Monish Mishra. Between those two deliveries came a hefty slog-sweep for another six. Insult and injury were having a round table.

Sparkling Ganguly stars in vital Kolkata victory

Kolkata Knight Riders 181 for 6 (Ganguly 88, Hussey 31, Symonds 2-26, Jaskaran 2-18) beat Deccan Chargers 157 for 5 (Gibbs 50, Symonds 45) by 24 runsInspired by their captain and urged on by the cauldron that is the Eden Gardens, Kolkata Knight Riders roared back into the competition with a clinical win over Deccan Chargers. A splendid 88 from Ganguly, who with David Hussey led Kolkata's revival, propelled the home side to a formidable total and the bowlers struck telling blows across Deccan's two-faced chase that petered out tamely. At the halfway stage of their innings Kolkata had 80 on the board, but the last five overs yielded 65 runs to furrow Adam Gilchrist's brow. In stark contrast, Deccan managed just two boundaries in the last six overs and after Shane Bond bowled four consecutive dot balls in the penultimate over the last six deliveries were but a formality. Deccan's nightmare was best summed up by the plight of their captain, Gilchrist, who missed two stumpings and was then knocked over for just nine.

For any Ganguly fan down the years, the man's innings would have warmed the heart. Ganguly had been under the scanner for his sluggish scoring, but it was he and Hussey who added 78 in a steady 7.3 overs after Kolkata were struggling at 68 for 3. From the time he put away the first ball of the game away to the boundary off his hips, and cut the third one past point, Ganguly looked the best he's been this year. But once again Kolkata had failed to make a strong start, with Chris Gayle and Cheteshwar Pujara failing to make an impression. Gayle was utterly clueless about a gentle offcutter from Andrew Symonds that he lobbed high in the air to long-off. Pujara played three classy boundaries but was undone by the slowness of the track, becoming Symonds' second victim. Despite some wayward bowling, Deccan had kept Kolkata to 46 for 2 after the Powerplays.

Ganguly broke the shackles against Kemar Roach with a lovely lofted six over mid-on, judging the length and hitting on the rise, and followed up next ball with a delicate dab to third man for four. He then played a lovely steer for four, timing Rohit's offspin expertly between a strong off-side field.

England Captain hundred seals 2-0 series win

England 496 and 209 for 1 (Cook 109*, Pietersen 74*) beat Bangladesh 419 and 285 (Shakib 96, Tamin 52, Tredwell 4-82) by nine wickets

What was at times a fluctuating contest turned into a comfortable victory for England as Alastair Cook finished his first tour in charge with a controlled, unbeaten 109 and Kevin Pietersen continued his return to form with a 74 to complete a nine-wicket victory and a clean sweep. England remain the only team to have an unbeaten record against Bangladesh, but have been made to work hard for their success by a home side that showed signs of development but still frustrated with fundamental mistakes.

It was particularly satisfying for Cook to guide his side home with his 12th Test hundred, having copped plenty of criticism for some naive captaincy through the tour. It was, as ever, more efficient than spectacular, as he picked off the generous offerings from a tiring Bangladesh attack. His toe-ended cut to bring up three figures and slog-sweep through midwicket to seal the result were both fitting as he proved captaincy would not affect his dogged batting.

Before a ball had been bowled on this tour Cook was left out of England's preliminary Twenty20 squad, but in every match since he's shown how his game has developed. Adding a touch of adventure to his steely temperament he ended as the leading scorer in the series after making a career-best 173 in the first Test and demonstrated an authority that had been missing during his struggle form form last year.

Needing 209 at almost four an over after Shakib Al Hasan's fighting 96 kept England in the field until after lunch, Bangladesh had a chance to squeeze the visitors, but they couldn't muster the resolve. Shakib looked exhausted, having made 141 runs and bowled 66 overs in the game. He wondered around the field with his arms folded and, rather than open with himself, allowed Shafiul Islam and Abdul Razzak to gift England an easy start.

Mumbai Indians's Captain Tendulkar Seals Easy Win

Mumbai Indians 156 for 3 (Tendulkar 71*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 155 for 3 (Gayle 75, Zaheer 2-27) by seven wickets

A graceful Sachin Tendulkar fifty was the highlight of Mumbai Indians' convincing seven-wicket win, which was set up by the bowlers who stuck to a strategy and restricted Kolkata Knight Riders to an underwhelming score at the Brabourne Stadium. Chris Gayle boosted Kolkata with a steady fifty, but the visitors will look back at the night and feel they pushed the pedal too late, despite keeping so many wickets in hand.

This IPL has revealed effective strategies used by teams to keep the batsmen in check. The tactic of bowling short at the body has worked well for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and today, Mumbai persisted with firing yorkers on the leg stump, cramping the batsmen for room. It was best highlighted in a passage of play in the Kolkata innings where they batted 37 balls without a boundary. Sixty-two off the last six overs was an improvement, but about 15-20 runs short.

The Mumbai openers began the chase in fifth gear by racing to 24 off two overs, all off boundaries. Shikhar Dhawan dented Shane Bond's confidence by smashing three boundaries off the first over, while Tendulkar gave Ishant Sharma a similar nightmare by fetching three more fours off the second, all crisply driven down the ground off the front foot.

Deccan Chargers's Symonds, Rohit star in 10-run win

Deccan Chargers 171 for 6 (Rohit 45, Symonds 35) beat Delhi Daredevils 161 for 9 (Warner 57, Karthik 46, Symonds 3-21) by ten runs

Andrew Symonds starred in an impressive all-round effort, racing to 35 and picking up three wickets, to help Deccan Chargers achieve their third consecutive victory in the IPL - a result in contrast to Delhi Daredevils' run in the competition, as they slipped to their third defeat in as many games despite a counter-attack from captain Dinesh Karthik. Symonds' effort was backed up by an attacking knock from Rohit Sharma, who burst into spotlight after a quiet start to the competition to take Deccan to a challenging score, which proved just about adequate for them to continue their winning ways.

Deccan will look back at three stages where they came up trumps to snatch the game. They ensured the task of posting a competitive total was achieved, as Rohit and T Suman added 60 in quick time after three threatening innings by Deccan's overseas batsmen - Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs and Symonds - had been cut short by timely changes in bowling; they fought back in the middle overs after David Warner and AB de Villiers had combined to give Delhi a strong foundation for a successful chase; and they saw off a late scare from Karthik, who blasted 46 off 27. Symonds, bowling seam-up, bagged two wickets, including Karthik, off successive balls in the penultimate over to help seal a tight win.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Set Up Comprehensive Win

R Vinay Kumar removed Sachin Tendulkar, Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu in one over to turn what had been a cat-and-mouse game until then, unmistakably Royal Challengers' way, also taking them to the top of the table. He benefited in part from the pressure created by his team-mates' smart swing bowling, changes of pace, bouncers to Indian batsmen, and aggressive spin bowling by Anil Kumble. It was a fitting reversal of roles for a man used to being among the top wicket-takers in Indian domestic cricket, and then watching others steal the spotlight - not the least when his state-mate Abhimanyu Mithun made his international debut ahead of him after just one season of impressive numbers.

There was no role reversal for Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey, though, who added 50-plus for the first wicket for the third time in a row to scythe through the target without breaking a sweat. Kallis tightened the orange cap around his head, taking his tournament tally to 264 undefeated runs, but Pandey missed a fifty after a good start for the third time in a row.

The Bangalore openers will be the first ones to concede that the night belonged to their bowlers. Praveen Kumar and Dale Steyn laid the foundation by controlling the rampaging batting line-up that had scored 200-plus in both their previous matches. Praveen, with his swing either side in his first over, sent the message that scoring wouldn't be that easy against this attack, and Steyn in his first removed Sanath Jayasuriya with a quick outswinger.

Finally Rajasthan seal maiden win

Finally, Rajasthan clicked as a unit and won a game. It was a slow wicket, perhaps one of the slowest tracks in this IPL, and Rajasthan, whose batsmen were harassed on bouncier pitches in this tournament so far, immediately looked more at home. Abhishek Jhunjhunwala led with a serene 45 to ensure Rajasthan capitalised on a solid start to end up with a very competitive 168, a total which they defended with a disciplined show from their spinners.

Kolkata didn't help their cause by a poor batting effort in the chase. Keeping wickets in hand is a sound ploy of course but they struggled to score runs and allowed the pressure to build up. Brad Hodge was the guiltiest of the lot. It might seem harsh for he scored almost a run-a-ball 36, but he never accelerated and allowed the chase to meander along. Hodge's approach was even stranger, considering Angelo Mathews and Owais Shah were cooling their heels in the dressing room. Even when he was well-settled, he waited for the new batsmen to attack, which was always going to be difficult on this slow track which aided the spinners. And Sourav Ganguly, too, struggled today though unlike Hodge, he tried to go for the big shots but could rarely find his timing. It might have been a plan that Hodge would drop anchor and the others hit around him but he never adapted to the changing demands of the chase.