David Hussey's awesome catch IPL 2010

One of the best catches of all time

Bhajji Blasts DCs

Harbhajan Singh for once stole the show from Sachin Tendulkar in a Mumbai Indians win as the Deccan Chargers lost by 41 runs on Sunday. The off-spinner blasted an unbeaten 49 off just 18 balls and then took three wickets including that of the dangerous Adam Gilchrist in the first over of the Deccan innings.

The Deccan Chargers were bowled out for 131 runs in just 17.1 overs. Rohit Sharma fought a lone battle with a 28-ball 45 but the rest of the Deccan batsmen failed to get going. Rohit smashed three fours and two sixes but it was never going to be enough.

Chasing 173, Gilchrist fell to Harabhajan in the first over, thanks to a terrific reflex catch by Tendulkar at first slip. And after Herschelle Gibbs (27) and Andrew Symonds (one) perished, Mumbai had taken complete control of the game.

Earlier, Harbhajan turned it on with the bat in the last three overs of the innings to take Mumbai to 172-7. When Tendulkar perished in the 17th over for 55, Mumbai were struggling at 119-7 but Harbhajan's eight fours and two sixes helped Mumbai smash 52 runs in the last three overs at the DY Patil stadium.

After Gilchrist elected to field, Mumbai were unable to get any momentum going in their innings as regular wickets kept pegging them back. The in-form Tendulkar held one end up but had to play a sedate innings with the Mumbai middle order crumbling. Mumbai lost five wickets for just 29 runs.

However, the game changed when Tendulkar fell after hitting nine boundaries and Harbhajan came to bat.

RP Singh was the most successful bowler with the left-armer picking three wickets for 31 runs.

Pathan Power derails Deccan express

Apart from one dropped catch by Adam Vogues, Rajasthan Royals did no wrong as Shane Warne's pumped-up troops thumped defending champions Deccan Chargers by eight wickets on Friday. Chasing 149, Rajasthan cruised home with more than four overs to spare. And it was Royals' main man Yusuf Pathan who sizzled again with a sensational 73 not out that came off just 34 balls.

The meager 149-run target was never going to be enough for Deccan after Royals got off to a flier in their chase. Naman Ojha (14) and Michael Lumb (45) added 55 runs off in 6.3 overs and then Pathan came to finish the game with his typical brutal innings.

Pathan smashed two fours and eight sixes as the Royals romped home in emphatic fashion and registered their third consecutive win that has now taken them to the third place in the points table. Only the Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore are above the Royals.

Earlier, Shaun Tait's triple strike restricted the Chargers to their lowest score in the third edition of the IPL.

Adam Gilchrist's decision to bat at Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium immediately backfired as he holed out to youngster Sumit Narwal, who replaced Munaf Patel in the line-up, in the first over the game. VVS Laxman made little in his comeback match as he fell for 10.

Herschelle Gibbs looked he would lead the fight back before a moment a magic by the wily Warne sent back the South African for 25 that came off only 14 balls.

And when Andrew Symonds was run out for 22, Royals took complete control. The home side never let go of the Chargers through regular wickets.

But the total could have been a lot less had Vogues held on to a simple catch offered by Rohit Sharma.

Rohit with some sensible batting took the Chargers to a respectable total before Tait snared him one run short of a well-deserved half-century.

Tait ended with figures of three for 22 while Warne picked one for only 15 runs in his four overs.

AB Devilliers Awesome catch againts RCB

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The master at his best

A batting masterclass from Sachin Tendulkar saw Mumbai Indians rise to the top of the IPL standings with a five-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings at the Brabourne Stadium on Friday.

Tendulkar's 72 was the cornerstone of Mumbai's stiff target of 181 which the hosts overhauled with an over to spare. The master batsman continued with his rich vein of form that saw him post his highest score in T20 cricket as well.

Tendulkar was a calming influence on fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan, who creamed 56 from just 34 balls to power Mumbai's initial burst. Dhawan cracked five fours and three sixes in frenetic pace while Tendulkar expressed himself with splendid control for his 52-ball effort.

By the time Mumbai lost Dhawan and Saurabh Tiwary in quick succession, they were cruising to their total. Chennai bowlers pulled them back in the middle overs, but Tendulkar ensured smooth sailing for the hosts. Dwayne Bravo finished it off with the winning runs as Mumbai recorded their fourth victory, while Chennai were forced to their fourth defeat.

Earlier, half-centuries from Suresh Raina and S Badrinath powered Chennai Super Kings to a healthy 180-2. Raina hammered an unbeaten 83 off 52 balls while Badrinath was 55 not out as the pair added an unbroken 142 runs for the third wicket, the highest third wicket partnership in the IPL, after Mumbai Indians captain Sachin Tendulkar won the toss and asked them to bat.

The visitors were given a typically quick start by Matthew Hayden, but Tendulkar's move to bring on Harbhajan Singh in the fourth over paid off immediately as the off-spinner removed the opener after he had raced to 20. Hayden's decision to change to the Mongoose bat in the middle of his innings didn't work again.

Mumbai struck again next over when Ryan McLaren bowled Parthiv Patel, but the the hosts' bowlers had no luck for the rest of their innings as Raina and Badrinath cashed in. Raina's rapid knock was studded with seven fours and three sixes while Badrinath scored a sedate yet fluent 45-ball 55 that had six fours.

Chennai received a timely boost with the return of captain MS Dhoni, but he hard-hitting batsman didn't get a chance to bat with the visitors losing just two wickets.

Delhi beat Bangalore

The struggling Delhi Daredevils surprised table toppers Royal Challengers Bangalore to register a much-needed 17-run victory at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday. Chasing a steep 184, Bangalore made 166-9 in their 20 overs. Delhi, who were lingering at the seventh position before the game, rose to the fourth rank with this emphatic win.

Bangalore got off to a brisk start but lost their way in the second stage of their innings. Jacques Kallis (27) and Manish Pandey (39) started well with a 71-run stand but the visitors fought back with regular wickets to win convincingly in the end.

Three run outs dented the Bangalore chase as the middle order crumbled under pressure. Virat Kohli (38 not out) tried to keep up the fight but ran out of partners in the end. Robin Uthappa (15), Rahul Dravid (one), Eoin Morgan (17) and Mark Boucher (two) failed as the Banglaore chase ran out of steam.

Earlier, a sensational start by David Warner (33), a steady knock by AB de Villiers (45) and some lusty hitting by Kedar Jadhav (50 not out) took the Delhi Daredevils to 183-4.

Though after the flying start, Delhi looked poised to score a total of over 200 but Bangalore pulled back proceedings in the middle overs. However, the Delhi middle order ensured the visitors reached a respectable total.

An uninhibited Warner went after the Bangalore bowling right from the onset, taking Delhi to 44 runs in the fourth over. Warner smashed three fours and two sixes in his 14-ball 33 before Dale Steyn snared him. Virender Sehwag (12) followed his opening partner soon as Bangalore clawed back in the game.

However, de Villiers kept the momentum going through brisk stands with skipper Dinesh Karthik (17) and debutant Jadhav but a brilliant direct hit by Eoin Morgan after strategy break sent back the South African batsman just when Delhi were looking to accelerate.

But Jhadav then surprised Bangalore with some brutal strokeplay that saw the youngster smash five boundaries and two sixes.

Impressive Tendulkar leads Indians to victory

Sachin Tendulkar scored another impressive half century to help the Mumbai Indians cruise to a 7 wicket victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Brabourne Stadium.

Set a target of 156 the Indians innings was trouble free as Tendulkar (71) and Saurabh Tiwary (30) built a second wicket partnership of 56 to help the home side get back to winning ways.

Having won the toss and elected to bat first the Knight Riders struggled on a batsman wicket and were reliant on Chris Gayle’s excellent innings of 75 to help Sourav Ganguly’s team reach 155-3.

The Indians run chase was pretty straight forward as Tendulkar played another wonderful innings proving Twenty20 cricket isn’t just crash, bang, wallop batting as critics claim it to be.

Tendulkar was outstanding with bat; he opened the innings and made it look easy. With breathless stroke play the little master found the boundary 10 times looking untroubled during his innings of 71 which he scored from 48 balls.

The Indians lost Shikhar Dhwan (23) Tiwary and Kieron Pollard (7) but with Tendulkar at the crease the home side’s victory was always going too guaranteed.

Having won the toss the Knight Riders batted first on a slow wicket which offered no assistants to the bowlers as Gayle and Sourav Ganguly built the foundations of a good opening partnership.

Having missed the Knight Riders 34 run defeat against the Rajasthan Royals on Saturday because of illness Gayle wasted little time getting into the action hitting Ryan McLaren for three consecutive fours in the second over.

The partnership grew steadily reaching 70 before Ganguly (31) was bowled by Harbhajan Singh in the 11th over. With only 9 overs to go Gayle increased the tempo with the Knight Riders well set for a score of 150 plus with 9 wickets in hand.

Gayle raced past his half century with consecutive fours in the 15th contributing 31 runs to a partnership of 50 with Owais Shah from just 32 balls as the score started to climb at a faster pace.

With Shah playing the perfect supporting role Gayle decided to attacks McLaren in the 17th over hitting the South African for 14 runs to set a launch pad for the last two overs.

Shah (31) fell in the last over after he was bowled by Zaheer Khan who gained revenge having just been hit for a boundary by the Englishmen.

Angelo Matthews (3) and Gayle saw out the last 4 balls of the innings to reach 155-3 setting the Indians a tricky run chase.