Deccan Chargers Vs Kings XI Punjab

Wow! What a match!! What a thriller of a match!

As the IPL is reaching its final stages we are seeing much more close matches. All the matches coming down to the wire, the last over, the last ball.. it just makes IPL so much more interesting to watch! With the semifinal spots so wide open, all the teams are now getting desparate. And what entertainment this is providing the fans!

Today's match between Deccan Chargers & Kings XI was no exception. The Kings had to win to keep their hopes alive in the tournament. For Deccans a win would have sealed their spot in the semis.

The match had everything. And finally it took the Kings two quick wickets from Pawar, another hat-trick from Yuvi & a fantastic last over from Pathan to snatch a win in the last ball of the match.

Like yesterday, it was left to Rohit Sharma to bring Deccans to victory. And he almost did so.. two days in a row. The over of Mota set the tone & Sharma brought it to 11 of the last 6. And when he hit a four in the last over, it was all but over for the Kings. But guess it was too much to ask of Sharma two days in a row. The Deccans faltered and eventually lost by one run!

Earlier in the day, Yuvi took his second hat-trick of the tournament. What a feat. And he took the wickets of Gibbs, Symo & Rao. Three biggies!!! He must be seriously thinking of turning into a full time spinner after his horrible performance with the bat!

Speaking of wickets, what was the third umpire thinking when he gave symo out? Was he drunk? Is he blind? How could anyone not see the bails fall off? The wicket probably cost Deccans the match.

Kings still have a chance to make it to the semis. They have one more match left with Chennai & they will have to win it too. Deccans are almost there in the semis, but they need one more win to seal their spot.

With the tournament still wide open, there are still much more fireworks expected!!!

Its Do or Die!!!

Its a do or die match for Mumbai. They have to win this if they want to stay alive in the tournament. They have to get everything right today to win against Chennai who are really looking good lately.

As i have been pointing out lately, Mumbai is really messing up with their batting line-up. And they did so today also. Whoever is the decision maker on the batting line-up, I wanna ask what's the logic behind not opening with Jayasurya & Sachin in every match? They are the regular openers and are the best batsmen of the team. Still...

The start as usual was not good. Bravo falling early. Jayasurya though was looking good. But then just as he was looking to open up, he was sent back by Tyagi. Tendulkar was not looking comfortable during his brief stay at the crease. Its upto Duminy & Nayar now. They are playing good.

With two more overs to go, Mumbai should try for atleast 20 more runs. Anything less than 150 will be easy for Chennai.

How did Mumbai lose?

How could Mumbai lose it from there?

Guess it was 6 runs required from 9 balls with four wickets in hand. Nayar was going great guns!! But still !!!!

What a match it was... Amazing last over from Munaf sealed it for RR's. But the batting from MI were also pathetic. Nayar coming down the track unneccesarily when only 6 runs were required. And three wickets in the last over for just one run!! Two of them run outs!!! Really silly from Mumbai.

But it all started with the Mumbai batting line up.. Sending Bravo & Takawale ahead of Sachin & Jayasurya was a sheer blunder. 3 top wickets were royally wasted by Mumbai.

If Mumbai has to have any hopes of reaching the semis now ( I don't know whether they have any left or not), they will have to get their batting line up right. Sachin & Jayasurya to open. Rahane at # 3, Duminy at 4 followed by Bravo & Nayar. Hope Mumbai doesn't mess it up again tomorrow!!

Why Mumbai... Why?

Mumbai, it seems, is hell bent on screwing what-so-ever chances it has of making it to the semis.

You have a certain Mr. Sanath Jayasurya in your team. You have a certain Mr. Sachin Tendulkar in your team. Which team in this whole world would then open with Dwayne Bravo & some Yogesh Takawale? It might have worked once against Punjab.. but that doesn't mean it will every time.

Guess if Mumbai is remotely thinking of going through to the semis, then they will have to stick to their original batting order.

Yusuf Pathan at #3?

Is 3 or 4 the correct position for Yusuf Pathan?

I really don't think so.. Yusuf Pathan is a dasher. He can come in and hit some really big shots. He can help you with 20-25 odd runs in a couple of overs. But not more than that. Yusuf hence should always be sent lower down the order to play the last few overs. Yusuf is a hitter & not a batsman. And he should be treated like one. I feel Warne & RR are doing a big mistake by sending him at the top again & again.

What's wrong Mumbai???

What was Bravo doing coming in at 2?

You have Sanath Jayasurya in your team. You have Sachin Tenculkar in your team. And you send Dwayne Bravo to open for you? Something is terribly wrong!!!!

Mumbai has been winning their matches when they have a proper batting line-up. And with the match almost in their bag after a fantastic performance with the ball, such a move is nothing but losing from the jaws of victory.

Ironically, as I write this Bravo just hits Appam for a massive SIX!!! What a shot!!!! And another one!!!! Whoa!!!

What does KKR do?

What does KKR do now?

They scored 173, their best score byfar in this IPL.

Their captain finally came good and played like we are used to seeing him.

They even got some good BRC wickets early on.

How could they still lose?

Well... nothing is going right for KKR this season. They have played some horrible cricket. They have lost some close matches which could have gone either way. There has been some controversies surrounding them. But today, when they finally looked like winning a match, something horribly went wrong.

With todays loss, KKR has completely lost it this year. I hope someone just tells them to go.