A dramatic final-over hat-trick by Amit Mishra, when Deccan Chargers needed a gettable 15, helped Delhi Daredevils over the finish line and halt a four-match losing streak with a tense 12-run win against Deccan Chargers. Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan set it up with attacking half-centuries to post 194 before Mishra came up with timely wicket bursts in two phases of the chase to halt Deccan’s charge first and then seal the win.

Delhi’s early victories were fashioned by the combined efforts of their miserly new-ball pair and an in-form top order. Today, it didn’t matter that the bowlers didn’t have the best day at the office. Gambhir and Dhawan hunted as a pair, made the best out of what the benign pitch had to offer, and the score of 194 was just sufficient to guarantee a victory, despite a spirited effort by Venugopal Rao at the end.

Desperate for a win to keep their chance of staying alive in the tournament, Deccan changed their strategy to counter the threat of Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif by promoting Shahid Afridi. Suddenly, both bowlers, used to bowling miserly spells, were suddenly in unfamiliar territory as Deccan rocketed to 44 in the first four overs. In the midst of the blaze, Delhi pulled back with the wicket of Gilchrist, caught brilliantly by Dilshan at mid-off, but it didn’t stop Afridi from going over the top.

With Gibbs for company, the pair wrecked Asif and McGrath for 34 off two successive overs, which included scoops over extra cover and pulls over deep backward square leg. Both generated tremendous bat speed and a result, shots cleared the boundary ropes by huge margins, some landing several rows back.

At the end of the Powerplay, Deccan progressed at nearly 12 an over but from then on, fortunes turned. Sehwag tossed the ball to the legspinner Mishra he struck first ball, as Afridi mis-hit one that really stopped on him. He cleaned up Gibbs’ middle stump in his next over to temporarily halt Deccan’s assault.

Rohit Sharma then redressed the balance for Deccan, dominating a stand of 39 for the fourth wicket with Styris. Rajat Bhatia, the medium pacer, came in for some harsh treatment as Rohit bludgeoned him for 19 off a single over, sending a low full toss over long-on before pulling a short ball over deep square leg.

However, a timely bowling change swung the tide in Delhi’s favour. Maharoof returned in the 13th over and cleaned up Rohit’s offstump as he attempted a paddle sweep and as a result of that, the momentum slipped and the asking rate started to climb. Scott Styris couldn’t quite push on, managing only two boundaries in his 29. That increased the pressure on Rao, and for the second time in as many matches, fought a lone battle. The home side felt the pinch when Rao carted Maharoof for two sixes in an over, backing away and picking up the slower deliveries.

He perished in the penultimate over, when Deccan needed 25 at the start of it, skying one to AB de Villiers at long-on. A sliced six over backward point by Ravi Teja suddenly turned the script and Deccan needed 15 off the last over. Sehwag turned to his best bowler of the evening, Mishra, for the final over. Teja, Pragyan Ojha and RP Singh all failed in their attempt to clear the ropes and Mishra picked up the second hat-trick of the tournament.

The high-scoring contest contradicted early predictions about the grassy pitch assisting the seamers. After losing Sehwag to a wild slash, the Delhi innings gained momentum in the fourth over when Gambhir took on RP. He adjusted brilliantly to a short delivery aimed at his face and slapped him over backward square leg, then stepped down and pulled the next over deep midwicket and followed it up with a slice past backward point to take 20 off the over.

Dhawan came into his own once the support seamers – Sarvesh Kumar and Styris – operated, punishing anything full on the pads and finding the gaps. The spinners were not spared either. After reverse-sweeping Rao for four, he smashed Afridi out of the attack with successive fours, smashing the first over his head and the next over extra cover to bring up his fifty.

Gambhir too carted Afridi for a huge six over deep midwicket shortly after reaching his half-century and in the process went past the 400-run mark in the tournament. Pragyan Ojha, the left-arm spinner who was kept out till the 15th over, struck with his second ball, firing one down the legside after seeing Gambhir give him the charge.

Lusty blows by the two Sri Lankans – Farveez Maharoof and Dilshan – took Delhi close to the 200-mark though Deccan played into their own hands with some ordinary displays in the field. That proved crucial in the end and Delhi can take heart from the fact that the architects of the victory were largely the local players and not the overseas recruits.

Sachin Tendulkar’s return dominated most of the pre-match buzz but it was the eruption from Sanath Jayasuriya that Mumbai toasted at the end of a comfortable nine-wicket win, their fourth in a row, at the Wankhede Stadium. Chennai appeared to have cobbled together a fighting total, in conditions that assisted swing bowling, but Jayasuriya’s sizzler, the second-fastest IPL hundred that was punctuated with 11 sixes, put an emphatic end to the contest.

Mumbai’s bowlers set-up this win with a fine new-ball exhibition that knocked off the top order. Shaun Pollock wasn’t leading Mumbai today but his immaculate early spell (4-1-9-1) led an impressive effort that justified their decision to field first. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and S Badrinath stitched together a 95-run stand but 156 was never going to be challenging if even once batsman got going.

It was inevitable. Jayasuriya, who had made a short trip home during Mumbai’s extended break, was yet to explode in the IPL and there was nothing Chennai could do once sixes began to drip off his bat. Nonchalant short-arm jabs sailed over the midwicket fence and a few powerful slashes soared over third man. The bowlers were rattled – they leaked wides and drifted on the pads too often – and fed Jayasuriya in his favourite areas. The fact that 102 off his 114 runs came in fours, told a story.

It was an innings reminiscent of the mid-90s, a time when Jayasuriya filled bowlers with a sense of fear. In fact it was at the same ground when he hammered an unforgettable 151 not out in the Independence Cup in 1997, an innings that was appreciated in hushed silence. This, though, was a celebration in power-hitting, with the crowd getting fully behind Jayasuriya in his fiery mission. One can only imagine the possibilities if Tendulkar had decided to bat first, allowing Jayasuriya a full 20 overs.

The manner in which he treated his fellow Sri Lankan bowlers was interesting – he attempted a couple of audacious reverse-paddles against Muttiah Muralitharan before blistering Chamara Kapudegera for 26 runs in five balls. He rushed to his hundred with two pulled sixes off Kapugedera – celebrating like a schoolboy who reached his maiden ton – and capped it off with one more that landed on the roof of the Wankhede. It was an unforgettable innings and Mumbai’s response to what Adam Gilchrist did to them a few weeks back.

The bowlers deserve an honourable mention. It was a slew of medium-pacers who propelled Mumbai to an upset win over the Rajasthan Royals in the previous game and they utilised bowler-friendly conditions here too. The ball swung around through the innings and six medium-pacers shaped the ball either way to make life difficult for the batsmen.

Pollock turned in a typically miserly spell, including a maiden to finish off against a relatively new Dhoni. Dhoni, who said he would have fielded first had he won the toss, watched his side slump to 46 for 4 with the top order struggling against the accurate medium-pacers.

Pollock should have had Stephen Fleming in the first ball of the second over – when an edge fell just short of first slip – or even in the third – when Jayasuriya muffed a skier at point – but he had to settle for S Vidyut’s wicket two balls later when Rohan Raje clung on to another skier at mid-off. Suresh Raina fell poking to an away-swinger from Dwayne Bravo before Chamara Kapugedera, the right-hander, did exactly the same to Dhawal Kulkarni’s nippy away-cutter.

Dhoni and Badrinath redressed the balance somewhat. The pair improvised when the opportunity presented but it was Dhoni’s fierce hitting that gave the bowlers no chance – even if he wasn’t in position the power behind the shots was always going to take it to the boundary ropes. Badrinath, who repertoire ranges from the square drive on the back foot to the paddle over short fine leg, brought up his second successive fifty. It appeared as if it could be a defendable total but Jayasuriya’s blitz sunk them in a trice.

The bomb blasts in Jaipur has cast a shadow of uncertainty over Saturday’s IPL match between the Rajasthan Royals and the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the city. Bangalore have offered to host the game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

“We have conveyed our decision to the IPL council,” Martin Crowe, the Bangalore coach, told Cricinfo from Chandigarh, where the rest of the team is currently staying. “The franchises are discussing the issue. A final decision will be made tomorrow. We are going to Delhi tomorrow and will probably head over to Bangalore after a night’s stay in Delhi.”

However, Fraser Castellino, the CEO of the Jaipur franchise, said he had not heard of this development and didn’t want to comment on the possibility. Bangalore have already hosted Rajasthan in the tournament – on April 26 – in a game that the visitors won by a comfortable margin.

At least five major blasts rocked Jaipur, the base of the Rajasthan Royals, with the death and injury toll on the rise. The Rajasthan team haven’t been affected: most of the team is currently holidaying in Goa and the others have gone back to their respective homes.

In an apparent bid to cut cost, the Kolkata Knight Riders team management “politely” asked five of the players, who are yet to feature in the side’s 14-member squad in any match, to leave the team hotel. The players are Ranadeb Bose, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sourasish Lahiri, Yashpal Singh and Hokkaido. One of the players said they were “politely given the option of either staying at the team hotel or going home”.

“It was clear what the team management wants. Apparently coach John Buchanan feels that he has found his set combination and had no need for the fringe players,” one of the players said.

Ranadeb Bose, one of the players spoke to TIMES NOW and said, “I did not expect this was coming. I was surprised when John said that we have to win more games and we have to concentrate on the first 11 or first 14. This is unfair on our part that we will not practice or play any game. So, it is better we go back and relax rather than staying with the side.”

However, team owner Shah Rukh Khan justified this eviction and said that no player has been dumped and all of them continue to play for Kolkata Knight Riders. He said, “John has been feeling that there is not much time for all the twenty-three players to practice. We have to concentrate on the core team because ours is more spread out. Which is why we have constricted the team to lesser amount of people so that they can concentrate on practicising effectively with whatever little time they have in their hands. This is purely a technical decision by John Buchanan.”

Justifying further SRK said, “All the five players are a part of our team and they remain contracted to the Kolkata Knight Riders. They will be with us and we have given them the same explanation of having less time for practice. The franchise is for life and all of them will get a chance to play for the team. There is nothing controversial about the same out here. This is just a technical move so that we can focus more on the upcoming matches and win them.”

Laxmipati Balaji registered first hat-trick of the Indian Premier League to help Chennai Super Kings assert their supremacy over Kings XI Punjab and beat them by 18 runs in Chennai on Saturday.

Balaji claimed five wickets, including a hat-trick in the last over of the match, and gave away just 24 runs in his four overs to seal his team’s victory.

This was second successive win for the hosts over the Punjab team as they had beaten them in the away tie early in the tournament.

Put in to bat, the Chennai team piled up a competitive 181 for four, thanks to superb batting by S Badrinath and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and then restricted the visitors to 163 for nine in their quota of 20 overs.

Balaji provided crucial breakthroughs early and then got his hat-trick in the last over, in which the visitors required 27 runs for the victory.

Opener Shaun Marsh (58) hit a blazing half-century but that was not enough to earn a revenge victory for his team as other batsmen let the visitors down.

Marsh’s innings came off just 38-balls with three boundaries and four sixes including a towering one, which landed on the roof of the stadium, off Muttiah Muralitharan.

Like their opponents, the Punjab team also had a bad start losing two early wickets with James Hopes (14) and Karan Goel (1) departing early.

Marsh and Ramnaresh Sarwan (20) did try to bring their team back in the match as they put together 64 runs for the third wicket. But Balaji, star bowler for the hosts, removed both of them in one over to deal sever blow to the visitors hope.

More disaster was waiting for the Punjab team as skipper Yuvraj Singh (2) too started his walk back to pavilion after he found Stephen Fleming off P Amarnath at point.

The visitors lost three wickets in space of seven deliveries and that wrote the fate of the Punjab team.

Irfan Pathan (40 not out) and Piyush Chawla (17) hit some lusty shots towards the end but that just helped in reducing the defeat margin.

Earlier, Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (60 not out) and S Badrinath (64) hit half-centuries to help Chennai Super Kings set a challenging target.

The hosts overcame two early jolts to pile up 181 for four with Badrinath figuring in two crucial partnerships to lift his teams from the pits.

He first shared a 44-run stand for the third wicket with Suresh Raina and then joined hands with Dhoni to weave a 91-run partnership for the fourth wicket to take his team to a competitive total.

Bardrinath’s knock came off 47 balls and was adorned with six boundaries and three shots over the ropes.

Dhoni’s consumed 43-balls for his unbeaten innings, which was studded with two fours and four sixes.

At one stage, it looked the hosts would easily go past the 200-run mark but a disciplined bowling by pacemen S Sreesanth and James Hopes at death restricted the Chennai team to am achievable target.

Paceman Sreesanth (2/29) had given a perfect start to the visitors by getting rid of S Vidut (8) and former Kiwi skipper Stephen Flemimg (1) inside first three overs.

The Keralite had Vidut caught at first slip Mahela Jayawardene in the very first after over after being hit for two consecutive boundaries.

He then sent packing Fleming when the New Zealander drove him uppishly only to find Karan Goel at covers.

Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla broke the third-wicket partnership but was hit mercilessly by rival skipper MS Dhoni forcing Yuuvraj Singh to take him off the attack.

Delhi Daredevils beat Chennai Super Kings by 8 wickets

Delhi Daredevils ended the four-match winning streak of the Chennai Super Kings with a comprehensive eight-wicket win in the Indian Premier League match at the M Chidambaram Stadium on Friday.

The win opened up the tournament and ensured Chennai, Delhi and Rajasthan share the top spot in the table with four wins and a defeat each, and only separated by net run-rate.

Captain Virender Sehwag (71) and the in-form Gautam Gambhir (50) laid the foundation for the Delhi win with an opening wicket partnership of 115 off just 68 balls.

Sehwag was his usual aggressive self, hitting seven boundaries and four massive sixes in his 41-ball knock, while Gambhir again outlined his credentials in this version of the game with his third half-century in five games.

Joginder Sharma, Dhoni’s lucky mascot broke the stand by having Sehwag caught by Muralitharan and 24 runs later Gambhir was cleaned up by Gony, but AB de Villiers (26 not out) and Shikar Dhawan (19 not out) saw their team through with an over to spare.

Earlier, Sivaramakrishnan Vidyut celebrated his first match of the Indian Premier League with a quick-fire 54 off 37 balls to steer Chennai Super Kings to a competitive 169 for six against Delhi Daredevils.

Vidyut, who hit seven fours and one six in his 54, proved a perfect replacement for Australian Michael Hussey and his third wicket partnership of 57 runs with his skipper MS Dhoni was the highlight of the match.

With experienced Glenn McGrath bowling a tidy line and length, the hosts began at a sedate pace with openers Parthiv Patel and Stephen Fleming not being able to play big shots.

But once Stephen Fleming was out cheaply for 13, clean-bowled by Yo Mahesh, Vidyut and Patel did not allow the Delhi bowlers to dominate and the duo shared a 43-run second wicket stand and raised their team’s 50 in the seventh over.

After Patel was holed out to a good catch by Yo Mahesh at short third man off Sehwag after making 21 (20 balls; 3 fours), Dhoni, though not at his explosive best, maintained the brisk pace of scoring in company of Vidyut.

When Dhoni came in at the fall of Patel, Vidyut was batting on 25 but runs came in at a faster pace and the duo scored 50 runs in just 31 balls, sharing the spoils equally.

Vidyut reached his 50 off 31 balls but made his exit with the addition of another four runs as he came out to drive McGrath only to top-edge to Yo Mahesh at the cover area.

Soon, Dhoni, who was dropped by de Villiers at covers, walked back to the pavilion being caught at long off by Shoaib Malik off Mohd. Asif and Suresh Raina was ran out by Pradeep Sangwan before Albie Morkel did some fireworks scoring 28 off 16 balls to take the Chennai score just one run shy of 170.

For the visitors, five bowlers — McGrath, Sehwag, Asif, Yo Mahesh and Bhatia — took one wiicket apiece.