Mumbai Indians post third consecutive victory

The march of the Mumbai Indians appeared to be gathering steam as they beat league leaders Rajasthan Royals comprehensively in an effort to keep their semi-final hopes alive.

A solid bowling performance by (medium) pace quartet of Ashish Nehra, Dhawal Kulkarni, Dwayne Bravo and Rohan Raje saw the Mumbai Indians restrict the solid batting line up of the Rajasthan Royals to 103 all out in 16.2 overs. Only Swapnil Asnodkar (39) and Shane Watson (32) of the Rajasthan Royals offered any resistance with the bat to the Mumbai Indians quartet.

A solid start by Sanath Jayasuriya and Yogesh Takawle saw the Mumbai Indians post a sound 41 run opening stand. Robin Uthappa then made a quickfire 34 to see the Mumbai Indians coast to their third consecutive victory taking them to fifth position in the league standings. The action now shifts to the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi for game 28 of the DLF Indian Premier League between the Delhi Daredevils and the Chennai Super Kings.

Orange Cap Standings

Rohit Sharma of the Deccan Chargers continued to retain the Orange Cap today with a cumulative total of 258 runs. Delhi Daredevils Captain and opening batsmen Virender Sehwag was also firmly entrenched in the second position with a cumulative total of 247 runs. Sehwag’s Daredevil compatriot and opening bat Gautam Gambhir also retains his third position with a cumulative total of 225 runs. Shane Watson though of the Rajasthan Royals leapfrogged into fourth position with a battling 32 today taking his cumulative score to 208 runs, just above Kings XI Punjab stumper Kumar Sangakkara.

Deccan Chargers post second win

Early league leaders, the Chennai Super Kings seem to be struggling to come to terms with the departure of their big-name stars the likes of Hayden and Hussey.

How else can one explain their third batting failure in succession, which was only compounded by an efficient bowling performance by the likes of Vijaykumar & RP Singh of the Deccan Chargers.

At 43-4 in the early stages of the game, the Chennai Super Kings always had their backs to the wall and it was only some big hitting by Albie Morkel and Manpreet Gony that helped the Kings post a respectable total of 144.

A half century (54 runs actually) by their stand-in Captain Adam Gilchrist and a solid 36 by Scot Styris saw the Deccan Chargers all but charge to their second win in the DLF Indian Premier League for the loss of 3 wickets.

The Deccan Chargers thus logged in their second victory with 7 wickets and a couple of overs to spare. Importantly, the game saw S. Anirudha (son of former Indian opener Krish Srikkanth) make his debut in the DLF Indian Premier League. Albeit with a score of a mere run it was a debut he will want to forget quickly and move on.


Orange Cap Standings

Rohit Sharma middle order bat of the Deccan Chargers recaptured the Orange Cap today from Delhi Daredevil Captain Virender Sehwag for his display with the bat. He now leads the Orange Cap standings with a cumulative total of 258 runs. Delhi Daredevils Captain and opening batsmen Virender Sehwag is now firmly entrenched in the second position with a total of 247 runs. Sehwag's Daredevil compatriot and opening bat Gautam Gambhir also retains his third position with a cumulative total of 225 runs.