IPL9 - Gujarat Lions turn giant killers - beat Rising Pune Supergiants at Rajkot

Gujarat Lions captained by Suresh Raina turned giant killers when they defeated Rising Pune Supergiants captained by M S Dhoni by seven wickets with 2 overs to spare at Rajkot in their IPL9 match - it was the second win for GL in two matches.
This has been reported in cricbuzz.com dated 15 April 2016.

Winning the toss, Dhoni chose to bat first and, his decision did not give the results that he would have liked. Pune Supergiants succeeded in posting a total of 163 for 5 which was nver adequate. The early platform was laid by Faf du Plessis (69) and Kevin Pietersen (37), but it needed a blitzy 10-ball 22 from their captain to give them a total of respectability. They lost three quick wickets in the form of Pietersen, Du Plessis and Steven Smith and that left a deep dent. From 121 for 2 after 15 overs, they folded up for 166 - they could add only 20 runs in the next three overs, thanks to the bowling efforts of the hosts.
In reply, it became a sort of cakewalk for the Gujarat Lions because Aaron Finch continued his impressive form with a fine fifty, and, with Brendon McCullum, scored a fantastic 85-run opening stand off just 8.3 overs. That laid the base for the win. Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets giving away 18 runs in his four-over spell while Tambe took 2 wickets conceding 33 runs.
Aaron Finch received the second successive Man of the Match award and is, now, the proud owner of the orange cap.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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IPL8 – CSK beat RR by 12 runs to once again prove that they have the firepower

#IPL8 #CSKvsRR #RavindraJadeja #BrendonMcCullum It was a home game for Chennai Super Kings but, at one time, it appeared that the score of 157 for 5 that they had put up might not have been enough. But, Ravindra Jadeja rose to the occasion to scalp 4 wickets for just 11 runs to defeat Rajasthan Royals by 12 runs and allow CSK to regain the No 1 spot in the points table.
Mohit Sharma (3/25) also bowled a good spell and added to the miseries of Rajasthan Royals.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 11 May 2015.

MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat first but when Dwayne Smith and Suresh Raina returned to the dugout with the score at 15 for 2 in the 4th over, it meant trouble ahead. However, Brendon McCullum smashed a quick-fire 81 and in the company of Faf du Plesis (29) steadied the ship with a 101-run stand for the third-wicket.
However, RR bowler Chris Morris (3/19) produced a brilliant display with the ball and managed to restrict CSK to a modest 157 for five.
Chasing this apparently achievable target, Rajasthan's innings just fell apart after a steady start by Ajinkya Rahane (23). He and Shane Watson (28) shared 37 runs for the opening wicket before disaster struck in the form of Mohit Sharma when he scalped Rahane.
Samson (26 off 17), James Faulkner (16 off 13) and Chris Morris (16 not out off 10) made useful contributions but Dwayne Bravo (2/43) got two wickets towards the end to snuff out any opposition.

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IPL8 – Chennai Super Kings register convincing win against Kings XI Punjab

#IPL8 #CSKvKXIP #BrendonMccullum #RavindraJadeja It was a Saturday evening when spectators had turned up at the MA Chidambaram Stadium to watch and enjoy a game of absorbing T20 cricket but, the lackluster performance of the Kings XI Punjab left the spectators disappointed. This has been reported in cricbuzz.com dated 26 April 2015.

It was the 5th win in six matches by Chennai Super Kings and the Kings XI Punjab had no answer to the strategies of CSK that kept paying rich dividends while their own strategies fell flat.
Once again, the CSK openers Brendon McCullum (44 ball 66) and Dwayne Smith (26) set the run plundering fest by amassing and a couple of dropped catches by KXIP fielders ultimately saw CSK set a formidable score of 192 for 3 – and KXIP need 193 to win.
But, with the failure of the likes of Virendra Sehwag, KXIP could post only 95/9 and out of this, Murali Vijay contributed 34 runs – the main wreckers of KXIP were Ravindra Jadeja 3/22, Nehra 2/16 and Ashwin 2/14. Brendon McCullum was declared Man of the Match.

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IPL8 – Chennai pulverizes Mumbai, scores required 184 runs with 20 balls left

#IPL8 #MIvsCSK #wankhede #dwaynesmith #Brendonmccullum Mumbai Indians, searching desperately for their first win in IPL8, were yet again left licking their wounds. Winning the toss and electing to bat, they managed to post a fairly good score of 183 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in spite of a miserable start but had not reckoned with the batting prowess of Chennai Super Kings even when playing away games.
This has been reported in cricbuzz.com dated 17 April 2015.

The Chennai opening batsmen plundered runs at will and the pair of Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum made a mockery of the target of 184 set by Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. Their opening stand of 109-runs in just 44 balls helped CSK to their third successive victory by six wickets and with 20 balls to spare.
Mumbai Indians, in search of their first win, had done well to post 183 for 7 thanks to Kieron Pollard's 30-ball 64 - after being three down for just 12 runs in the early stages of their innings.
The loss belted out to MI by CSK was certainly not due to bad bowling but a case of two attacking batsmen, facing a stiff target and playing inhibited cricket on a batting friendly pitch.
Loss of any match is always a disappointment, especially when it happens in front of the home crowd.

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2nd successive win for CSK in IPL8 - Brendon McCullum’s 100 not out set the tone

#IPL8 #CSKvsSRH #BrendonMcCullum #DaleSteyn #CSK #SRH Brendon McCullum did not pull his weight in the previous match of CSK and, in order to make amends, he hit an unbeaten 56-ball century against the Sunisers Hyderabad SRH at the MCA Stadium to set the tone for a second successive win for CSK in IPL8. This has been reported in www.cricbuzz.com dated 11 April 2015.

M S Dhoni won the toss and selected to bat and it was a surprise to notice the absence of Dale Steyn in the attacking team of fast bowlers - it resulted in an imposing score of 209 for loss of 4 wickets by the CSK and, to overhaul that, the SRH needed a planned attack and a dedication of a high order. But – they faltered and, in the end, lost by 45 runs.
Brendon McCullum had hit seven fours and nine sixes against a bowling attack of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Trent Boult and Ishant Sharma. Captain M S Dhoni hit 53 runs from 29 balls (4x4, 4x6) and, the ineffectiveness of the Sunrisers bowling attack was evident from the fact that Dhoni's was the only wicket to fall to a bowler – the other were run outs.
As expected, Brendon McCullum was adjudged Man of the Match.

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