Another Gayle's show

Royal Challengers Bangalore were in a bad position as they lost 3 matches continuously and one match got tied. After the arrival of Chris Gayle things changed, RCB have won 5 matches continuously. The best part was, in almost all the games Chris Gayle was mainly responsible for the victory. He has won 3 man of the match awards in this 5 matches.

Today, Royal Challengers Bangalore played against Rajasthan Royals at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. The toss was won by Virat Kohli who is the acting captain for Daniel Vettori in his stead and he chose to field first.

Shane Watson and Rahul Dravid opened the batting innings for RR. The start pretty good and they were playing aggressively. Shane Watson got out when RR's total was 73 runs which was a solid foundation for them. Rahul Dravid also got out in the same over. After this things went little slow and the run rate dropped down little bit. But as the overs were passing the pressure was on the RR as they were really struggling to find a boundary. In the end, Rajasthan Royals some how managed to put up a total score of 146 runs on board for the loss of 6 wickets (RR - 146/6, 20 over). But this score was not enough as the big man Chris Gayle who is in form can easily chase it down.

RCB gave a flying start with openers Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan. Both started off well and were belting the RR bowlers in every angle possible. In 6.3 overs, RCB scored 68 runs just before Tillakaratne Dilshan who scored 38 runs in just 24 deliveries got out by giving a catch to Ross Taylor. After the fall of first wicket, RCB slowed down their scoring rate and played magnificently to chase down the target. RCB in 17 overs, scored 151 runs and lost only 1 wicket (RCB - 151/1, 17 over). The man in form Chris Gayle was unbeaten scoring 70 runs in just 44 balls that included 7 fours and 4 sixes. Skipper Virat Kohli was also unbeaten scoring 39 runs 34 deliveries that included 3 fours and 1 six.

Royal Challengers Bangalore won the match by 9 wickets with 3 overs to go. Man of the match was Sreenath Aravind for taking 3 important wickets. Chris Gayle has moved to 2nd position in leading runs scorer list 2011. The best part is that he has played only 6 matches so far. On the other hand Virat Kohli also moved up to 4th position in the list. As of now, RCB are in second position with 7 victories and a tie.

IPL 2011: MI vs RCB

On 12th April, Mumbai Indians played against Royal Challengers Bangalore at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. The toss was won by Mumbai Indians and they chose to field first.

Mayank Agarwal and Tillakaratne Dilshan opened the batting innings for RCB. In the very first ball of the innings, Lasith Malinga bowled and yorker length delivery to Mayank Agarwal and bowled him. He departed getting a duck and the batting team became quite upset with Malinga's bowling attack. Virat Kohli came in and did not survive for a long time. He only scored 12 runs from 19 deliveries. AB de Villiers and Dilshan put up some good partnership that helped RCB to come out of the critical situation. AB de villiers scored 38 runs before getting caught and bowled by Kieron Pollard. Dilshan managed to put up a half-century and remained unbeaten scoring 59 runs in 52 deliveries that included 4 fours and 2 sixes. In 20 overs, RCB managed to put up a total score of 140 runs for the loss of 4 wickets (RCB - 140/4, 20 over). 


The total was not a big or challenging one for the Mumbai Indians as they have a pretty aggressive batting line-up. Right from the start of the innings, MI batsmen started to play some big shots. Davy Jacobs scored 22 runs and departed. Dirk Nannes picked up his wicket and gave 0 runs in his first over. Dirk Nannes after this over did not bowl as he got injured. Sachin Tendulkar and Ambati Rayudu put up a unbeaten partnership of 110 runs. Sachin Tendulkar remained unbeaten scoring 55 runs and Ambati Rayudu remained unbeaten scoring 63 runs. In 18.3 overs, Mumbai Indians managed to chase the target successfully scoring a total of 143 runs for the loss of 1 wicket (MI - 143/1, 18.3 over).

Mumbai Indians won the match by 9 wickets. Man of the match for Sachin Tendulkar. This victory has made Mumbai Indians to move to the first place of the ranking table. I am really disappointed with my home teams performance. They have lost a match, that too at their home ground.

Srilanka enters WC 2011 finals

Today first semi-finals of the World Cup 2011 was played between Srilanka and New Zealand at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka. This was the most important match for the Kiwis as they have never won a World Cup in history. The Victory over Srilanka was a best chance for them to win a World Cup 2011. Srilankan's have already geared up to lift the cup and they are looking to finish up the things easily. The toss went into the favor of New Zealand and they chose to bat first.

Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum opened the batting innings for Kiwis. They gave a slow and stable start. The run rate was not on average. Srilankan's kept the pressure on the Kiwis right from the start of the innings so that the Kiwis could not go for big hits. They managed to pick 3 wickets when the total score was 84 runs which was hit in 21.3 overs. After this fall there was a good partnership of 77 runs that helped the Kiwis to come out of the critical situation. When Ross Taylor departed, things changed and the Kiwis started to loose wickets and finally Scott Styris who played a big innings got out. In last 25 runs Kiwis lost 6 wickets which resulted in low total. In 48.5 over, New Zealand managed to put up a total score of 217 runs and lost all 10 wickets (NZ - 217/10, 48.5over). Team's highest scorer was Scott Styris who scored 57 runs. Lashith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis took 3 wickets each. 


This was not a big total at all and Srilankan's did not have much pressure as the required run rate was less than 5 runs per over. As usual Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan started off the second innings and the start was better than Kiwis. Upul tharanga was back to pavilion after scoring 30 runs. Kumar Sangakkara came in to bat and put up a very good partnership of 120 runs with Tillakaratne Dilshan. Tillakaratne Dilshan departed after scoring 73 runs and Kumar Sangakkara got out after scoring 54 runs. Srilanka after a big partnership lost 5 quick wickets which made the Kiwis to be back on track. Now the pressure was on Srilanka as they lost 5 wickets when their total was 185 runs. But Samaraweera and Mathews played beautifully and helped the team to come out of pressurized situation. Srilanka finally managed to chase the target successfully scoring a total of 220 runs with the loss of 5 wickets in 47.5 over (SL - 220/5, 47.5 over).

Srilanka won the match by 5 wickets. Man of the match was Kumar Sangakkara. Now the Srilankan's are into the finals of the World Cup 2011. They will be playing against India or Pakistan on 2nd of April in Mumbai.

On 30th March India and Pakistan will face against each other in the second semi-finals. This is the most awaited match to be watched across the globe. Who ever wins, definitely this is gonna be a thriller. I wish India to win the match. INDIA DHAK DHAK GO!!!!!!

England are out of World Cup 2011

The last quarter-finals was played between England and Srilanka today at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka. The toss went in to the favor of England and they chose to bat first. This game was an a crucial game for England as they have not even won a World Cup so far. Being a strong team, England were looking to dominate Srilankan's in their home ground.

Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell gave a very slow start. Their intention was not to play big shots and make huge total. They were looking to play calm and put up a good total. But this did not work as they lost 2 big wickets in the first 10 overs and their total was just 31 runs when they lost both the openers. After this 2 fall, there was 2 good partnership that helped England to recover from the collapse. But the run rate was very low. When fourth wicket fell, their total was only 186 runs consuming 43 overs. England ended up their batting innings with a total score of 229 runs in 50 overs and lost only 6 wickets (ENG - 229/6, 50 over). Highest scorer in the team was Jonathan Trott who scored 86 runs and Eion Morgan scored a half-century. Muralidaran took 2 wickets.

This total was not that challenging for the Srilankan's. Upul tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan opened the batting innings for Srilanka. They started off well and put up a unbeaten partnership of 231 runs. In just 39.3 overs, Srilanka successfully chased the target scoring 231 runs for no loss of wicket (SL - 231/0, 39.3 over). Upul tharanga scored a unbeaten score of 102 runs and Tillakaratne Dilshan scored an unbeaten 108 runs. No England bowler managed to take a wicket of Srilanka.

Srilanka won the match by 10 wickets. Man of the match was Tillakaratne Dilshan for his brilliant batting for hitting a unbeaten century and bowling performance for taking a wicket.

Srilanka will be playing against New Zealand in the semi finals that will be happening on 29th of March.