This, despite having lost just a solitary wicket at the start of the final over. The Knight Riders had a lot going for them. They won the toss and elected to bat. More importantly, Chris Gayle was available to open the innings with Sourav Ganguly. And while the duo did well to add 70, the problem was that it took 11 overs, too slow for the 20-over format.

Worse still, Ganguly was dismissed after having consumed 34 deliveries for his 31 and though Owais Shah and Gayle managed to strike some hefty blows towards the end, it was a case of too little too late.

No praise can be too high for the Mumbai bowlers though. They plotted Kolkata’s downfall methodically. It all began with the maverick Lasith Malinga bowling a succession of slower off cutters to Gayle, who was completely taken by surprise. The only answer he had was to present a straight bat or let the ball through to the keeper safely.

The smart strategy meant the Kolkata innings never gained momentum. Though Ganguly began well with a couple of well-timed fours in the opening over, he too was tied down by some tight bowling. Harbhajan Singh was especially impressive. Following the batsmen with most of his deliveries, he never gave either Gayle or Ganguly any chance to free their arms. A frustrated Ganguly finally fell to the guile of the off-spinner, going for an ugly slog to midwicket.

If Kolkata did manage to cross 150, it was due to the late assault by Gayle and Shah. They picked up important boundaries off Ryan McLaren and Dwayne Bravo. But, Zaheer Khan got them both in final over to reduce the damage done during the death. Gayle ended up with 75 off 60 deliveries. And, though it looked great in the overall analysis, the fact of the matter was that he should have opened up a lot earlier. The lethargic attitude of the Kolkata openers easily cost them 30-40 runs, which proved fatal in the final analysis.

For Kolkata to put up a fight in their defence, leave alone winning, they needed Shane Bond to deliver the early strikes. On the contrary, he was wayward and ended up conceding three boundaries in the opening over and thus set the tone for the remainder of the match. Sachin Tendulkar (71*) batted in the manner he knows best, driving and cutting with ease.

It did help that Ishant Sharma offered him a number of freebies either on a length or short of it. Once again, it was Murali Kartik who managed to slow down the flow of runs with his accurate left-arm spin. He even broke the dangerous opening partnership, beating Shikhar Dhawan in the flight. But, but that time, Mumbai had swiftly progressed to 61 in under seven overs.

Sachin continued to dazzle even as Ishant managed to pick up a couple of consolation wickets towards the end. But, it was yet another below par effort by Kolkata. They were thoroughly outplayed, tactically more than anything else.

The ability more than will has been missing. Once, the god off the off side—he doesn’t seem to be what he was famed for. His form for the knights has left a lot to be desired and despite this he’s still loved in the city which holds the ‘Eden gardens’. With a series of low scores in the 2010 IPL season, dada’s future looks uncertain.

He hasn’t been able to provide the much needed impetus either upper or lower down the order and more so after he decided to be KKR’s perfect number 3. With the Huge auction all set to unveil itself in the month of June this year and with IPL commissioner Lalit Modi tinkering with the rules a wee bit—Ganguly’s future ‘certainly’ looks uncertain.

In the auction that is to come in June all players will be back in the pool i.e. including icon players. This basically means that come June it may not be compulsory for a team like Kolkata knight riders to pick Ganguly (unlike the last time). This could very well mean that this could be Sourav Ganguly’s last turn out in the IPL (Considering his dismal performance off late).

If dada wants to get back in the thick of things he must ensure that his form is right up there with some consistent performances for the knights in this season. In the four matches that he has played in the IPL this year he has scored a total of 67 runs with a highest of 33 at a strike rate of 90.

You’d expect that a batman who comes in at number 3 would either be a stabilizer (busy player in this form) or a big hitter. Ganguly seems to be caught hanging between the two and as a result is unable to put up the runs on the board. It would be advisable that the KKR management consider putting him in at number 5 or 6.

Once T20 veteran Victorian David Hussey is back along with West Indian skipper Chris Gayle, the KKR foreign combination should change drastically. McCullum too should be back by the 1st of April. When that happens, Gayle and McCullum should open with Manoj Tiwary at 3 and David Hussey at 4.

Bond or langeveldt could occupy the 4th position. Ashoke Dinda, Ishant Sharma, Murali Kartik and Ishant Sharma should bowl 4 each with Gayle, Hussey, Ganguly and Gavaskar (Rohan) filling in 4 or more Overs between themselves.

The whole idea is to define Ganguly’s role in the team or send him down the order. KKR cannot continue on this basis or they would be seen emulating their first season’s performance.

Jacques Kallis continued his unbeaten run, slamming yet another 50, while Manish Pandey and continued with their big hitting spree as the Royal Challengers charged to victory without any trouble, and claimed their spot at the top of the table.

Clearly, it was that three-wicket over from Vinay Kumar that turned the tide in Bangalore’s favour. At 74 for 3 in the 11th over, Mumbai were still in the game courtesy of Sachin Tendulkar, who was looking good on 25. But, Vinay got rid of Rayudu, with a well-directed bouncer, a plan which had worked exceedingly well against the Rajasthan Royals.

Then Sachin, who was denied the strike for quite some time, was cleaned up when he shuffled too far and left his leg stump exposed. The skipper batted well for his 25, but the team needed a lot more from him on this day. If Sachin’s dismissal wasn’t bad enough, Bravo got a dose of his own medicine when an off-cutter from Vinay Kumar accounted for him. Bravo fell for one and Mumbai had slipped ton 76 for 6 in no time.

No doubt Vinay Kumar bowled a great spell, but he was greatly assisted by the ones who bowled earlier. Praveen Kumar swung the both ways and kept the Mumbai openers on their feet. At the other end, the aggressive Dale Steyn took out danger man Sanath Jayasuriya with a wonderful outswinger.

Kallis then came on and proved his merit with the ball claiming Aditya Tare, a smart bouncer doing the trick yet again. Next man Saurabh Tiwary, coming off the back of two 50s, had some troubles as well with the rising delivers, but was good enough to fend some off to the ropes. He was fooled, however, by Anil Kumble’s googly and had to be satisfied with 25.

In Mumbai did manage to cross 150, it were due to the efforts of Sathish and Pollard. Judging the situation well, they rotated the strike for a while. Towards the end, Pollard had to do what he was chosen for, some mighty hits. He managed to dispatch Praveen for a six and a four, but was unluckily dismissed as he guided a full toss from Steyn into the hands of Virat Kohli.

Sathish soon fell to a brilliant catch by Rahul Dravid in the deep. Zaheer Khan then punished Kumar’s length deliveries in the final over, claiming 16 runs.

It was far from enough though as Kallis and Pandey continued from where they left off in the previous game. The Mumbai bowlers tried their best, but there was nothing on offer for them. And, in the end, it was Bangalore did it rather royally.

While the Kolkata Knight Riders managed to succeed in the first aspect, they failed miserably in the second and, as a result, handed the under pressure Rajasthan Royals their first win in the tournament at the Motera stadium in Ahmedabad. Chasing Rajasthan’s challenging 168 for 7 on one of the slowest pitches in the tournament, the Knight Riders could muster only 134 for the loss of five wickets.

The Royals, for the first time in this IPL, looked at ease as the pitch offered enough for their spinners. Skipper Shane Warne was smart enough to sense the occasion and open the bowling with Yusuf Pathan. And the all-rounder, who failed with the bat, responded immediately.

He sent back opener Manoj Tiwary with a quickish one, which Tiwary failed to read and was clean bowled. Brad Hodge and Cheteshwar Pujara then strung together a useful partnership. However, the Royals ensured that they remained in the hunt by not allowing either of the batsmen to run away with the game. Warne also played his part by keeping the runs down from his end though he could not pick up any wickets. And the tactics paid rich dividends.

As the pressure and required run-rate mounted, Pujara was taken out for 29 by pacer Siddharth Trivedi and the aggressive Pathan returned to knock out Hodge, bowling him through the gate as the batsman tried to break free from the shackles imposed. Hodge contributed 36 from 34, but in the context of the game, it was a poor effort.

He fell at the start of the 15th over, by which time the Knight Riders had scored only 95 and had a tall mountain to climb despite having wickets in hand.

Also, it did not help that the ball wasn’t coming on to the bat towards the later part of the match. Sourav Ganguly struggled like to time the ball at all as Munaf Patel and Shaun Tait finished off things very well for the Royals, bowling some accurate Yorker length deliveries.

Ganguly’s ordeal ended in the final over when he was dismissed for 33 by Patel. But, the match was over long before. Owais Shah hit a couple of mighty sixes, but in between those two strokes, he also found the going tough. The Royals took a cue from the battering they received against Bangalore and bowled some good short deliveries as well.

With the bat too they put in an improved performance. Abhishek Jhunjhunwala led the way with a composed 45, but Adam Voges quickfire, unbeaten 37 from 22 balls, 17 of which came in the last over from Ishant Sharma was equally crucial. In between too, the Royals batted sensibly.

After losing Michael Lumb early, Naman Ojha and Faiz Fazal too turns to go after the attack. Thus, the runs kept coming despite the loss of wickets. This approach saw them garner a fighting total pf 168, which was enough to earn them their first points as Kolkata mistimed their chase.

Juan Theron, who was responsible for getting Punjab back into the game with an excellent spell for 2/17, then capped off a perfect game, claiming Matthew Hayden and Suresh Raina in the super over, conceding just nine runs. Chasing 10 to win, Mahela Jayawardene created further drama when he followed up a lofted six off Muttiah Muralitharan with another airy shot, which landed into the hands of the fielder just short of the boundary. Yuvraj Singh, with a reverse sweep, however ensured that Punjab did not lose this golden opportunity.

With all due credit to Punjab for their first win, it has to be said that Chennai kicked themselves in the foot. After openers Hayden (33) and Pathiv Patel (57) gave them another flying start, they should have easily won the game. However that was not to be. Instead, skipper Raina ran himself out for 15 and Murali Vijay was trapped in front of the stumps for a duck by the impressive Theron.

S Badrinath did not help the team’s cause by edging Yuvraj behind the wickets for 2, Kumar Sangakkara taking a brilliant fumbling catch, standing up to the wickets. Despite the quick loss of wickets, at 104/4 and with Patel still at the crease, Chennai continued to remain favourites. But, the momentum was now with Punjab and they used it to the best possible advantage.

Patel, who was well set having reached his half-century, threw his wicket away, blindly going for a slog against Piyush Chawla, Truly, the pressure had got to him. The remaining batsmen found it equally tougher. Chennai were not helped in the cause as big-hitting Justin Kemp was hurt earlier in the day and could not bat at his usual position.

Instead, Manpreet Gony came in and went without having made much of a contribution and when R Ashwin was dismissed in the final over, try to hit the winning runs, Punjab knew that they had a great chance of pulling it off in the super over.

Chennai’s poor batting effort meant the excellent bowling effort of Muralitharan earlier in the day went in vain. The Sri Lankan great picked up his two countrymen from the opposition – Jayawardene and Sangakkara — and later added Mhd Kaif to his kitty, as Punjab came up with yet another disappointing batting effort. Murali was excellently supported by Albie Morkel, who picked up the other two big fishes from Punjab, Ravi Bopara and Yuvraj.

The Kings XI did experiment with their batting order, sending Irfan Pathan in to the open the innings. It did click as he smashed 39 from 32 balls. However, with Yuvraj (43) being the only other substantial contributor, they could accumulate only 136, good enough on a day Chennai faltered.

Punjab, though, fought back as Irfan Pathan launched a marvellous late assault, slamming 60 from 29 balls. S. Sreesanth then hit three boundaries in the final over. But, it still wasn’t enough to see Punjab through as they fell short by a mere six runs in the end.

Coming back to Vaas, he brought all his experience into play to ensure that Punjab did not get off to a flyer in their chase. The slower delivery with which he cleaned up his Lankan team-mate and current skipper Kumar Sangakkara proved that there is still some fire left in him. As if he hadn’t made a strong enough point, he soon had Yuvraj Singh caught out.

Before the match, Punjab knew that for them to win Sangakkara and Yuvraj will have to play key roles. But, with Vaas consuming both of them, Punjab never recovered until the final flourish. The batting side did not help their cause as the in-form Manvinder Bisla was run-out early on following a mix-up with Ravi Bopara.

Punjab still had Mahela Jayawardene in their ranks, but the Deccan bowlers were on a roll and never allowed anyone to settle down. Andrew Symonds and Pragyan Ojha played their parts well Jayawardene and Adrian Barath respectively. All this while, Bopara was watching the carnage from the other end. He played some typical fluent strokes and reached 38.

But, with wickets tumbling, he had to go for the big shots and perished in the deep to Rohit Sharma. At 68 for 6, the match seemed out of grasp. However, credit to the ‘left-handed’ Pathan for almost pulling it off. The Baroda all-rounder played some breathtaking strokes, hitting five sixes in all to take his side to the brink.

Earlier in the day, Adam Gilchrist got his side off to a cracking start. He destroyed a wayward Sreesanth and dispatched him to all parts of the ground en route to his 12-ball stay of 33. Sreesanth’s performance was disappointing yet again for Punjab as he bowled length and gave ample room for Gilchrist to free his arms. As expected, the Deccan Chargers skipper did not miss out. It was eventually, the slow nature of the pitch that got the better of him, as he went for a half-hearted pull.

Gilchrist’s dismissal silenced the innings for a while. However, batting like a true pro, the bad boy of Australian cricket, Andrew Symonds notched up a half-century. Symonds got the measure of the slow pitch early in his innings and adjusted accordingly. It was his smart innings combined by useful contributions from Herschelle Gibbs and T Suman that helped Deccan post 170. And with Vaas in top form, they were able to successfully defend it.

The Australian’s splendid innings came off just 43 balls and was punctuated with nine fours and featured an almost unbelievable seven sixes. All the bowlers came in for massive punishment at the hands of Hayden except the ever-dependable Dirk Nannes, who ended with figures of 1/18 from his quota of four overs. From among the rest, Umesh Yadav was spanked for 38, Pradeep Sangwan for 46 and Rajat Bhatia went for as many as 31 from his two overs.

Even when stand-in skipper Dinesh Karthik turned to spin, things didn’t get any better. Hayden launched both Amit Mishra and Tillakaratne Dilshan regularly over the top. And, when he was finally dismissed for 93, captain Raina took over. With no pressure of scoring quickly, he and Murali Vijay, who played a couple of significant lofted shots after the big hitters like Albie Morkel and Justin Kemp fell cheaply, easily guided Chennai to victory.

While both teams missed their regular captains, it was Delhi who had to pay heavily for the loss of Gautam Gambhir. In his absence, only Virender Sehwag could make a noteworthy impact. Though Mithun Manhas (32) and Rajat Bhatia (21 not out) did their best towards the end of the innings, the failure of their middle-order haunted the Daredevils. Also, they seem to be desperately missing the services of the experienced Ashish Nehra.

Without him, Nannes has had to fight a lone battle with the ball in hand. In contrast, Hayden and Raina ensured that they more than made up for MS Dhoni’s absence, at least for this game. And, they would like to continue in the same vein until the skipper is totally fit to take the field.

For Delhi, they would like to see marked improvements in their fielding as well, apart from their bowling. The home side for the match missed a number of run out opportunities and even dropped a couple of catches, which did cost them. Had they hung on to some, who knows the result could have been different or at least the game would have been a lot more competitive in the second half, when Hayden was literally decimating the bowling.

Also, they would like see better performances from the likes of David Warner and, in particular, Dilshan whose lack of form has been hurting them big time. A few runs from stand-in captain Karthik would also help. It is still early days in the tournament, but two indifferent performances in consecutive games doesn’t augur well for the Daredevils.

The duo went hammer and tongs right from the start, but a smart piece of bowling by Lasith Malinga ended Dilshan’s threatening knock. Dilshan was cleaned up by a slower ball for 17 and that opened the floodgates as Mumbai cruised to a comprehensive win.

The victory was achieved thanks in main to two utterly entertaining and typical T20 knocks. One was played by none other than the master blaster Tendulkar. He batted as if he was the 16-year-old Sachin, fearlessly thrashing the bowlers all around the park. It was a great sight to watch the Mumbaikar in great flow.

Over the years, the heavy burden of expectations has forced him to play in a rather measured manner. But, thanks to T20 we can again see glimpses of the batsman, who dominated bowlers the world over with utter disdain. As usual, his innings featured lofted drives down the ground and deft touches behind the wicket. However, it was the sight of him charging down the wickets and hitting the spinner over the top that remains a favourite with Sachin fans.

When the little master eventually fell striving for quick runs, Delhi heaved a sigh of relief. But, they could not have fathomed what was to come. Saurabh Tiwary was equally explosive if not more and sent the Delhi bowlers on a massive leather hunt. With four boundaries and three sixes, he ensured that Mumbai easily crossed 200. Tiwary got great support from Ambati Rayadu, who contributed 34, an innings which also included three sixes.

While the Mumbai batsmen benefited from a number of useful partnerships, the Delhi bowling was completely out of sync. For a change even Dirk Nannes went for runs, bowling length deliveries and being punished accordingly against a strong batting line-up. Still, his figures of none for 35 were respectable in comparison to the rest. Though Farveez Maharoof picked up two wickets, that of Sanath Jayasuriya and Rayadu, he leaked 50 runs.

Spraying the ball all over, he was easy meat for the Mumbai batsmen. Left-arm quickie Pradeep Sangwan and the two spinners, Ladda and Mishra, did not fare any better. While Sangwan managed to sneak in one economical over, the latter who were torn apart by Sachin, Tiwary and Rayadu.

The onslaught did not seem to dent Delhi’s confidence though as Dilshan and Sehwag began merrily. However, they missed Gambhir big time, which was evident from the fact that no one was prepared to stick around once they lost a few quick wickets. Bravo, Harbhajan and Jayasuriya took advantage of the situation and added a couple of scalps each to their kitty.

This win by Mumbai has now set up the tournament nicely, with no team being able to extent their winning steak beyond two. Whether Mumbai will break the hoodoo remains to be seen.

Openers Manish Pandey (38) and Kallis scripted the Bangalore reply perfectly. Pandey was especially severe at the top of the order, taking on S. Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan successfully even as the experienced Kallis was prepared to bide his time by and watch the action from the other end. Sreesanth and Irfan made the mistake of bowling either short or on a length, giving the young Pandey enough opportunities to swing his bat around. Left-arm pacer Yusuf Abdulla also did not fare any better, feeling the pressure.

The Bangalore openers added 74 very quickly and Kumar Sangakkara was forced to turn to spin in an effort to break the deadly partnership. Piyush Chawla eventually did the trick for Punjab. Pandey went for a mighty heave against the impressive leggie and only managed to end up hitting one straight in the air. Irfan Pathan, who dropped a skier in the previous game, managed to hang on to this offering rather easily. However, if Punjab though they could heave a sense of relief, they were absolutely wrong.

In walked India discard Robin Uthappa and took full advantage of the great platform set. Uthappa was in only for 21 deliveries, but by the time he left, he had more or less sealed the fate of the game. The ultra-talented Uthappa did not slog his way around. Instead, he tried to hit as straight as possible and was rewarded rather fruitfully. In Sreesanth’s comeback over, he slammed the bowler for three monstrous sixes, turning the tide of the game in Bangalore favour.

He eventually to debutant left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma fell going another big shot on the off side. But, not before ensuring that the run-rate was well within the home side’s grasp.

The best innings of the game was yet to be played though. Kallis, who was quiet all this while, suddenly went into overdrive mode and finished off the game in whisker. He was extremely severe on Sharma, who was rather economical until that point, slamming him for three huge sixes in one over.

Later, Abdulla who was recalled also went for a few boundaries, making things worse for Punjab. Virat Kohli came in and played a nice cameo to finish off the game in the company of Kallis.

The South African all-rounder’s magical knock overshadowed fine efforts by the Punjab openers Ravi Bopara (77) and Manvinder Bisla (75). Batting first, the duo was in fine striking form, adding 129 for the opening wicket in just over 14 overs. Praveen Kumar, Dale Steyn, Kallis and Anil Kumble all went for plenty.

Mahela Jayawardene played a splendid cameo of 26 to help Punjab post an imposing 203. However, Bangalore had enough in their tank to overhaul the score.

As such, the loss has to be attributed to some poor batsmanship, and possibly a sense of complacency. In stark contrast, Chennai recovered from a precarious 55 for 3 to post a challenging score of 164. MS Dhoni (66*) and Subramanian Badrinath (43*) combined brilliantly, blending caution and aggression in the right proportions, to see to it that the bowlers had a reasonable total to defend.

Chennai had some good fortune early on with the ball as a fierce hit from the in-form Brad Hodge (0) landed straight into the hands of R. Ashwin in the very first over of the innings bowled by Albie Morkel. And from thereon, Chennai made sure that they capitalized on the great start.

They were aided to quite an extent by the Kolkata batsmen, who played some atrocious slogs in between some flourishing strokes. A case in point was Manoj Tiwari (8), who hit a couple of spanking boundaries only to throw it away, playing across the line. Wriddhiman Saha’s exit was no different. He raced to 22, which included five wonderfully timed boundaries before he fell prey to some smart captaincy by Dhoni. The Indian skipper left the field open on the on side, and looking to play across the line, Saha was cleaned up by Laxmipathy Balaji.

At 34 for 3, Kolkata were in a similar position to Chennai earlier in the innings. But, instead of looking to rebuild, they continued to go for the big shots and perished one after the other. To be fair to Owais Shah, he got a good outgoing delivery from Balaji and couldn’t do much better than edging it behind the wickets while on 5. However, the rest, including skipper Sourav Ganguly (11 from 20 balls) succumbed to the pressure and the game sadly meandered to a one-sided result.

Due credit needs to be given to all the Chennai bowlers for sticking to their guns. Balaji (2/9) was highly impressive at the top while Justin Kemp (3/12) picked up crucial wickets in the middle overs.

The win though wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of Dhoni and Badrinath. The duo joined forces when Chennai were struggling and the Kolkata bowlers were in complete control of the situation. Ishant Sharma had knocked over Matthew Hayden for 1. Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina also fell after getting starts. But, Dhoni came up with the special act expected of him.

After playing himself in, he unleashed an array of lofted, bottom hand strokes that spoiled the figures of Shane Bond, who was sensational at the start, as well as Ishant and Laxmi Shukla. Murali Kartik was the only one who escaped without punishment. At the other end, Badrinath too joined in the act with a mighty six towards the end.

On another day, 164 might not have been enough. But, considering that Kolkata were committed to falter, it proved to be more than handy.