Vijay's triple-strike, Jakati's double-take

Three strikes
Suresh Raina and M Vijay were timing the ball beautifully during their half-century stand, and with their kamikaze running, a run-out seemed Rajasthan Royals' best chance to break through. In the 14th over, Vijay glanced the ball to fine leg and was zipping back for the second when he realised Raina didn't want the second. The throw missed, and he survived. Two balls later, he was haring for a single which Raina didn't want. Again the throw missed, and he survived. In the next over, Vijay toe-ended the ball towards backward point and jogged through for a single, looking back to see where the ball was. Johan Botha fielded and unleashed a slide-rule throw which caught the dallying Vijay just short.

Dwayne Bravo checks in
It took a marathon journey, including four stopovers, to transport Dwayne Bravo from the Caribbean to Jaipur. He was so tired that he was the only member of the Chennai squad to be given a business-class ticket for the final leg of his flight, from Mumbai to Jaipur. If he was feeling any effects of the exhausting voyage, he didn't show it during the match. In the second over of Rajasthan's chase, he almost pulled off a stunning bit of fielding. He swooped on the ball from point, and under-armed it at the stumps as he fell over. He would have got the big wicket of Shane Watson if the throw had hit. It narrowly missed, and Watson batted on.

How not to catch
Shadab Jakati doesn't have the reputation of being the most sure-fingered of fielders, and he showed why in Jaipur. When Watson top-edged a sweep, the ball swirled towards Jakati, who settled under it but nearly fumbled. The ball popped out of his hands two times, and a relieved Jakati clasped it on the third attempt. In the 12th over, another top edge looped towards him at mid-off. He got under the ball early and attempted to take it Australian-style but he overbalanced and the ball bobbled out of his hands, and on to the ground.

How to catch
Suresh Raina is among the finest fielders in India, and he showed why in Jaipur. Rajasthan's challenge was just about being kept alive by a dashing half-century from Ajinkya Rahane. In the 15th over, Rahane tried to club Bravo over long-on. It was a flat, brutal hit that seemed headed for the crowd, but Raina intercepted it with a well-timed leap to pluck the ball overhead, landing just a couple of yards inside the rope.

Shadab Jakati had an incident-filled day in the field

A double take
There have been plenty of surprises from the bowlers this season. There have been several double-bouncers, and Vinay Kumar has shown off a Lasith Malinga-style sidearm delivery. Add to that list the Jakati two-timer. On the final delivery of the 11th over, he walked up to bowl, and half-rolled his arm over without actually releasing the ball. He went through with his bowling action once more, and the second time he did fire the ball in towards the unsettled batsman, Johan Botha, who chipped it to mid-on. Umpire Simon Taufel quickly walked over to Jakati and warned him not to repeat the trick, as it constituted unfair play.

Keeping his feet on the ground
Doug Bollinger has always been termed a trier, someone who gives it everything when he's on the field. Bollinger found himself on the floor early during the Rajasthan chase, when he fell over after attempting a pacy bouncer. Even in the penultimate over, with the match safely in Chennai's bag, there was no shortage of enthusiasm. He slipped in another short ball, which Botha top-edged. The ball soared high and was going to land just behind the stumps. Bollinger called early for the catch, and sprinted to pouch it. He got there in time, and hung on to it. Once again he couldn't balance himself, though, and tumbled over clumsily.

Warne makes the game interesting for his players

How would Australia have done under his captaincy in Tests?

Shane Warne will retire as a player at the end of this IPL season. He'll leave with only one regret: that he didn't captain Australia on a long-term basis.

When he did captain the Australian one-day side, he was extremely successful; 10 wins out of 11 matchesis an exceptional record.

However it's more than wins and losses with Warne's captaincy. He makes the game interesting for his players, and that translates into exciting cricket for the fans. It's just like when he bowls: there's an air of expectancy with every ball.

The first time I saw him captain was for Victoria in a Super 8 match-up in North Queensland. The opposition required six runs to win off the last over and Victoria needed a couple of wickets. With only seven fielders at his disposal, Warne shunned containment and gave the bowler, Damien Fleming, some catching men. Victoria took the two wickets with aggressive tactics, pulling off a stunning and exhilarating victory.

Warne utilised similar tactics to win the inaugural IPL competition with a Rajasthan Royals side that wasn't highly rated at the start of the season. This was another triumph for aggressive captaincy.

There's much more to Warne's leadership than just his on-field tactics, though. He empowered players by putting them in a position to have success. This then boosted them not only in the eyes of their team-mates but also in their own estimation. He also went out of his way to make junior players feel part of the team.

There's the joyous story of how he turned up with the whole Rajasthan team in the village home of dashing opening batsman Swapnil Asnodkar. The previously unheralded youngster had a terrific season and helped Rajasthan to the title.

Leadership was a big part of Warne's success as a captain. He made players feel wanted and they in turn produced every effort to give more for the team. Warne believed the time he spent with players after hours reaped great rewards on the field.

He also gave players something they crave: honesty. Most players can handle the truth if they are told face to face. What they don't like is a leader who can't confront the many tough situations he is sure to encounter.

Some will say Warne only has himself to blame for not captaining Australia more often. There's no disputing he made his share of mistakes off the field, but he doesn't shy away from acknowledging as much. He once cried off a dinner invitation saying he was taking his kids out. "I may be a shit husband," he admitted, "but I'm a good father."

I feel he wouldn't have encountered as many off-field problems if he had been captain of Australia. Warne didn't have a great self-protection radar system because he didn't see himself as a superstar. He's a traditionalist in a lot of ways and had great respect for the Australian captaincy.

He's certainly made a wise decision to retire from the IPL now, before he's too old to compete. As the great Australian allrounder Keith Miller once said when asked about retirement: "I wanted people to ask why did you, rather than why don't you."

There are very few cricketers who are irreplaceable. The only two who come readily to mind are Sir Donald Bradman and Sir Garfield Sobers. Warne certainly won't be knighted, and he isn't quite irreplaceable but he's close.

Before him, the legspinner who most resembled him was the feisty Australian Bill "Tiger" O'Reilly, who openly hated batsmen. He thought they were trying to take the food out of his mouth and consequently he was ultra-aggressive in his efforts to rid himself of the competition. Warne had a similar thought process and he was constantly plotting the batsman's downfall.

There's no doubt Warne will be missed, not just for his cricketing ability but also for the peripheral things he brought the game. Rajasthan are wise to announce they're retaining his services as he brings a winning culture to any club. If anyone can mentor the next Warne, it would be Shane Keith himself.

Sinking Punjab run into ruthless Mumbai

Match facts

Tuesday, May 10, Mohali
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

	Can Adam Gilchrist stop Sachin Tendulkar's form team this time?

Big Picture

When Kings XI Punjab last won an IPL game - against Rajasthan Royals on April 21 - Osama Bin Laden was still alive, and Chris Gayle was yet to arrive in India. A lot has happened since, and it's fair to say Adam Gilchrist's men are running out of time.

That win was Punjab's third in succession, and since then they have slumped to five straight defeats, without stretching any of their opponents. Even Pune Warriors, coming off a mind-numbing seven consecutive losses, had no problems overcoming Punjab. Paul Valthaty's season has unravelled after a strong opening, David Hussey has not pulled his weight in the middle order, and Gilchrist himself has been a big failure. He has five games left to turn things around, and even that may not be enough.

Mumbai Indians are all but through to the play-offs. Their campaign has been typified by efficiency with the bat, ruthlessness with the ball and brilliance in the field. They will want to lift their batting, particularly in the first half of the innings, as they brace for the business end of the tournament. Aiden Blizzard displayed the sparkle Mumbai needs, in their win against Delhi Daredevils. Sachin Tendulkar has gone off the boil after beginning the season well, and he will be keen to revive his form against Punjab's weak attack.

The form guide might indicate otherwise, but don't discount Punjab's chances on Tuesday. No. 10 beating No. 1 is the sort of upset Twenty20, and the IPL in particular, is made for.

Form guide (most recent first)

Punjab: LLLLL (tenth in points table)
Mumbai: WWWLW (first in points table)

Team talk

David Hussey has scored 40 runs and gone wicketless in four games. Will Punjab drop him and include David Miller? Siddharth Chitnis and Mandeep Singh made up the numbers in the previous game, but Punjab's lack of quality options might give these players another chance.

Unless they want to rest Lasith Malinga or Harbhajan Singh, Mumbai have no reason to fiddle with their XI.

In the spotlight

Adam Gilchrist is hopelessly out of form, but a player of his class is only a cut and a short-arm pull away from regaining touch. The last time these sides met, his old friend, Harbhajan Singh, nailed him for a duck in the first over. Expect Gilchrist to come out better equipped this time.

If Gilchrist gets past Harbhajan, he will come up against the chalk and cheese of fast bowling: Lasith Malinga swerves them in very full or very short at blistering pace, while Munaf Patel lands them right in between those two lengths at a sedate trundle. Together, the pair has accounted for 36 scalps this season, and looks good for more.

Prime numbers

• With 57 wickets, Malinga is one scalp away from tying with RP Singh as the highest wicket-taker in IPL history. RP Singh has played 53 games, while Malinga's wickets have come in only 36 matches
  
• Among batsmen with over 1000 IPL runs, only two average in excess of 40 - Tendulkar (41.48) and Shaun Marsh (52.20)

The chatter

"I took up cricket because of Sachin Paaji. So, obviously it's a great achievement for me to be sharing a dressing room with him."

T Suman joins the long list of youngsters awed by Sachin Tendulkar

Also-rans clash in low-key match

Match facts

Tuesday, May 10, Hyderabad
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)

	The fielding of both teams will be in focus

Big Picture

Both these teams know that they are all-but-mathematically eliminated from the race for the play-offs. That makes the task of motivating the teams even harder for two captains who haven't had the best of times in the IPL, Yuvraj Singh and Kumar Sangakkara. The two were team-mates during the first three seasons at Kings XI Punjab, a team which floundered in 2010 and the dismal form has continued for them this season as well.

One area that Deccan Chargers will definitely need to lift is their fielding. Both of the defeats over the past week came after the a series of fielding lapses allowed the Man of the Match to turn in a game-changing performance. Yusuf Pathan was reprieved three times as he launched a late onslaught to power Kolkata Knight Riders to a tall score, and Virender Sehwag's masterpiece had several slices of luck as well.

What Pune Warriors will have to be wary about is Deccan's new-ball attack. Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma are forming a potent combination, and will pose a big threat to the Pune top-order. Deccan's back-up bowling hasn't been as threatening though, and if Pune are a touch cautious early on, they could capitalise when the weaker links come into the attack.

Form guide (most recent first)

Pune: WLLLL (eighth in points table)
Deccan: LLLWL (ninth in points table)

Team talk

Deccan's trouble has been that their overseas players have done moderately well, but not well enough to win matches. They could consider giving Michael Lumb a game to give them the impetus at the start, in place of either JP Duminy or Dan Christian.

Pune made plenty of changes in their previous match to finally end their losing streak. If Sourav Ganguly is deemed match fit, he is likely to slot in at the top of the order, perhaps taking the place of Jesse Ryder. That frees up an overseas slot for Jerome Taylor to return, perhaps in place of Shrikant Wagh.

In the spotlight

Pune bet big on Robin Uthappa but the returns have been modest so far. He is now being used higher up the order, giving him more time to make an impact. He has shown flashes of brilliance, clearing the boundary with ease on occasion, though the finishing skills for which he was bought has seldom been on display.

Ishant Sharma has had several outstanding matches this season, with the highlight being his dismantling of Kochi's top order. He was spot-on in Deccan's previous match against Delhi as well, and Tuesday's encounter will be his last chance to convince the national selectors he deserves a spot in the one-day squad for the West Indies tour.

Prime numbers

• Alfonso Thomas has the third-highest number of wickets in T20s, behind Dirk Nannes and Albie Morkel
• With 104 sixes, Cameron White is 11th on the list of batsmen with the most Twenty20 sixes
• Kumar Sangakkara has an abysmal captaincy record in IPLs, winning only six of the 23 matches he has led in

The chatter

"When I look at my team, I can't imagine how we lost so many games with that talent. We just haven't clicked."
Yuvraj Singh on Pune's poor run in IPL 2011

"If you don't hold on to the chances that you create, especially when that is wicket you need, it is tough to win the game."
Kumar Sangakkara admits the reprieves Deccan Chargers have offered key opposition batsmen in previous encounters cost them dearly

Chennai breach fortress Jaipur

MS Dhoni showed off his big-hitting skills

Chennai Super Kings' powerful batting line-up spoiled Shane Warne's first game since announcing his retirement and left Rajasthan Royals needing at least two wins from their remaining matches to qualify for the play-offs. Chennai's top four all played their part to set up the win that pushed their side to 14 points, one victory away from virtually sealing their spot in the play-offs.

There was some controversy ahead of the game as Warne said Rajasthan were forced to change the pitch on which the match was played. It proved to be a surface that wasn't the typical slow-and-low Jaipur track, the sort on which Rajasthan have built their intimidating home record. Instead, it was a quicker pitch that favoured stroke-making, more suited to Chennai's bruising top order.

Michael Hussey provided the initial impetus as M Vijay took his time to find his range. It was the usual unfussy innings from Hussey. He relied on power-hits only for the rare heaves to midwicket, otherwise it was more about touch and placement. There was a reverse-sweep off Ashok Maneria, and plenty of eye-catching drives through the off side. Just as the man averaging above 50 in the IPL seemed set for another half-century, he was foxed by Johan Botha's full delivery. Hussey looked to dispatch it over to short midwicket boundary and was bowled.

Match Meter

• 
  CSK
• Vijay and Hussey slam three boundaries in an over from Amit Singh to power Chennai to a cracking start, reaching 47 after five overs

• 
  CSK
• Dhoni took apart Trivedi in the 17th overmuscling the biggest six of the match and a two fours to provide Chennai a late flourish

• 
  CSK
• Watson departs in the sixth over of the chase, undone by Ashwin, to deal Rajasthan's chance a huge blow

• 
  CSK
• Rajasthan's hopes of mounting a serious challenge ended with Taylor's dismissal in theninth over, falling to Morkel

 Advantage Honours even

While Hussey was scoring at a strike-rate nearly 200, Vijay was initially cautious after three failures. It would have been a fourth flop if Ajinkya Rahane had caught a chance in the fourth over at backward point. Soon after the reprieve Vijay showed signs of the destroyer of 2010, with his favourite lofts over the leg side making a regular appearance. All his boundaries - three sixes and two fours - were in the arc from square leg to long-on, a couple came perilously close to the knocking over the redesigned IPL trophy.

With Suresh Raina regularly finding the cover boundary and Vijay muscling a half-century, Chennai galloped to 117 for 1 in 13 overs. During their stand, the most likely mode of dismissal seemed to be a run-out. There was plenty of confused calling and lazy running, and they escaped several times before a dawdling Vijay was caught out by a direct hit from Botha.

There was no let-up even after that dismissal as MS Dhoni came out blazing. He thrashed Siddharth Trivedi onto the roof of the first tier for his first six before unleashing a series of shots that powered Chennai close to 200. In between, Dhoni also pushed his team-mates to race between the wickets, pressurising the Rajasthan fielders and picking off extra runs.

The outfield was extremely quick and there was a short square boundary, but Rajasthan still needed either Shane Watson or Ross Taylor to play a blinder to pull off the chase. Neither did, and that killed Rajasthan's challenge. After Rahul Dravid fell for a chancy 20, Watson holed out in the sixth over, attempting his trademark slog-sweep. Taylor was gone two overs later, lashing a full delivery from Albie Morkel to deep point, which left them at 63 for 3. Ajinkya Rahane unfurled a series of boundaries to reach his second Twenty20 half-century, but that proved too little to curb the spiralling asking-rate, and Chennai walked to a 63-run victory.

Sehwag to undergo shoulder surgery, out of IPL

Delhi Daredevils will be without their captain Virender Sehwag for the remainder of the IPL

Virender Sehwag will miss the rest of the IPL after deciding to undergo surgery on his injured right shoulder. The operation will take place later this week and, with recovery time pegged at six to eight weeks, it should rule him out of India's upcoming tour of the West Indies from June 4, and perhaps even the England series that begins in mid-July.

Sehwag picked up the injury, a slap lesion or labrum (shoulder blade) tear, during the 2009 IPL. He travelled to England for the World Twenty20 in 2009 carrying the injury, but did not play any of India's matches and consulted with Andrew Wallace, the London-based surgeon who had worked on Sachin Tendulkar's tennis elbow.

A BCCI source said it would take a minimum of six to eight weeks for Sehwag to recover and following rehabilitation protocols will be important. "The possibility of Sehwag missing the England tour is high," the source said.

"It will be a miracle if he plays another match," PB Vanchi, director of GMR Sports, owners of Delhi Daredevils, said. Delhi - who will now be led by James Hopes - are presently seventh in the points table and, with three games left, have a slim chance of making it to the qualifiers.

Vanchi said the decision was taken after Sehwag held talks on his injury with the BCCI, who advised him to undergo surgery as soon as possible. "He has a problem, he struggled in the last match too. The BCCI is making the arrangements for the surgery," Vanchi said. "They are waiting for a date. If he needs surgery we are not going to be coming in the way."

Sehwag confirmed the development and is expected to travel to London at the earliest for the surgery. The injury is the same one that had ruled him out of the two World Twenty20s and, more recently the one-day series in South Africa in January. Sehwag was declared fit in time for the World Cup after having undergone rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Though he did not bowl during India's victorious campaign, Sehwag finished seventh overall in the run charts, in the tournament, including a blistering century in the opening game against Bangladesh.

Sehwag's decision to play the IPL was always going to be potentially risky, especially in light of the heavy workload during the World Cup. But he had the dual responsibility of leading Delhi as well as being their best batsman. Sehwag is currently the top scorer in the IPL with 424 runs and his loss is likely to further hamper Delhi's chances, who have managed just four wins out of their 11 games played so far.