Bizarre endings, and Gony's nightmare
Plays of the Day from the IPL fixture between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai
Plays of the day from the IPL fixture between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai
It's not over yet
Welcome to the IPL, where things are so exciting no one's even sure when the game's over. With seven deliveries remaining and Chennai Super Kings needing three to win, R Vinay Kumar charged in to bowl. Suresh Raina slapped the wide full toss served up through covers for two, and umpire Rudi Koertzen signalled a no-ball - the extra run should have ended the match, but it didn't. Raina faced another delivery from Vinay, crashing it for four to take Chennai's total five runs beyond Royal Challengers Bangalore's and giving cricket statisticians something to quarrel about in their next meeting. The extra ball and runs were eventually discounted, and Chennai finished the game on 162.
Welcome to the IPL, where things are so exciting no one's even sure when the game's over. With seven deliveries remaining and Chennai Super Kings needing three to win, R Vinay Kumar charged in to bowl. Suresh Raina slapped the wide full toss served up through covers for two, and umpire Rudi Koertzen signalled a no-ball - the extra run should have ended the match, but it didn't. Raina faced another delivery from Vinay, crashing it for four to take Chennai's total five runs beyond Royal Challengers Bangalore's and giving cricket statisticians something to quarrel about in their next meeting. The extra ball and runs were eventually discounted, and Chennai finished the game on 162.
Such is life
With Chennai's chase off to a cracking start, Harsha Bhogle, in the commentary box, was chatting to Virat Kohli, who was fielding at point, over the microphone. M Vijay slashed the next delivery towards Kohli, who was nutmegged when attempting a regulation stop. Bhogle asked after the misfield whether talking on-air had distracted Kohli, to which his reply was: "Shit happens".
With Chennai's chase off to a cracking start, Harsha Bhogle, in the commentary box, was chatting to Virat Kohli, who was fielding at point, over the microphone. M Vijay slashed the next delivery towards Kohli, who was nutmegged when attempting a regulation stop. Bhogle asked after the misfield whether talking on-air had distracted Kohli, to which his reply was: "Shit happens".
Gony baloney
It's hard to think of a player having a worse tournament than Manpreet Gony. He's leaking runs at nearly two-a-ball, being butter-fingered in the field, and the one chance he had to bat ended in an outrageous swipe that contributed to Chennai's choke in the match against Kings XI Punjab. It continued today, with his three overs being smashed for 39 runs, and him dropping a straightforward catch off Robin Uthappa at mid-off. Chennai had let off Uthappa twice in the teams' previous encounter, but this time the batsman didn't turn on the fireworks as he had at the Chinnaswamy.
It's hard to think of a player having a worse tournament than Manpreet Gony. He's leaking runs at nearly two-a-ball, being butter-fingered in the field, and the one chance he had to bat ended in an outrageous swipe that contributed to Chennai's choke in the match against Kings XI Punjab. It continued today, with his three overs being smashed for 39 runs, and him dropping a straightforward catch off Robin Uthappa at mid-off. Chennai had let off Uthappa twice in the teams' previous encounter, but this time the batsman didn't turn on the fireworks as he had at the Chinnaswamy.
Vijay runs amuck
There's already been a game in which Virender Sehwag was outscored by his opening partner 29-0. It is not so far-fetched when you notice that the one making the runs is the explosive David Warner. It is a bit more freakish to see the scorecard reading 38-0 (ML Hayden 0*, M Vijay 37*). Vijay isn't exactly renowned for his big hitting, but he showed off his ability to smash the ball in the fourth over, lashing 24 leg-side runs off Praveen Kumar. The over read: 0, 6, 2, 6, 4, 6.
There's already been a game in which Virender Sehwag was outscored by his opening partner 29-0. It is not so far-fetched when you notice that the one making the runs is the explosive David Warner. It is a bit more freakish to see the scorecard reading 38-0 (ML Hayden 0*, M Vijay 37*). Vijay isn't exactly renowned for his big hitting, but he showed off his ability to smash the ball in the fourth over, lashing 24 leg-side runs off Praveen Kumar. The over read: 0, 6, 2, 6, 4, 6.
Keeping the crowd guessing
The last time Chennai played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, they made a mess of a game they should have won with ease. At one stage today, Chennai had needed 57 off 54 with eight wickets remaining. But some tight Bangalore bowling and the wickets of MS Dhoni and Albie Morkel left Chennai needing 16 off the final two overs, and the crowd remembering last week's collapse. S Badrinath's cheeky four turned the crowd gung-ho again, before his dismissal switched them back to nervy. The very next delivery, though, Raina settled their worries by clubbing a no-ball for six to start the celebrations.
The last time Chennai played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, they made a mess of a game they should have won with ease. At one stage today, Chennai had needed 57 off 54 with eight wickets remaining. But some tight Bangalore bowling and the wickets of MS Dhoni and Albie Morkel left Chennai needing 16 off the final two overs, and the crowd remembering last week's collapse. S Badrinath's cheeky four turned the crowd gung-ho again, before his dismissal switched them back to nervy. The very next delivery, though, Raina settled their worries by clubbing a no-ball for six to start the celebrations.
Edgy Kallis
Jacques Kallis may have reclaimed the Orange cap with his fourth half-century of the tournament, but it wasn't a classic Kallis innings today. He started off confidently, but couldn't find the boundaries as the innings progressed. In fact, his last three fours were all fortuitous outside edges to third man. After failing to connect with five out of six deliveries in a row, he was dismissed attempting a sharp single off the seventh.
Jacques Kallis may have reclaimed the Orange cap with his fourth half-century of the tournament, but it wasn't a classic Kallis innings today. He started off confidently, but couldn't find the boundaries as the innings progressed. In fact, his last three fours were all fortuitous outside edges to third man. After failing to connect with five out of six deliveries in a row, he was dismissed attempting a sharp single off the seventh.
Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo