Delhi crumble on crumbling Kotla pitch

Kings XI Punjab 112 for 3 (Jayawardene 38, Collingwood 2-19) beat Delhi Daredevils 111 (Irfan 3-24, Chawla 2-16) by seven wickets

If the batsmen were looking for trouble, boy, they came to the right place. The Feroz Shah Kotla track was back to its Champions League shenanigans, and Kings XI Punjab, having seen Delhi Daredevils fail to read its nature soon enough, kept their heads in what seemed a meagre chase on paper, also keeping alive their remotest of outside chance to make it to the semis. Only 21 boundaries were hit in 38.2 overs on a pitch that offered variable bounce and appreciable turn right from the first ball, and whose slowness made it hard to time shots.

The Punjab bowlers were smart and accurate, two of Delhi's big three were consumed by silly running, the others collapsed, and hence the below-par total. While Punjab were sensible in the chase, they couldn't create a comfortable gap between their run rate and the required rate until Yuvraj Singh hit a four and a six in the 14th over.

The nature of the pitch was not so apparent in the first four overs of the afternoon. Delhi had got off to another flier when madness struck: Gautam Gambhir and David Warner were run out within three balls of each other, and only 69 runs came in 15.5 overs after that. The spinners bowled 12 overs between them for 55 runs - four of them inside the Powerplay, and Juan Theron, the specialist pace bowler, was used only for two overs, that too at the death.

All-round Bangalore crush Kolkata

Royal Challengers Bangalore 162 for 3 (Dravid 52, Uthappa 50*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 160 for 9 (McCullum 45, Gayle 34, Vinay 3-23, Kallis 2-31) by seven wickets

Royal Challengers Bangalore were inspired by their bowlers and a delightful half-century from Rahul Dravid in a seven-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders that propelled them to second place in the points table. In front of a boisterous crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the teams served up an exciting encounter that, for much of its duration, retained the frenetic flow that Twenty20 was meant to provide. Kolkata's big names blazed with the bat but their performance was undermined by some crafty bowling in the middle overs. Bangalore's successful chase combined Dravid's conventional touch with Robin Uthappa's ruthless flourish to seal a morale-boosting victory and leave Kolkata struggling in the bottom three.

Anil Kumble's decision to field had been prompted by Bangalore's good track record while chasing at the Chinnaswamy and his batsmen didn't let him down. But the victory had been set up by a combined effort with the ball which redressed the damage caused by poor spells at the start of Kolkata's innings.

In conditions favouring swing and movement, Praveen Kumar and Dale Steyn had dragged the ball too short and provided much width that Sourav Ganguly and Chris Gayle dealt with harshly. Sixty-one runs came in the Powerplay, the highest for Kolkata this IPL, and they had got there through a series of cuts, pulls and drives that their opening pair used with relentless regularity. Jacques Kallis, too, bowled short and was slashed by Ganguly over third man and Kumble, expensive in his first over, was late-cut for four.

Suman, bowlers keep Deccan alive

Deccan Chargers 139 for 4 (Suman 55, Symonds 27*, Ashwin 2-13) beat Chennai Super Kings 138 for 8 (Raina 52, Harris 3-18) by six wickets

Deccan Chargers continued to climb up the points table by beating Chennai Super Kings comprehensively by six wickets at their "home" venue in Nagpur to draw level with Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders and the losing side. The win was set up by their bowlers, after MS Dhoni decided to bat on a scorching afternoon, who restricted Chennai to 138, allowing the batsmen to chase at a comfortable pace despite two early jolts and the sapping heat. Deccan struggled against spin initially, losing three wickets to the slow stuff, but rode on another fifty from T Suman and Andrew Symonds' cool head to seal victory with five balls to spare.

The only bit that really went right for Chennai was the toss, which Dhoni won and had little hesitation in choosing to bat. When Chennai accelerated from 21 after three overs to 55 for 1 from six it seemed a run-fest was on the cards. As it turned out, Chennai had little to celebrate thereafter. In the eighth over, M Vijay called for a suicidal second run and that momentary brain freeze changed the complexion of Chennai's innings. It was another example of the schizophrenic series he's had, with aborted starts amid some match-winning knocks, and from there Deccan never let the initiative slip.

From 65 for 2 in eight overs, Chennai slowed down to reach the half-way stage at 74 for 2 with Symonds and Pragyan Ojha keeping a check with stump-to-stump bowling. Chennai's predicament had been brought about by their batsmen's urge to dominate and as wickets fell around him, Suresh Raina began to improvise cleverly. He moved to leg to clip the ball fine and walked down the pitch to upset the bowlers, but also reined in his attacking instincts, knocking the ball in the gaps during the middle overs.

Sangakkara, Chawla prop up Punjab

Kings XI Punjab 158 for 4 (Sangakkara 56, Barath 33) beat Mumbai Indians 154 for 9 (Duminy 35, Chawla 3-24, Pathan 3-29) by six wickets

Mumbai Indians were just a win away from reaching the semi-final, but their progress hit a stumbling block following their second consecutive scratchy batting performance, this time against an inspired Kings XI Punjab in Mohali. Punjab were assisted by a slow pitch and a disciplined show by their bowlers who exploited it well to restrict Mumbai to an unsatisfactory 154. Piyush Chawla and Irfan Pathan took three wickets apiece to set up Punjab's win, which was achieved in the final over.

Kumar Sangakkara's half-century was constructed on a decent platform built by his openers, who had added 41 in quick time. A couple of late wickets gave Mumbai a narrow opening, but a second specialist spinner, or more slow-bowling options, could have resulted in a closer contest.

The spell which stamped Punjab's authority was Chawla's, who removed the big hitters in four overs to deliver his first convincing performance of the tournament. It took 11 games for Chawla to finally show up. In the ten games prior to this, he bled 55 runs per wicket at 8.33 an over, all for just five wickets. His selection for the ICC World Twenty20 ahead of the tournament's leading wicket-takers, Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha, flummoxed many. It took a long time coming, but for once, sixes didn't fly off his bowling and the batsmen treated him with a bit more respect.

He was fortunate to be bowling in conditions which suited him. Though the pitch didn't take much turn, the slowness assisted bowlers like him and Ramesh Powar, who bowled out their overs in one spell. Punjab captain Sangakkara realised that spin was the best option after the seamers got tonked by Ambati Rayudu.

Symonds and Suman keep Deccan alive

Deccan Chargers 186 for 3 (Suman 78*, Symonds 53*) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 184 for 6 (Kallis 68, Kohli 58, Ojha 2-24) by seven wickets

It was just another day at the office for Deccan Chargers until T Suman became their first Indian domestic cricketer to perform, guiding an improbable chase and keeping his team alive in the tournament. Good start with the ball, falling apart at the end - it was a familiar script until Suman wrote new lines, scoring 78 off 57 from No 3. Andrew Symonds, who had conceded 23 in the 17th over, facilitated a 21-run 17th over during the chase en route to 53 off 24 balls, as Deccan went about scoring more than 100 in the last 10 overs.

Deccan bowled well to have Royal Challengers Bangalore at 68 for 4 in the 11th over, but seemed to have forgotten how to bowl when they went for 92 runs in the last six. Once again, during the chase, Adam Gilchrist scored a quick thirty but failed to convert it into anything substantial.

Suman, however, had been promoted to No. 3 and Deccan had reached the 11th over by the time Gilchrist's 19-ball 32 ended. Gilchrist didn't get much strike, and Suman had put his share to good use, reaching 41 off 34. It wasn't the cleanest innings: stylish hits off length balls were offset by streaky boundaries off inside edges.

In the next over Rohit Sharma fell too, leaving Deccan with 90 to get off 50 balls. The turnaround started with a thick edge from Symonds, but he followed with a four off a yorker next ball. Suman followed suit, hitting Anil Kumble for a six to bring up his fifty in the next over, and 62 off 33 didn't read much worse than from where they started.

The streaky shots from Suman had disappeared by then, and he continued with a six off Vinay Kumar in the 16th over, but the symbolic moment was yet to come. Symonds had to make good for his bowling effort, and make good he did by thumping Praveen Kumar. An edge flew over the keeper, a slower ball was deposited over midwicket, and a yorker-gone-wrong hit into the sight screen. Forty-nine from 24 balls had become 28 off 18, and from there it was only a matter of avoiding the famous Deccan choke.

Suman took the lead, hitting Dale Steyn for four after he seemed to have found a good yorker rhythm. Symonds upset Kallis' rhythm when he missed the yorker by about a foot, and finished the game by hitting Vinay for a six and a four off the first two balls of the last over.

It should never have been that big a chase for Deccan. They had Bangalore struggling, but let them double their 14-over score, vindicating their reputation as the worst bowling side at the death, taking their tournament economy-rate in last six overs to 11.44 an over. Next-worst is 9.89.

Despite little support from Harmeet Singh, RP Singh and Mitchell Marsh, Ryan Harris had managed to keep Bangalore down to 46 for 1 at the end of the Powerplay. Harris went for just five in two of those overs. Ojha and Symonds followed Harris' good work with three wickets in three overs, including the massive ones of Robin Uthappa and Ross Taylor.

In the last six overs, though, Jacques Kallis and Virat Kohli went berserk in the absence of yorkers and abundance of length balls and hit six sixes and eight fours in the last six overs, as opposed to two sixes and seven fours in the first 14. Kallis reiterated his importance in the line-up with his sixth fifty of the tournament, and Kohli showed he could dabble in the power-hitting business too, going from 12 off 18 to 58 off 35. One of his sixes hit the roof at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, but by the end of the night their semi-final prospects - almost a certainty before the match started - had taken a hit.

Kolkata clinch hard-fought victory

Kolkata Knight Riders 181 for 3 (Ganguly 56, Mathews 46*, Gayle 40) beat Delhi Daredevils 167 for 8 (Sehwag 64, Gambhir 47, Mendis 2-22) by 14 runs

In stark contrast to the silence that accompanied the listless defence against Kings XI Punjab, the Eden Gardens faithful responded passionately to a charged performance from Kolkata Knight Riders, which derailed Delhi Daredevils' chase to secure an invaluable 14-run victory. At the heart of the turnaround was Sourav Ganguly, who scored a half-century to build a challenging total, after which he fielded like few believed he could: the direct hit that ran out Gautam Gambhir ended a threatening 99-run partnership and turned the game Kolkata's way.

The result took them level on 10 points with Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, the fourth-placed team.

It nearly didn't happen for Kolkata though. Virender Sehwag, who was reprieved on 7 when the umpire failed to hear or see an edge, threatened to deliver Delhi their seventh win. His partnership with Gambhir put Delhi on course and he completed a 34-ball half-century, his slowest in the IPL. It was greeted with silence by Eden Gardens. Delhi needed 48 off 32 balls with seven wickets in hand when Ajit Agarkar's inswinger crashed into Sehwag's stumps, and the slide had begun.

Ajantha Mendis, chosen ahead of Shane Bond because of a dry pitch, had Kedar Jadhav caught at cover - Ganguly jumping to intercept a hard drive - in the 17th over. The next, from left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla, was pivotal. He bowled Farveez Maharoof with one that pitched middle and hit off, before reacting athletically to run out Rajat Bhatia three balls later.

The decisive blow was struck by Ashok Dinda in the penultimate over when Dinesh Karthik, Kolkata's last threat, pulled to Brendon McCullum at midwicket. His exit left Delhi needing 30 off 10 balls, a task too hard for Daniel Vettori and Amit Mishra. It was fitting that Dinda landed the last blow, for he had struck the first during an astonishing opening over. He hurried David Warner with four skiddy deliveries, cramping him for room, before beating him with the fifth - a quick one that uprooted offstump before Warner had brought his bat down. Delhi knew then that they were in for a scrap.

Unlike Ganguly, who used the pace of Dinda, Agarkar and Angelo Mathews, Gambhir instructed his bowlers - from Maharoof to Rajat Bhatia - to take the pace of the ball. It didn't work immediately for Kolkata made their best score at the end of ten overs this season - 88 - and had all wickets intact.

Chris Gayle, who had scored 40 off 21, fell soon after though, missing a swipe against Bhatia, and Ganguly followed in similar fashion against Vettori. Brendon McCullum was run out cheaply too and Kolkata scored only 30 runs between overs 12 and 16 to reach 130 for 3.

Lumb assault knocks out Punjab

Rajasthan Royals 157 for 1 (Lumb 83, Ojha 44) beat Kings XI Punjab 153 for 6 (Jayawardene 44, Trivedi 2-20) by nine wickets

The Sawai Mansingh Stadium remained a fortress for Rajasthan Royals, who made it eight out of eight wins at the venue by bulldozing Kings XI Punjab with five overs remaining. Opener Michael Lumb pummelled 83 off 43 balls to deliver Rajasthan their third straight victory, which lifted them to joint second spot, an unlikely position for a team that was written off after starting with three defeats in a row.

Rajasthan sprinted to the highest total of the season in the first five overs (65), after Punjab had mucked about to gather the least runs in the final five overs (27), reflecting the gulf between the two sides. Punjab reverted to being the bumbling bunch that has been entrenched at the bottom of the table all season: the batting lost fizz after a bubbly start, the fielding was the usual butter-fingered effort, and the bowling lacked inspiration.

Mahela Jayawardene top-scored again, and Yuvraj Singh briefly showed off his awesome hitting, but with the rest failing to contribute anything substantial Punjab ended up with an inadequate total.

The variety of sweeps against the spinners and the trademark carves behind point off the quicks were the highlight of Jayawardene's innings, in which only seven runs were scored in front of the wicket. He had some luck as well, a leading edge six to third man off Aditya Dole, reprieved when Shane Warne reacted slowly to a caught-and-bowled chance and dropped by Dole at deep square leg.

With Kumar Sangakkara's poor tournament continuing, it was Yuvraj who provided some support for him. Warne was at his bewitching best in the previous game, but had no answer to Yuvraj today. First, Yuvraj muscled him over midwicket for a six, and two overs later clobbered two flat sixes and a four to take 24 runs off eight balls against the Rajasthan captain.

The match turned in the next over from Dole: he had Yuvraj dragging a short ball onto the stumps and Jayawardene edged to a wide slip. That sucked all the momentum out of the Punjab innings, and they never recovered.