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19 March 2024

IPL 7 T20 schedule, points table, records

Published
By Vicky Kapur

KXIP face KKR in IPL 7 finale tonight

Qualifier 2 match analysis: Kings XI Punjab faced Chennai Super Kings in the battle of the kings, which was a cracker of a match. CSK won the toss and decided to put the batting might of KXIP to test. Turned out to be a big mistake. Thanks to Virender Sehwag's colossal 122 off 58 deliveries (highest IPL 7 score so far), KXIP set a massive target of 227 for Chennai to get in 20 overs. CSK fumbled right at the start, losing Francois du Plessis on the second ball of their innings. But with Raina’s blistering 87 off 25 deliveries, the men in yellow initially made a mockery of the KXIP total, making 100 in the first 6 overs. That is, and we suspect will remain for a while, an IPL record. Raina's strike-rate of 348 is, for now, the highest for any batsman in T20 history (in an innings of at least 50 runs).

But just when Raina seemed on track to make the fastest IPL hundred (that record is held by Chris Gayle, who fired a 30-ball ton last year), Brendon McCullum got his partner Raina run out although credit must go to KXIP skipper George Bailey who fired in a remarkably accurate throw to dismiss the on-fire Raina. In the next six overs, CSK managed just 40 runs, and in the next 6, they managed just 33 as the team in yellow kept losing wickets in their attempt to meet the required run-rate set by the men in red.

CSK needed 64 runs off the final 4 overs, which was a big ask, but with MS Dhoni still on the crease, it wasn’t impossible. However, KXIP bowling rose to the occasion and over number 17th went for just 4 runs, followed by just 6 runs coming off the 18th over. The CSK skipper got a lifeline in the 18th over when Mitchell Johnson was caught overstepping the line when he clean-bowled MS Dhoni. But with just 14 runs off the penultimate over, it became a statistical impossibility for CSK to score 40 off the last six deliveries. The team that scored a thumping 100 in the first 6 overs managed just 102 in the remaining 14 overs, and that was what led to their downfall. For the record, this is only the second time CSK will not be playing in the finals, with the other occasion being in 2009. And it will be the first time KXIP have progressed to IPL finals.

Finals (June 1, Bengaluru): Finals will be between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab.

Cricket remains a game of glorious uncertainties, and there's nothing better than T20 in general and IPL in particular that highlights that fact.

Updated batting stats with Top 5 Orange Cap contenders: 

Position

Batsman

Team

Runs

1

Robin Uthappa

Kolkata Knight Riders

655

2

Dwayne Smith

Chennai Super Kings

566

3

Glenn Maxwell

Kings XI Punjab

552

4

David Warner

Sunrisers Hyderabad

528

5

Suresh Raina

Chennai Super Kings

523

*Batting Stats updated as of 7pm (UAE Time) May 31, 2014
 
Updated bowling stats with Top 5 Purple Cap contenders:
 

Position

Bowler

Team

Wkts

1

Mohit Sharma

Chennai Super Kings

23

2

Sunil Narine

Kolkata Knight Riders

20

3

Bhuvneshwar Kumar 

Sunrisers Hyderabad

20

4

Ravindra Jadeja

Chennai Super Kings

19

5

Sandeep Sharma

Kings XI Punjab

18

*Bowling Stats updated as of 7pm (UAE Time) May 31, 2014
 
Snappy Stats: Batting
 
Longest Six: 102 metres; Smashed by David Miller of KIngs XI Punjab; in Bengaluru versus Royal Challengers Bangalore; on May 9
 
Maximum Sixes (tournament): 36; Glenn Maxwell of Kings XI Punjab holds bragging rights of clearing the park the most number of times
 
Maximum Sixes (innings): 9; Glenn Maxwell of Kings XI Punjab and Yuvraj Singh of Royal Challengers Bangalore jointly hold the record of hitting the most number of sixes in one innings
 
Best Average: 70; Lendl Simmons of Mumbai Indians has accumulated 280 runs in just 5 innings and remained not out once
 
Best Strike Rate (innings): 348; Suresh Raina of Chennai Super Kings smashed 87 off 25 deliveries against Kings XI Punjab in Mumbai, which remains the highest for any batsman in T20 history (in an innings of at least 50 runs)
 
Best Strike Rate (tournament): 192.55; James Faulkner of Rajasthan Royals scored almost 2 runs every ball he faced in IPL 7
 
Highest Individual Score: 122; Virender Sehwag of Kings XI Punjab scored 122 runs off 58 balls against Chennai Super Kings on May 30 in Mumbai
 
Snappy Stats: Bowling

Fastest Ball: 152.44km/h; Dale Steyn of Sunrisers Hyderabad
 
Most Dot Balls (tournament): 152; Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Sunrisers Hyderabad has bowled most dot balls this season
 
Most Dot Balls (innings): 18; Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Sunrisers Hyderabad owns this record, with RCB batsmen managing to score off just 6 of the 24 balls he bowled to them in Bengaluru, RCB's home ground, on May 4
 
Best Strike Rate (tournament): 11.25; Ashish Nehra of Chennai Suer Kings scalped a victim every 11 or so balls kin the 4 matches he played
 
Best Strike Rate (innings): 3; Corey Anderson of Mumbai Indians bowled one over and took 2 wickets; against SRH; in Dubai
 
Best Figures: 12/4; Ravindra Jadeja of CSK bowled four overs for just 12 runs and scalped 4 wickets against KKR in Ranchi on May 2
 
Best Economy Rate: 5.37; Ankit Sharma of Rajasthan Royals was a miser when it came to giving runs per over
 

Here's the points table for the matches, updated at the end of every match.

Updated Points Table 

Position

Team

Played

Won

Lost

Points (NRR)*

Q

Kings XI Punjab

14

11

3

22 (+0.968)

Q

Kolkata Knight Riders 

14

9

5

18 (+0.418)

Q

Chennai Super Kings

14

9

5

18 (+0.385)

Q

Mumbai Indians

14

7

7

14 (+0.095)

5

Rajasthan Royals

14

7

7

14 (-0.060)

6

Sunrisers Hyderabad

14

6

8

12 (-0.399)

7

Royal Challengers Bangalore 

14

5

9

10 (-0.428)

8

Delhi Daredevils

14

2

12

4 (-1.182)

*Net Run Rate and IPL 2014 Points Table updated as of 2.15pm (UAE time), May 28, 2014; All teams will play 14 matches each; Top 4 teams will qualify for play-offs

Eliminator match analysis: Chennai Super Kings faced born-again Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator. CSK won the toss and elected to field. MI openers batted extremely well for a first-wicket stand of 76 before Michael Hussey (39 off 33) got out. Top scorer Lendl Simmons (67 off 44) carried on the good work with Corey Anderson (20 off 10) and Rohit Sharma (20 off 16), and the team was looking good for a 180+ score before Sharma departed at a team score of 150 in 17.3 overs. The last 15 balls however produced only 23 runs for the loss of 5 wickets, and the home team managed to set a target of 174 for CSK. Battle-hardened CSK started well with openers Dwayne Smith (24 off 20) and Francois du Plessis (35 off 20) giving the visitors a solid start. Top scorer Suresh Raina (54 off 33) then finished the task along with David Hussey (40 off 29) with 8 balls to spare. Since this was the eliminator, MI unfortunately go home while CSK progress to meet KXIP in the second qualifier on Friday.

Qualifier 1 match analysis: Kolkata Knight Riders hosted Kings XI Punjab in the first qualifier today in Kolkata. The match was earlier scheduled for yesterday but play wasn't possible due to heavy rainfall over the previous two days. The winner of this match straightaway qualifies for the finals on June 1. Kings XI Punjab won the toss and decided to bowl first. KKR put up a fighting total of 163 for 8 on their home ground, and with a forecast for thunderstorms at some stage and a slow outfield, it proved to be a winning total. Robin Uthappa continued his good run with the bat, top-scoring with 42 off 30 deliveries.

Barring skipper Gautam Gambhir (1 run off 3 balls), every other batsman chipped in with 17 to 21 runs, and late flourish by Piyush Chawla (17 off 9 deliveries) saw the home team impose a 160+ run target for the visitors. KXIP got into trouble from the word go, losing Virender Sehwag (2 runs off 3 balls) on the first ball of the second over. Even as Manan Vohra (26 off 19) and Wriddhiman Saha (35 off 31) stabilised the innings a bit, the team was in dire trouble at the score of 87 for 6 in 13.3 overs. The Maxwell-Miller pair failed to fire today, making 6 and 8 runs, respectively.

It became increasingly difficult for the tail towards the end of the game, with 34 runs required from the last two overs. A stellar penultimate over from Sunil Narine choked the visitors, giving away just 4 runs. The last nail in the coffin was when skipper George Bailey (26 off 17 balls) holed out on the first ball of the last over, and KXIP surrendered at 138 for 8, well short of the 164-run target. With their record eighth win on the trot, KKR sail into the finals (on June 1) while KXIP will have to face the winner of today's eliminator between MI and CSK to see if they can make it to the finals - or not.

League Matches

Match 56 analysis: What a crazy match! Mumbai Indians hosted Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai in the final league match. The battle of the blues was a critical one as it gave us the final qualifying team for the play-offs. Going into the match, RR had a two-point advantage on MI, and their net run-rate of +0.247 was much better than MI’s -0.086. This meant RR could still qualify on net run-rate even if they lost. MI, on the other hand, had to thrash RR by a big margin (5.3 overs, to be precise) to beat them on net run-rate. MI only had a statistical chance to qualify and boy did they hang on to that for their life! RR put up a massive total of 189 on the board, which Mumbai had to beat in 14.3 overs or less. It had all the makings of being a spectacular chase and the audience wasn’t disappointed. It really went down to the wire, with an audacious MI scoring the winning runs in 14.4 overs and still qualifying, because the last ball was hit for a six, which pushed up their total score to 195 and their run rate to a whisker above RR's. What a way to qualify! For the record, man-of-the-match Corey Anderson scored 95 off 44 deliveries, Ambati Rayudu hit 30 off 10 balls, and Aditya Tare hit the six of his life on the only ball he faced on the day to help MI qualify. 

Match 55 analysis: In a totally inconsequential match, table toppers Kings XI Punjab hosted last-placed Delhi Daredevils in Mohali. Kings XI Punjab won the toss and invited DD to show their batting might. In what has been a hallmark of the DD team this IPL, the visitors surrendered at 115 all-out in 18.1 overs, with none of the DD batsmen barring skipper Kevin Pietersen (58 off 41) scoring more than 13 runs. KXIP didn't have too many problems in the chase although two quick wickets early on, of Virender Sehwag (9 off 7) and Glen Maxwell (0 off 3), did give DD their highlight of the day. Nevertheless, Manan Vohra (47 off 38) and David Miller (47 off 34) saw the hosts winning with 6.1 overs remaining. DD have been finally been put out of their misery as they end their second consecutive season at the bottom of the table. 

Match 54 analysis: A sensational match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad saw Yusuf Pathan scoring the IPL's fastest 50 runs - in 15 deliveries. Pathan played the innings of his life, scoring 72 off 22 deliveries as KKR hosted SRH in Kolkata. KKR needed to beat SRH's score of 160 in 15.2 overs if they were to climb the table above CSK and end up in the top 2 slot. And they did that in style thanks to Pathan's unbelievable feat with the bat. Robin Uthappa's earlier 41 off 30 balls was completely overshadowed by Pathan's heroics. What this means is that KKR climb the table above CSK, who had remained on the No. 2 slot for almost the entire length of the tournament only to be displaced at the last moment. What a team KKR is turning out to be and what a time for it to peak in the tournament. SRH is out of the tournament by virtue of this loss, and tomorrow's MI vs RR match will give us the fourth play-off qualifier, who CSK will now have to battle out in Wednesday's eliminator.

Match 53 analysis: Royal Challengers Bangalore hosted Chennai Super Kings in Bangalore. RCB couldn't make it to the play-offs even if they'd won, but would have liked to go out of the tournament on a winning note. CSK, on the other hand, had lost three matches on a trot before this one, and would have had to go into the eliminator if they hadn't won this one. CSK won the toss and invited RCB to bat, who posted a mediocre target of 155 for CSK, courtesy Virat Kohli's 73 of 49 deliveries and Yuvraj Singh's 25 off 24. None of the ohter RCB batsmen went past 20. Despite Dwayne Smith (34 off 17) looking keen to give away his wicket on more than one occasion, CSK easily achieved the target in less than 18 overs to finish the table in the top 2. Francois du Plessis scored a stable 54 off 43 while MS Dhoni smashed 49 off 28 deliveries.

Match 52 analysis: Kings XI Punjab hosted Rajasthan Royals in picturesque Mohali this evening. KXIP had nothing to worry about as they have qualified for the play-offs and are sitting pretty at the top of the ladder. RR, on the other hand, had everything to play for as a win would have ensured their slot in the play-offs. KXIP batted first and set a target of 180 on the board. RR batsmen never looked interested in the hunt although a late flurry by Brad Hodge (31 off 18 balls) and James Faulkner (35 off 13) meant that the visitors fell short of just 16 runs. What RR's loss means is that MI or SRH can still qualify for the play-offs. SRH will need to beat KKR tomorrow (by a huge margin) to keep their hopes alive. MI, then, will have to beat RR on Sunday by a massive margin, and then net run rate will decide who goes into the play-offs. Lots of ifs and buts there, but that is how things stand for now. 

Match 51 analysis: Mumbai Indians hosted Delhi Daredevils in Mumbai in the for first match of the day. DD won the toss and chose to field. DD bowlers managed to get the entire MI team out 3 balls before the stipulated 20 overs, but not before MI amassed 173 runs thanks to an 87-run opening stand between Lendl Simmons (35 runs off 25 deliveries) and Michael Hussey (56 off 33), and Rohit Sharma's 30 off 21 runs. In response, DD faltered at the start - Murali Vijay got out at an individual score of 8 off 12 balls. Murali Vijay now has 207 runs off 11 IPL matches this year, at a princely average of 18.81, and has even bowled an over in IPL 7, giving away 13 runs. Priceless player! But DD's problems are indeed bigger than their opener, as despite losing only 4 wickets, the team could not come even close to the target and surrendered at 158 for 4 in 20 overs. MI earn 2 valuable points and progress to No. 5 on the charts. If RR lose against KXIP in the second match today, the fight for the No. 4 slot will be wide open and will go down to the wire. If they win, they'll qualify for the last slot straight away with 16 points in all. 

So this is how the teams stand. Last year's winners, Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians now have only a statistical chance to make it to the play-offs and retain their crown. MS Dhoni’s creative coolness, on the other hand, is sure to lead Chennai Super Kings into the play-offs, and from there, they stand a good chance to win the championship for a third time.

Kevin Pietersen’s Delhi Daredevils, who finished at the bottom of the table last year, are still gloriously stuck there, and are already out of the reckoning, but they still can spoil the party for others. 

George Bailey’s Kings XI Punjab have had an amazing tournament so far, and became the first team to qualify for the play-offs. Will they lift their first IPL trophy this year? Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders have now secured their play-off passes. 

The fight for the fourth play-off slot this year is between Shane Watson-led Rajasthan Royals, Shikhar Dhawan’s Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore. Who will it be to go play among the big boys?

We'll soon find, out as one of cricket’s greatest shows has entered its fierce business end.

Find below the dates and venues of every fixture in the seventh edition of IPL (For UAE matches and results, scroll to the end of the page).

India Matches & Results

Date

Venue

Teams

Time (UAE)

Time (India)

Result

May 2-Fri

Ranchi

CSK vs KKR

6.30pm

8pm

CSK OUST KKR

May 3-Sat

Mumbai

MI vs KXIP

2.30pm

4pm

MI UPSET KXIP

May 3-Sat

Delhi

DD vs RR

6.30pm

8pm

RR TROUNCE DD

May 4-Sun

Bengaluru

RCB vs SRH

6.30pm

8pm

RCB STUN SRH

May 5-Mon

Ahmedabad

RR vs KKR

2.30pm

4pm

KKR SNATCH DEFEAT FROM RR

May 5-Mon

Delhi

DD vs CSK

6.30pm

8pm

CSK CRUISE PAST DD

May 6-Tue

Mumbai

MI vs RCB

6.30pm

8pm

MI FOX RCB

May 7-Wed

Delhi

DD vs KKR

2.30pm

4pm

KKR TROT TO A WIN AGAINST DD

May 7-Wed

Cuttack

KXIP vs CSK

6.30pm

8pm

KXIP TAME CSK

May 8-Thu

Ahmedabad

RR vs SRH

6.30pm

8pm

RR SURRENDER TO SRH

May 9-Fri

Bengaluru

RCB vs KXIP

6.30pm

8pm

KXIP RULE OVER RCB

May 10-Sat

Delhi

DD vs SRH

2.30pm

4pm

DD LOSE to SRH ON D/L

May 10-Sat

Mumbai

MI vs CSK

6.30pm

8pm

CSK SURVIVE AGAINST MI

May 11-Sun

Cuttack

KXIP vs KKR

2.30pm

4pm

CLINICAL KKR BEAT KXIP

May 11-Sun

Bengaluru

RCB vs RR

6.30pm

8pm

RR STUN RCB

May 12-Mon

Hyderabad

SRH vs MI

6.30pm

8pm

MI SNUB SRH

May 13-Tue

Ranchi

CSK vs RR

2.30pm

4pm

CSK SNEAK PAST RR

May 13-Tue

Bengaluru

RCB vs DD

6.30pm

8pm

RCB THRASH DD

May 14-Wed

Hyderabad

SRH vs KXIP

2.30pm

4pm

KXIP STAMP OUT SRH

May 14-Wed

Cuttack

KKR vs MI

6.30pm

8pm

KKR THUMP MI

May 15-Thu

Ahmedabad

RR vs DD

6.30pm

8pm

RR CRUSH DD

May 18-Sun

Ranchi

CSK vs RCB

2.30pm

4pm

RCB CLING ON TO BEAT CSK

May 18-Sun

Hyderabad

SRH vs KKR

6.30pm

8pm

KKR BEAT SRH

May 19-Mon

Ahmedabad

RR vs MI

2.30pm

4pm

MI STUN RR

May 19-Mon

Delhi

DD vs KXIP

6.30pm

8pm

KXIP SCRAPE PAST DD

May 20-Tue

Hyderabad

SRH vs RCB

2.30pm

4pm

SRH PIP RCB TO POST

May 20-Tue

Kolkata

KKR vs CSK

6.30pm

8pm

KKR SMASH CSK

May 21-Wed

Mohali

KXIP vs MI

6.30pm

8pm

MI RULE OVER KXIP

May 22-Thu

Kolkata

KKR vs RCB

2.30pm

4pm

KKR CRUSH RCB

May 22-Thu

Ranchi

CSK vs SRH

6.30pm

8pm

SRH FOX CSK

May 23-Fri

Mumbai

MI vs DD

2.30pm

4pm

MI STUMP DD

May 23-Fri

Mohali

KXIP vs RR

6.30pm

8pm

KXIP SMASH RR

May 24-Sat

Bengaluru

RCB vs CSK

2.30pm

4pm

CSK EASE PAST RCB

May 24-Sat

Kolkata

KKR vs SRH

6.30pm

8pm

KKR STUN SRH

May 25-Sun

Mohali

KXIP vs DD

2.30pm

4pm

KXIP DESTROY DD

May 25-Sun

Mumbai

MI vs RR

6.30pm

8pm

MI PIP RR TO THE POST

May 28-Wed

Kolkata: Qualifier 1

KKR vs KXIP

2.30pm

4pm

KKR THRASH KXIP; REACH FINALS

May 28-Wed

Mumbai: Eliminator

MI vs CSK

6.30pm

8pm

CSK KNOCK OUT MI

May 30-Fri

Mumbai: Qualifier 2

KXIP vs CSK

6.30pm

8pm

KXIP UPSET CSK

Jun 1-Sun

Bengaluru: FINAL

KKR vs KXIP

6.30pm

8pm

N.A.

One of cricket's greatest shows made its UAE debut on April 16, and residents in the country were drawn to it like moths to a flame, with packed houses welcoming all the 20 matches played on UAE soil.

Had someone told you that after the UAE leg of IPL 7 (14 days and 20 matches), last year's champions (and also the winners of the ICC Champions League) Mumbai Indians would have not scored a single win, would you have believed them? And then on top of it, what do you have to say about the fact that last year's laggards Kings XI Punjab won all their matches in the UAE and ended the first leg on top of the table? 

Kings XI Punjab's dream-run continued for a solid 8 matched, winning 5 matches on the trot this year (on top of winning their final 3 outings last year) while Mumbai Indians hadn't done a thing right in the UAE, returning home without a single victory under their belt.

The tournament hasn't disappointed at all, with some great upsets, cliffhangers that have seen last-ball finishes, and amazing batting power-play on display.

Match 50 analysis: The first innings of he CSK vs SRH match seemed like a repeat of the first innings of the earlier match today. The team winning the toss elects to field (Sunrisers Hyderabad, in this case), and the home team (Chennai Super Kings) plonks a mighty score (185 for the loss of 3 wickets). But in that match, the team chasing lost by 30 runs. No in the secnd match of the day, which saw SRH clinically chase a massive total set by CSK. Interestingly, Match 50 of IPL 7 saw for fifties – CSK’s MS Dhoni (57 off 41) and David Hussey (50 off 33), and SRH’s David Warner (90 off 45) and Shikhar Dhawan (64 off 50). And thanks to Warner’s heroics and Dhawan’s smart pacing of his innings (he was just 22 off 24 when Warner got out at 90), SRH managed to score a victory and 2 points, and keep their hopes for making it to the play-offs alive. Worryingly for CSK, they have now lost three matches in a row even as they're already qualified for the play-offs. Another loss will mean that they will be forced to go into the eliminator. 

Match 49 analysis: Kolkata Knight Riders hosted Royal Challengers Bangalore in Kolkata in the first match of the day. RCB won the toss and put KKR in to bat, a decision they will regret at leisure as the host put up a mighty total of 195 on the board. Top scorer Robin Uthappa made 83 runs in 51 deliveries, and also grabbed the Orange Cap from KXIP’s Maxwell. RCB big guns needed to fire for the team to stay alive in the tournament, but Gayle went cheaply right at the start of the RCB innings. Yogesh Takawale (45 off 36) and Virat Kohli (38 off 31) then stabilised the innings but Sunil Narine had other ideas. He dismissed both of them in one over on his way to claiming four scalps for just 20 runs. KKR won their sixth match in a row, with a margin of 30 runs and are through to the playoffs. Interestingly, the team now owns both the Orange Cap and the Purple Cap. What a time for KKR to peak.

Match 48 analysis: Table toppers Kings XI Punjab hosted Mumbai Indians in picturesque Mohali in the only fixture of the day. KXIP have already qualified, and MI had to play out of their skins to keep alive their statistical chance for entry into the play-offs. MI were playing more for pride than anything else, and boy do they value their pride! The total domination that they showed on the field would have made you forget that they were at the near bottom of the table, had their backs against the wall, and were up against clearly the best team of the tournament so far. They won the toss and not only did MI bowlers manage to restrict the KXIP batting lineup to a mere 156 ('mere' because KXIP was comfortably placed at 90 for 2 after 10 overs), but also finished the task with their bat with clinical precision. Lendl Simmons completed his maiden T20 century (100 off 61 deliveries) on the way to MI winning the match, with 7 wickets and six balls remaining. MI earn 2 points and surge ahead to No. 5 on the table, knocking on the door to enter the big boys' league.

Match 47 analysis: Kolkata Knight Riders, precariously perched at No. 4, needed to beat the steady Chennai Super Kings in Kolkata in the second match of the day to get a firm foothold in the Top 4. KKR took a gamble by putting CSK in to bat first, and it paid off as their bowlers managed to restrict CSK's mighty batting lineup to 154. KKR’s batsmen then, led by man-of-the-match Robin Uthappa (67 runs off 39 deliveries) and later a cameo by Shakib Al Hassan (46 off 21), finished the job in style and KKR won with two overs and 8 wickets in hand. KKR bagged much-needed 2 points and massively improved their chances of qualifying for the play-offs. Don't look now, buy KKR have just won five matches on a trot, having won just 2 of their previous seven encounters. This is very different KKR team from what we saw in the UAE, and seems to be peaking at just the right time.

Match 46 analysis: A well-contested match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Hyderabad that went down to the wire. Both RCB openers failed to fire but skipper Virat Kohli’s 67 off 41 deliveries and AB de Villiers’ 29 off 17 helped the visitors put up a respectable target of 161 runs for SRH to chase. The home team started off to a flyer, with Shikhar Dhawan (50 off 39 balls) and David Warner (59 off 46) putting up a 100-run partnership for the first wicket. Despite a few quick wickets, the early momentum kept SRH in the game, and a final flurry by Naman Ojha (24 off 20) and skipper Darren Sammy (10 runs off 4 balls) saw the home team emerge winners. This makes the standing really interesting, with RCB and SRH both at 10 points after 12 matches each. Interestingly, SRH's win means that CSK become the second team to qualify for the play-offs.

Match 45 analysis: Delhi Daredevils hosted Kings XI Punjab in Delhi in the second match of the day. Not many expected an upset, and there was none although another 10-15 runs on the board may just have produced one. DD set a decent 165-run target after KXIP won the toss and put them to bat. The DD top order came good, barring Murali Vijay (of course - the 'ace batsman' has scored less than 200 runs in 10 innings this IPL). Top scorer Dinesh Karthik (69 runs off 44 deliveries) was ably aided by skipper Kevin Pietersen (49 off 32 balls) and JP Duminy (17 off 21). DD bowled well but the target never seemed too big for the fiery KXIP batting order even though Maxwell and Miller went cheaply. The visitors did fumble in the last five overs, but managed to scrape past the finishing line thanks to Akshar Patel's 42 off 39 towards the end and a great start by Manan Vohra (42 off 19 deliveries) and Virender Sehwag (23 off 22). Seventh consecutive loss for DD, but this one was at least close. With this win, KXIP officially qualify for the play-offs with 18 points in the bag and three more games to go.

Match 44 analysis: Finally, it was good to see some smiles in the Mumbai Indians' camp as they smashed Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad in the first fixture of the day. MI had everything to play for if they were to keep alive their statistical chance to make it to the play-offs. That is perhaps what egged them on to beat the current No. 3 on the charts. A smashing total of 178 on the board, boosted by openers Lendl Simmons (62 off 51 deliveries) and Michael Hussey (56 off 39) and then skipper Rohit Sharma's cameo of 40 off 19 balls was only half the job. The MI bowlers then literally ran through the RR top order, with the scorecard reading like a phone number (2-5-2-5-4-2). Kieron Pollard took a magical catch to dismiss Kevon Cooper, which seemed to have really fanned MI's fire to win this contest. Only three RR players managed double-digit scores: Karun Nair was excellent at the top (48 off 24), and then Brad Hodge made a quickfire 40 off 30 while James Faulkner made 31 off 21, but it was all too little, too late. RR ended their chase at 153 for 8 as four MI bowlers picked up two wickets apiece. MI have now climbed to No. 6 on the charts thanks to the 2 points and a 25-run victory margin.

Match 43 analysis: Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and invited Sunrisers Hyderabad to bat in SRH's home town Hyderabad. The team looked good in fits and starts, with David Warner (34 runs off 18 deliveries) the top scorer for the home team while the visitors' Umesh Yadav picked up 3 wickets for 26 runs in 4 overs. SRH ended their innings with 142 for the loss of 8 wickets, which as a score was neither here nor there. KKR are known to make a mess out of their run-chases despite being in a comfortable position (remember KKR vs RR in Abu Dhabi on April 29?). SRH needed to win this match to keep their play-off hopes alive, and KKR could not afford to lose this, or they'd have lost their Top 4 slot. In the end, KKR kept their nerves despite cheaply losing skipper Gautam Gambhir to a dubious caught-behind decision early on in their innings. All the remaining batsmen chipped in handsomely, with Robin Uthappa (40 off 33) the top scorer, helped generously by a dropped catch by Shikhar Dhawan when Uthappa was at a mere 11. He was closely followed by Yusuf Pathan (39 off 28) and Manish Pandey (35 off 32) even as Ryan ten Doeschate (25 off 15) scored at the fastest clip. The last spot for the play-offs is now for KKR to lose and RCB will have to beat them in Match 49 (Thursday, May 22) to have the net run rate play its game. 

Match 42 analysis: Chennai Super Kings took on Royal Challengers Bangalore in CSK's home ground Ranchi. It was a do-or-die match for RCB, who need to win every match from here to confirm a slot in the play-offs. Their bowlers did not disappoint, restricting the CSK's power batting line-up to just 138 runs. Suresh Raina was the only batsman to contribute anything substantial (62 runs off 48 deliveries) and David Hussey the only other batsman to get past 20 runs (25 runs off 29 balls). For RCB, Chris Gayle finally got some runs even though not in the same fashion we are accustomed to see him get them (46 runs off 50 deliveries), and most other batsmen chipped in to ease past that total with a ball to spare. Importantly, RCB earn 2 points to keep their play-off hopes alive, and take their tally to 10.

Match 41 analysis: A solid start by Ajinkya Rahane (64 runs off 50 balls) and some swashbuckling batting by Sanju Samson (40 off 25 and James Faulkner (23 off 8) helped Rajasthan Royals set a massive total of 201 for six, their highest in this season. Delhi Daredevils had little to lose, so they should have come out all guns blazing. But that didn't happen, given their current form (5 losses in a row). Their highest total this season was 180, it was unlikely that DD would come even close to achieving the 200+ target. Apart from Manoj Tiwary (61 runs off 44 balls), none of the other batsmen scored even 20 runs. The team managed 139 for 9, losing by 62 runs, and taking their losing streak to 6 in a row this season. RR gain 2 comfortable points and a shot in the arm for their net run rate, consolidating themselves firmly in that No. 3 slot

Match 40 analysis: Desperation got the best out of Sunrisers Hyderabad, with an inspired performance by Naman Ojha who scored 79 off just 36 balls, ably supported by David Warner (44 off 23) and Shikhar Dhawan (45 off 37) to lift SRH team total to 205 for 5 against Kings XI Punjab. But KXIP were equal to the task, and this time they chiselled out the bulk of the target before the Maxwell-Miller pair came out. Wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha and Manan Vohra added 101 runs in 46 balls, followed by 67 runs in another 46 balls by the Maxwell-Miller duo. Enough to seal the fate of the match, with KXIP achieving the mammoth target with 8 balls to spare. KXIP scored 131 runs in the final 52 balls they faced - an IPL record for most runs scored in final 10 overs. 

Match 39 analysis: Brimming with newfound confidence, Kolkata Knight Riders consolidated their position in the Top 4 by thrashing the Mumbai Indians in Cuttack, KKR's supposed home ground for the day. Chasing a tame target of 142 to win, KKR bettered that score with six wickets and eight balls to spare, thanks to man-of-the-match Robin Uthappa's steady and solid 80 runs off 52 balls. With just three wins from 10 outings, the likelihood of last year's champions MI making it to the play-offs is now only statistical. KKR, on the other hand, need to keep their winning momentum (three wins on a trot) to pip RCB and SRH to the post.

Match 38 analysis: A 29-ball 68 by Yuvraj Singh lifted Royal Challengers Bangalore to 186 for the loss of 4 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Delhi Daredevils fumbled right from the start of their chase, losing both the openers in the first and second overs, respectively. JP Duminy gave DD a glimmer of hope but kept losing partners in quick succession. The task became near-impossible once Duminy departed in the 18th over and DD managed to end their chase at 170 for 9. DD it seems is not capable of even spoiling others' party even as it can't now practically make it to the play-offs. Cricket, though, remains a game of glorious uncertainties, and there's nothing better than T20 in general and IPL in particular that highlights that fact.

Match 37 analysis: Shane Watson's half-century could not help Rajasthan Royals put up an imposing total, as the rest of the RR team could manage only 97 to set a target of 149 for Chennai Super Kings. Playing on their home ground, CSK never looked in doubt of achieving that target even as the team consumed 19.4 overs for that. With 8 wins from 10 matches, CSK is now sitting pretty on top of the teams' rankings with 16 points while RR is at No. 3 with 2 less wins than CSK.

UAE Matches & Results

Date

Venue

Teams

Time (UAE)

Time (India)

Ticket Availability/ Result

Apr 16-Wed

Abu Dhabi

MI vs KKR

6.30pm

8pm

KKR STUN MI

Apr 17-Thu

Sharjah

DD vs RCB

6.30pm

8pm

RCB HUMBLE DD

Apr 18-Fri

Abu Dhabi

CSK vs KXIP

2.30pm

4pm

KXIP STUMP CSK

Apr 18-Fri

Abu Dhabi

SRH vs RR

6.30pm

8pm

RR CRUISE PAST SRH

Apr 19-Sat

Dubai

RCB vs MI

2.30pm

4pm

RCB ROUT MI

Apr 19-Sat

Dubai

KKR vs DD

6.30pm

8pm

DD BEAT KKR

Apr 20-Sun

Sharjah

RR vs KIXP

6.30pm

8pm

KXIP THUMP RR

Apr 21-Mon

Abu Dhabi

CSK vs DD

6.30pm

8pm

CSK SMASH DD

Apr 22-Tue

Sharjah

KXIP vs SRH

6.30pm

8pm

KXIP TAME SRH

Apr 23-Wed

Dubai

RR vs CSK

6.30pm

8pm

CSK EDGE PAST RR

Apr 24-Thu

Sharjah

RCB vs KKR

6.30pm

8pm

KKR DENY RCB A WIN

Apr 25-Fri

Dubai

SRH vs DD

2.30pm

4pm

SRH FOX DD

Apr 25-Fri

Dubai

CSK vs MI

6.30pm

8pm

CSK OUTPLAY MI

Apr 26-Sat

Abu Dhabi

RR vs RCB

2.30pm

4pm

RR SHAME RCB

Apr 26-Sat

Abu Dhabi

KKR vs KXIP

6.30pm

8pm

KXIP SUBDUE KKR

Apr 27-Sun

Sharjah

DD vs MI

2.30pm

4pm

DD TRUMP MI

Apr 27-Sun

Sharjah

SRH vs CSK

6.30pm

8pm

CSK SCRAPE PAST SRH

Apr 28-Mon

Dubai

KXIP vs RCB

6.30pm

8pm

KXIP COAST OVER RCB

Apr 29-Tue

Abu Dhabi

KKR vs RR

6.30pm

8pm

RR WIN BY THE SKIN OF THEIR TEETH

Apr 30-Wed

Dubai

MI vs SRH

6.30pm

8pm

MI LOSE, AGAIN