Cricket

Rajasthan Royals executed a well-calibrated chase against an off-colour Delhi Daredevils attack to register their second win in two games and move atop the IPL leaderboard. The senior players soaked up the pressure - Rahul Dravid set up the chase and Johan Botha anchored it - while the youngsters, Ashok Menaria and Ajinkya Rahane, batted with freedom to keep the required-rate under control. Ross Taylor added the finishing touches with his trademark leg-side lashes. While Rajasthan's batting flowed seamlessly, their bowling was a tale of two halves. Their fortunes were typified by Shaun Tait's four one-over spells. He got rid of Virender Sehwag and Aaron Finch - two parts of Delhi's powerful top-order trinity - in first two overs. David Warner, the third part, survived Tait and saw off a sublime spell from Shane Warne before counter-punching along with Venugopal Rao. Tait was either too short or too full in his final spell, and allowed Delhi to haul themselves f...

  Shane Watson hits 15 sixes in an ODI Shane Watson knocked Bangladesh's bowlers senseless with a world record tally of sixes as the Australians galloped to a nine-wicket victory in the second limited overs match in Mirpur to seal the series. The target of 230 had appeared a possible banana skin on a slow pitch offering some turn, but Watson made such light work of it, that his unbeaten185 from 96 balls now stands as the highest ODI score by an Australian, overtaking Matthew Hayden's 181 against New Zealand in 2007. Xavier Marshall's 2008 mark for most sixes fell when Watson swung his 13th over the rope, the second six in as many balls off the bowling of Abdur Razzak. Watson added two more for good measure, laying claim to one of ODI cricket's more enduring records, for the highest individual percentage of runs in a completed innings. His 79.74% bested Viv Richards' 69.48% in his momentous 189 not out, out of 272 for 9, against England in 1984.

A significant rally by Bangladesh wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, with the help of the lower order, allowed the hosts to set Australia a target of 230 in order for the visitors to seal the limited-overs series in the second match in Mirpur. Australia dropped Cameron White for Callum Ferguson as they sought a second victory in three days and were in total command when Bangladesh slid to 88 for 5. But Rahim, allrounder Mahmudullah and left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo pushed Bangladesh to 229 for 7, a total that will require a diligent pursuit on a slow pitch that offers turn. Shahriar Nafees had done his best to keep the first half of the innings from petering out entirely but he was not helped by the funereal approach of opener Imrul Kayes, who lingered 41 balls to gouge out five runs. Mitchell Johnson and Steve Smith shared five well-deserved wickets, while Brett Lee was short of luck during a spell that was damaged after he leaked 17 runs in his final over. Seeking pari...

Contextual Links

Date Local/IST No. Match Details Venue 8-Apr-11 20:00 1st Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 1st IPL Chennai 9-Apr-11 16:00 2nd Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals, 2nd IPL Hyderabad 9-Apr-11 20:00 3rd Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 3rd IPL Kochi 10-Apr-11 16:00 4th Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians, 4th IPL Delhi 10-Apr-11 20:00 5th Pune Warriors vs Kings XI Punjab, 5th IPL Navi Mumbai 11-Apr-11 20:00 6th Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers, 6th IPL Kolkata 12-Apr-11 16:00 7th Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils, 7th IPL Jaipur 12-Apr-11 20:00 8th Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians, 8th IPL Bangalore 13-Apr-11 16:00 9th Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings, 9th IPL Mohali 13-Apr-11 20:00 10th Pune Warriors vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 10th IPL Navi Mumbai 14-Apr-11 20:00 11th Deccan Chargers vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 11th IPL Hyderabad 15-Apr-11 16:00 12th...

Dashing Kevin O'Brien (113) smashed the fastest World Cup century to set up Ireland's scintillating three-wicket win over England at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. The right-handed batsman completed his century off just 50 balls to beat Matthew Hayden's record of century in 66 balls in the 2007 tournament. Man of the match Kevin O'Brien lashed 13 boundaries and six sixes in his memorable One-day century to silence the spirited, in majority, English supporters at the Bengaluru stadium. The stadia were all on their feet after witnessing a stunning display of sportsmanship by the Irish team over their old enemy. Kevin, a lookalike of Andrew Flintoff from the stands, played his strokes fearlessly on a wicket where the ball came nicely on to the bat. The destructive middle-order batman played a typically attacking innings, racing to his century with a flick towards the mid-wicket. The crowd and Irish box went up in roar to celebrate Kevin's second One-day ...