Delhi Capital’s aggressive batting resulted in a 17-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad. With this, Delhi has entered the IPL final for the first time.

Man of the match Marcus Stoinis’ all-round performance (38 off 27 balls and 3/26) fashioned Delhi’s win to a large extent.

Delhi won the toss and opted to bat first. Openers Stoinis and Shikhar Dhawan (78 off 50) posted an 86-run first-wicket stand in 8.2 overs. Shimron Hetmyer (42 off 22) provided the finishing touches to make a total of 189/3 in 20 overs. Hyderabad’s fielding was sloppy and cost it runs.

Chasing 190, Hyderabad lost early wickets. Captain David Warner’s wicket fell in the second over. Kane Williamson (67 off 45) provided the lone support. SRH was restricted to 172 for 8 as Kagiso Rabada claimed 4 scalps for 29 and Stoinis three, including the wicket of Williamson.

The final will be played in Dubai at 6 pm on November 10.

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The 23-year-old Ruturaj Gaekwad once again became the top performer of Chennai Super Kings as they wrested a nine-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab in the 53rd match in Abu Dhabi and finished their IPL 2020 campaign in style.

It was Ruturaj Gaikwad’s third consecutive fifty and he was unbeaten with 62 off 49 deliveries. Chasing 154, Chennai had Gaekwad and Faf du Plessis (48) giving the team a flying start with an 82-run stand for the opening wicket. Later, Ambati Rayudu (30 not out) helped young Gaekwad finish the job with seven balls to spare.

Earlier, CSK won the toss and put KXIP to bat first. Punjab went through a batting collapse after a good start. Deepak Hooda’s unbeaten 62 off 39 balls gave KXIP a late push to finish with 153/6.

CSK’s Lungi Ngidi had commendable bowling figures of 3/39 in four overs. He removed Punjab openers KL Rahul (29) and Mayank Agarwal (26) and later James Neesham (2). Shardul Thakur (1/27), Imran Tahir (1/24) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/17) picked up a wicket each.

The loss has spoiled Punjab’s dreams of making it to the play-offs as they have finished their campaign with only 12 points.

Meanwhile, CSK captain MS Dhoni has stated that he will not be retiring from IPL and will return the next season. Players from different teams were seen collecting a signed MS Dhoni jersey from him almost after every game in the second half of the Indian Premier League.

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Ishan Kishan’s unbeaten 72 (47 balls) helped give Mumbai Indians a comfortable nine-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals, in the in the 51st match at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on October 30. Delhi badly needed a win to ensure their last-four spot in IPL 2020.

Chasing a target of 111, Kishan and Quinton de Kock put together 68 for the first wicket. Anrich Nortje (1/25) removed de Kock in the 11th over. Man of the match Ishan guided MI to victory with 34 balls to spare.

Put into bat earlier, Shreyas Iyer-led Delhi were restricted to 110 for 9 in 20 overs with Trent Boult (3-21) and Jasprit Bumrah (3-17) wreaking havoc on the DC batting lineup. Boult claimed the wickets of Shikhar Dhawan (0), Prithvi Shaw (10) and Ravichandran Ashwin (12). Bumrah got the Purple Cap after claiming the wickets of Rishabh Pant (21), Marcus Stoinis (2) and Harshal Patel (5). Nathan Coulter-Nile (1/14) and Rahul Chahar (1/24) took a wicket each.

It is Delhi’s fourth straight loss, but they can still grab a playoff spot if they beat Royals Challengers Bangalore in their last game.

Sunrisers seal a five-wicket win over RCB

Sunrisers Hyderabad bowlers helped gain a five-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the evening match of the day. The win took them to fourth spot in the table.

West Indies Test captain Jason Holder’s three sixes gave SRH the edge as they chased the modest target of 121. Holder also took 2/27 from his four overs.

After Sunrisers lost captain David Warner to Washington Sundar cheaply, Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey put a 50-plus partnership for the second wicket. The fall of Saha (to Yuzvendra Chahal’s bowling) and Kane Williamson to Isuru Udana put SRH under some pressure.

Earlier, Sandeep Sharma took the wickets of Devdutt Padikkal and the in-form Virat Kohli cheaply. It was the seventh time in IPL that Sharma picked up Kohli’s wicket. Young Josh Philippe was the highest scorer for his team with 32 off 31 balls. Rashid Khan picked up his first wicket getting Josh Philippe out, soon after AB de Villiers fell to Shahbaz Nadeem.

Rashid was economic as usual with figures of 4-0-24-1, while Sandeep and Jason Holder claimed two wickets apiece.

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Rajasthan Royals scored a seven-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab in the 50th Dream 11 IPL match in Abu Dhabi on October 30 night.

KXIP firebrand Chris Gayle’s powerful 99 (63 balls), which gave Punjab to a formidable total of 185/4, went in vain as RR made four successful partnerships to chase the target. His 120-run second-wicket partnership with skipper KL Rahul (46 off 41) was the cornerstone of Punjab’s total.

Gayle reached his half-century off 28 balls. KXIP had an early blow when Jofra Archer dismissed opening batsman Mandeep Singh striking in his first over.

RR’s chase saw Ben Stokes giving a good start with a half century that put 60 runs on the board before the team lost their first wicket to Chris Jordan. Sanju Samson (48 off 25) added 51 with Robin Uthappa, and 34 with captain Steve Smith (31 off 20) before he was run out. Jos Buttler gave the finishing touches for the victory with an unbeaten 41-run stand with Smith. Chris Jordan bowled a wide which sealed the RR win.

Stokes was declared Man of the Match (2/32 and 50 off 26).Rajasthan has a slim chance of qualifying to the last four with this win. At No. 4 on the table, Punjab’s chances are unaffected by the loss (12 points from 13 matches).

Chris Gayle was fined 10% of his match fee for beaching IPL’s Code of Conduct when he threw his bat in frustration after being dismissed for 99 by Jofra Archer.

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An unbeaten innings by Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar helped Sunrisers Hyderabad register an eight-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in the October 22 match in Dubai.

SRH won the toss and elected to field first. West Indies Test captain Jason Holder registered his best IPL bowling figures – 3/33 – to restrict Rajasthan Royals to 154 for 6 in 20 overs.

Playing his first match of the season, Holder dismissed Sanju Samson (36) and then skipper Steve Smith (19) and Riyan Parag (20) on consecutive deliveries. He also got Robin Uthappa (19) run out in the fourth over. From 74 for one after 10 overs, Royals slumped to a total that was about 15-20 runs short.

Pursuing a 155-run target, Pandey (83* off 47 balls, four fours, eight sixes) and Vijay Shankar (52*, four fours) stitched a 140-run third wicket partnership to cross the total with 11 balls to spare. Shankar’s bowling was top class too, yielding just 15 runs in his three overs and grabbing the wicket of Jos Buttler (9). Rashid Khan (1/20) took the wicket of Ben Stokes (30).

Sunrisers had a disastrous start with Jofra Archer felling openers David Warner (4) and Jonny Bairstow (10). Hyderabad was down 16 for two in two overs till the rescue act came from Pandey and Shankar.

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Royal Challengers Bangalore routed Kolkata Knight Riders in the 39th match in Abu Dhabi on October 21 piggyriding on Mohammed Siraj’s brilliant spell of three wickets for the loss of 8 runs. Kolkata could make only 84 for 8, the lowest total of the season, despite winning the toss and batting first. Bangalore easily chased the target at the loss of two wickets.

Right-arm pacer Siraj who replaced Shahbaz Ahmed in the team took three wickets in consecutive overs. He dismissed Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana in his first over and then Tom Banton in his second. He also had two consecutive maiden overs, thus creating a history in the IPL.

This was followed by leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal’s onslaught destroying Kolkata batting line-up beyond repair. Washington Sundar (1 for 14) and Chahal (2 for 15) destroyed KKR middle order.

Captain Eoin Morgan (30 runs off 34 balls) alone made a valiant attempt to save the innings for KKR.

Bangalore’s chase was aided by Devdutt Padikkal (25 off 17). Virat Kohli (18 off 17) and Gurkeerat Singh Mann (21 off 26) remained unbeaten to ensure an easy 8-wicket win for RCB with 39 balls to spare.

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Rajasthan Royals won against Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets in an exciting match in Dubai on October 11. Royals now have three wins from their seven matches.

The first game of the day saw an 85-run sixth wicket partnership between Riyan Parag and Rahul Tewatia that clinched the match for RR. Parag took 42 off 26 balls played the winning shot – a six with one ball remaining – while Tewatia who smashed 45 off 28 balls won the man of the match award. Tewatia turned the match in Rajasthan’s favour by hitting Rashid Khan for three successive fours in the 18th over. They finished the game with a score of 163/5.

Chasing 159 on a slow wicket, Royals did not seem to have much chance after they lost Ben Stokes, Steve Smith and Jos Buttler with just 26 runs on the board. It then recovered from 78-5 to chase down Hyderabad’s 158-4 claiming victory from the jaws of defeat.

Parag, 18, who hails from Assam, celebrated with an impromptu ‘bihu’ jig as he hit the winning shot. Bihu is a traditional dance from Assam.

RR had made three changes to their playing XI – Ben Stokes, Riyan Parag and Robin Uthappa replaced Andrew Tye, Yashashwi Jaiswal and Mahipal Lomror. Sanju Samson playing his 100th IPL match scored 26 off 25 balls and took a brilliant catch.

Earlier, Sunrisers had won the toss and decided to bat. Captain David Warner scored 48 off 38 balls. Manish Pandey was the top-scorer with 54 off 44 deliveries, which was his 17th half century in IPL. Kane Williamson remained unbeaten on 22.

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Mumbai Indians registered a five-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals in Abu Dhabi on October 11 in the 27th match of the IPL season.

Chasing a 163-run target set by DC, Quinton de Kock (53 runs off 36 balls, 4×4, 3×6), Suryakumar Yadav (53 off 32) and Ishan Kishan (28 off 15) achieved the goal easily. Man of the match Quinton de Kock’s powerful shots gave MI a fine start. He also reached his second half century in IPL 2020. Yadav also hit his second fifty in a row.

Despite the Delhi bowling being helped by Ravichandran Ashwin and Kagiso Rabada taking key wickets, the target seemed like too little for the reigning champions who knocked off the last seven runs with two balls left.

Delhi won the toss and elected to bat, but the early dismissals of Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane was a setback. Skipper Shreyas Iyer took 42 off 33) had an 85-run third wicket stand with Shikhar Dhawan (69 off 52) to reach 162/4 in 20 overs.

MI’s solid batting line-up took them to 166/5 in 19.4 overs. MI has now replaced DC at the top of the table owing to better net run rate.

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After winning the toss, RCB elected to bat and put up a challenging 169 for four wickets against a stiff Chennai attack. Though skipper Kohli shone throughout, Devdutt Padikkal (33 off 34 balls) and Shivam Dube (22* off 14 balls) also presented good batting.

Chasing 170 for a win, the three-time champions ended at 132 for eight after 20 overs. Ambati Rayudu top scored with 42. Rayudu’s 64-run third wicket partnership with Narayan Jagadeesan (33) gave hope of a good chase but once they departed, the rest of the batting crumbled under the pressure. Dhoni, who has not been playing his best game, went out for 10.

RCB bowling attack has been largely steered by Yuzvendra Chahal (1/35) and Washington Sundar (2/16). Newcomer Chris Morris, who finished with 3/19, provided valuable support this time.
CSK has now lost five out of seven matches. CSK captain Dhoni admitted batting has become his team’s major worry in the IPL campaign, and there are “too many holes in the ship”. CSK has been dependent on openers Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis or Ambati Rayudu and Ravindra Jadeja, who cannot be expected to successfully anchor every chase in a long tournament.

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Kolkata Knight Riders registered a surprise 10-run victory over Chennai Super Kings at the IPL match in Abu Dhabi on October 7.

Chasing a target of 168, Chennai looked set to taste victory with Shane Watson (50 off 40 balls) and Ambati Rayudu (30 off 27) at the crease. However, Rayudu’s dismissal when the score was 99/1 in 12.1 overs set off a cascade of wickets from the Chennai side. Watson, who gave a sterling performance in the previous match, was the next to go.

Kolkata bowlers especially Sunil Narine put a brake on the Chennai innings. CSK failed to keep up with the required rate and could come up only with 157-5.

Earlier, Chennai bowlers had restricted Kolkata to 167/9. Dwayne Bravo picked up three wickets for CSK while Karn Sharma, Shardul Thakur and Sam Curran took two each.

New opener Rahul Tripathi (81 off 51 balls) earned the Player of the Match award.

KKR’s celebrity focus

Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has been in attendance at his team’s matches including at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. He watched alongside his son Aryan and daughter Suhana his team put up a commendable performance.

Meanwhile, there has been some speculations about KKR batsman Shubman Gill and Sachin Tendulkar’s daughter Sara, a 21-year-old graduate in medicine, being romantically entangled on account of her instagram posts praising his performance.

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Mumbai Indians registered their fourth successive victory in IPL 2020, in Abu Dhabi on October 6 as they inflicted a 57-run defeat on Rajasthan Royals.

MI won the toss and elected to bat. Player of the match Suryakumar Yadav hit an unbeaten 79 off 47 balls to give Mumbai Indians an imposing total of 193/4 in 20 overs. He was ably supported by captain Rohit Sharma (35 off 23 balls) and Hardik Pandya (30 not out off 19 balls).

Chasing the Mumbai total, Rajasthan lost three top-order batsmen in quick succession; while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson were out for a duck on Trent Boult’s fiery bowling, captain Steve Smith was felled by Jasprit Bumrah. Only Jos Buttler (70 off 44 balls) carried the fight for the Royals, slamming five sixes and four boundaries.

Jasprit Bumrah took four wickets while James Pattinson and Trent Boult picked two wickets each. Mumbai, which bowled out RR for 137, were also helped by two sensational catches – of the wickets of Mahipal Lomror and Jofra Archer by substitute Anukul Roy and Kieron Pollard respectively.

Rajasthan Royals which had picked up two wins in the first two games of IPL 2020 lost the next two against Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. RR’s strength is its top-order and its middle-order appears to be struggling.

RR could gain from the arrival of England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who missed the opening matches of this season because of personal reasons. Stokes reached the UAE on October 4, but did not play in the match against Mumbai Indians owing to COVID-19 protocols. Stokes has to undergo six days of isolation before he can join his Royals teammates on October 11 probably. He has to undergo COVID-19 test on Days 1, 3 and 6, and will be allowed if all the tests are negative.

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Three-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings registered a stupendous 10-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab in Dubai on October 4. In reply to Punjab’s 178/4, the men in yellow made 181/0 proving critics wrong.

Going by Chennai’s recent performances in chases, the match was not expected to go in its favour but CSK openers gave a rousing powerplay. Veterans Shane Watson (83 not out off 53 balls) and Faf du Plessis (83 off 53) produced the best first wicket partnership in IPL 2020 to script a magnificent victory for CSK, which had suffered a string of losses after the first win in this season.

Poor bowling added to Punjab’s woes as the Watson-Du Plessis partnership went berserk. Mohammad Shami and Sheldon Cottrell were unable to replicate their success in the opening spell and, except Ravi Bishnoi (yielding only 33 runs in his 4 overs), none of the Punjab bowlers looked like they could arrest the onslaught.

Punjab, which won the toss and elected to bat, made 178 runs helped by skipper KL Rahul’s 63 (52 balls) and Nicholas Pooran’s (33 off 17). However, Shardul Thakur’s brilliant bowling in the 18th over, when he took out Rahul and Pooran off successive deliveries, helped Chennai limit the KXIP total.

The Player of the Match title went to 39-year-old Shane Watson, who hit 11 boundaries and three sixes.

With a host of 30-plus players –, M.S. Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav and Ambati Rayudu – the CSK team has been nicknamed the ‘Dad’s army’.

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