Rajasthan Royals surge to second win

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 from 43 for 4 after 10 overs, to 151. Their bowlers, however, let them down.

"I am used to facing all these fast bowlers." Sehwag's emphatic declaration before the game set up the confrontation with Tait. The encounter was, however, was short. Sehwag cracked his first ball through point but Tait hit back immediately with sheer pace. Taking guard after Sehwag's sizzle and fizzle, Finch barely saw the three thunderbolts - one of them touching 157 kph - that burst through his defences. One over of high impact - one spell out of the way.

Botha and Siddharth Trivedi were not so menacing with the ball, and Tait returned for the fifth over. Finch promptly succumbed to another pacy bouncer, and Tait was off the attack again. Warne struck twice in his first over, nailing Unmukt Chand with a quick dipping legbreak, and Naman Ojha with a slower, looping delivery. Thereafter, Rajasthan let the pressure ease, allowing Warner and Rao to find an escape route. Rao checked in with a couple of controlled boundaries against spin before Warner preyed upon Trivedi's poor lines.

Warner plundered Tait's indiscretions in length for three boundaries in his third over. He reached his 50 by cutting Warne in front of square before handing over the baton to his partner. Rao launched two successive slower balls from Trivedi for sixes over the off side, before Irfan Pathan slugged boundaries off Tait's closing over to hustle Delhi to challenging total.

Dravid ignited the chase with a series of boundaries off Ashok Dinda, but Amit Paunikar missed a wild slog to gift him a wicket. Pathan had shown signs of regaining his famous inswinger in Delhi's first game. Today, however, he resorted to listless offcutters that Dravid pounced upon. With his seamers disappointing, Sehwag resorted to Roelof van der Merwe's spin in the sixth over, and Dravid greeted him with two elegant boundaries. Fifty-seven had come off the Powerplay, and the game was heading Rajasthan's way.

van der Merwe gave Delhi an opening by getting Dravid to edge behind, but Botha and Menaria carried on without a fuss. With a stance and swagger reminiscent of Yuvraj Singh, Menaria camped on the back foot and looked to muscle anything too short or too full over midwicket. He thumped sixes off three consecutive overs before carving Pathan straight to cover. Botha was relentless though, in his new No. 3 avatar, executing paddle sweeps at will and keeping things under control. Rahane kept the flag flying, and though Morne Morkel uprooted his stumps in the 16th over it was too little too late.

who has hit maximum number of sixes in an ODI?

 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.

Mushfiqur Rahim's unbeaten 81 helped Bangladesh to score 229

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 parity at 1-1 after Shakib Al Hasan won the toss, Tamim Iqbal offered a flashy drive at Johnson in the second over and sliced to the left of the solitary slip where Shane Watson held an excellent catch.

In the next over Lee and the rest of the Australians were convinced they had Imrul gloving a well-directed short ball behind, but a vociferous and sustained appeal went unheeded, decision reviews not being used during the series. Australia's disgust at not claiming the wicket would be alleviated across the next eight overs, as Imrul crawled to five from 41 balls, draining the innings of all momentum and then compounded his sin by swinging unwisely at Johnson to sky a legside catch.

The next man in, Raqibul Hasan, played down the wrong line at Hastings and was bowled for a duck, before Smith ripped a leg break between Shakib's bat and pad in his first over, leaving Shahriar to attempt to repair the damage. He had reached 56 when Smith flighted a leg break and was rewarded with the tamest of return catches, as the hosts slid to 88 for 5.

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IPL SCHEDULE 2011

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	Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 12th IPL	Jaipur
15-Apr-11	20:00	13th	Mumbai Indians vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 13th IPL	Hyderabad
16-Apr-11	16:00	14th	Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 14th IPL	Chennai
16-Apr-11	20:00	15th	Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab, 15th IPL	Hyderabad
17-Apr-11	16:00	16th	Pune Warriors vs Delhi Daredevils, 16th IPL	Navi Mumbai
17-Apr-11	20:00	17th	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals, 17th IPL	Kolkata
18-Apr-11	20:00	18th	Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Chennai Super Kings, 18th IPL	Kochi
19-Apr-11	16:00	19th	Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers, 19th IPL	Delhi
19-Apr-11	20:00	20th	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals, 20th IPL	Bangalore
20-Apr-11	16:00	21st	Mumbai Indians vs Pune Warriors, 21st IPL	Mumbai
20-Apr-11	20:00	22nd	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 22nd IPL	Kolkata
21-Apr-11	20:00	23rd	Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals, 23rd IPL	Mohali
22-Apr-11	16:00	24th	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 24th IPL	Kolkata
22-Apr-11	20:00	25th	Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, 25th IPL	Mumbai
23-Apr-11	20:00	26th	Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab, 26th IPL	Delhi
24-Apr-11	16:00	27th	Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians, 27th IPL	Hyderabad
24-Apr-11	20:00	28th	Rajasthan Royals vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 28th IPL	Jaipur
25-Apr-11	20:00	29th	Chennai Super Kings vs Pune Warriors, 29th IPL	Chennai
26-Apr-11	20:00	30th	Delhi Daredevils vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 30th IPL	Delhi
27-Apr-11	16:00	31st	Pune Warriors vs Chennai Super Kings, 31st IPL	Navi Mumbai
27-Apr-11	20:00	32nd	Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Deccan Chargers, 32nd IPL	Kochi
28-Apr-11	20:00	33rd	Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 33rd IPL	Delhi
29-Apr-11	16:00	34th	Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians, 34th IPL	Jaipur
29-Apr-11	20:00	35th	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Pune Warriors, 35th IPL	Bangalore
30-Apr-11	16:00	36th	Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Delhi Daredevils, 36th IPL	Kochi
30-Apr-11	20:00	37th	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab, 37th IPL	Kolkata
1-May-11	16:00	38th	Rajasthan Royals vs Pune Warriors, 38th IPL	Jaipur
1-May-11	20:00	39th	Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers, 39th IPL	Chennai
2-May-11	16:00	40th	Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab, 40th IPL	Mumbai
2-May-11	20:00	41st	Delhi Daredevils vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 41st IPL	Delhi
3-May-11	20:00	42nd	Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 42nd IPL	Hyderabad
4-May-11	16:00	43rd	Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, 43rd IPL	Chennai
4-May-11	20:00	44th	Pune Warriors vs Mumbai Indians, 44th IPL	Navi Mumbai
5-May-11	16:00	45th	Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 45th IPL	Kochi
5-May-11	20:00	46th	Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils, 46th IPL	Hyderabad
6-May-11	20:00	47th	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab, 47th IPL	Bangalore
7-May-11	16:00	48th	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings, 48th IPL	Kolkata
7-May-11	20:00	49th	Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils, 49th IPL	Mumbai
8-May-11	16:00	50th	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 50th IPL	Bangalore
8-May-11	20:00	51st	Kings XI Punjab vs Pune Warriors, 51st IPL	Mohali
9-May-11	20:00	52nd	Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings, 52nd IPL	Jaipur
10-May-11	16:00	53rd	Deccan Chargers vs Pune Warriors, 53rd IPL	Hyderabad
10-May-11	20:00	54th	Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians, 54th IPL	Mohali
11-May-11	20:00	55th	Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 55th IPL	Jaipur
12-May-11	20:00	56th	Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils, 56th IPL	Chennai
13-May-11	20:00	57th	Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Kings XI Punjab, 57th IPL	Indore
14-May-11	16:00	58th	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 58th IPL	Bangalore
14-May-11	20:00	59th	Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers, 59th IPL	Mumbai
15-May-11	20:00	60th	Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils, 60th IPL	Dharmasala
15-May-11	20:00	61st	Kochi Tuskers Kerala vs Rajasthan Royals, 61st IPL	Indore
16-May-11	20:00	62nd	Pune Warriors vs Deccan Chargers, 62nd IPL	Navi Mumbai
17-May-11	20:00	63rd	Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 63rd IPL	Dharmasala
18-May-11	20:00	64th	Chennai Super Kings vs Kochi Tuskers Kerala, 64th IPL	Chennai
19-May-11	20:00	65th	Pune Warriors vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 65th IPL	Navi Mumbai
20-May-11	20:00	66th	Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals, 66th IPL	Mumbai
21-May-11	16:00	67th	Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers, 67th IPL	Dharmasala
21-May-11	20:00	68th	Delhi Daredevils vs Pune Warriors, 68th IPL	Delhi
22-May-11	16:00	69th	Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings, 69th IPL	Bangalore
22-May-11	20:00	70th	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians, 70th IPL	Kolkata
24-May-11	20:00	71st	TBC vs TBC, Qualifier 1 IPL	Mumbai
25-May-11	20:00	72nd	TBC vs TBC, Eliminator IPL	Mumbai
27-May-11	20:00	73rd	TBC vs TBC, Qualifier 2 IPL	Chennai
28-May-11	20:00	Final	TBC vs TBC, Final IPL	Chennai

Winning Moments of India - Cricket World Cup Final 2011 HQ

Fastest Century in World Cup by Kevin O'Brien

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 hundred.
O'Brien alongwith Alex Cusack (47) made the most of an ordinary English attack to bring the match from a no-contest zone to a winning one in a roller-coaster day-night match.
The pair added 162 runs for the sixth wicket with much ease and exposed the limitations of English bowlers in containing runs on a track like Chinnaswamy. Kevin and Alex gave an outstanding exhibition of power-hitting under extreme situation to remind England team of their strength.
Ireland lost their five top-order batsmen cheaply but O'Brien and Cusack dug in to lend firmness and force an improbable win.
Chasing 328 runs to win, Ireland got off to forgettable start when they lost their most experienced campaigner and skipper William Porterfield in the first ball of the second innings. Jimmy Anderson, who has had a tough time in India, bowled the opposition skipper in the first over to spark some doubts about the huge chase.
Paul Stirling tried to up the ante after losing his skipper early with some forceful boundaries before falling to Tim Bresnan. Stirling smacked five fours and a six during his 32-run stay at the crease.
England poor fielding contributed in their defeat as they manage to drop at least six catches in the middle. Generous England bowlers also helped with 33 extras.
Paul Stirling (32), Ed Joyce (32) and Niall O'Brien (29) were the other main contributors in Ireland's stunning victory.
Earlier, Jonathan Trott (92) and Ian Bell (81) propelled England to 327 against Ireland in their Group B World Cup match at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The experience duo added an invaluable 167 runs for the third wicket to help England to an imposing total.
Skipper Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen continued from where they left last Sunday at Chinnaswamy against India. The English openers, electing to bat first, got off to a flourishing start scoring seven runs per over. Pietersen, in his opening role, looked rather impressive today with some exquisite strokes to light up the afternoon.
The former England captain took the Irish bowling to the cleaners with some lusty hits to the fence and over it. The naturally aggressive player completed his 22nd half-century, fourth in World Cups, off just 41 deliveries. Andrew Strauss was more than happy to give the strike to Pietersen, who was having a beautiful time with the willow. The duo shared a first-wicket stand of 91 runs before Ireland fired the first salvo.
Seeing his pace bowlers being smacked all over the park, skipper William Porterfield introduced spinners in the 12th over. Teenager George Dockrell in his second over obliged his captain by claiming Andrew Strauss with a beauty. The England skipper was bowled out for 34 on his 34th birthday.
Three overs later, a confident Pietersen tried to do something unusual with disastrous results. Offie Paul Stirling pitched the ball outside off-stump and KP, itching for a switch-hit, tried a reverse sweep but miscued it completely for an easy catch to keeper Niall O'Brien. His 59 runs included seven fours and two huge sixes.
England's run-rate dropped from 7 to 5 once England had lost their openers but Trott and Bell overcame a subdued start once they got the feel of the pitch. The Englishmen dominated Irish attack with impressive strokeplay from 17th over to 43rd over before Bell's stay was cut short by John Mooney during a batting powerplay.
Trott and Bell both fell within sight of a century; however the former equalled the record for the fastest 1,000 runs in ODI's. He needed 64 runs at the start to equal the record of Vivian Richards and Kevin Pietersen, when he came to bat. Trott struck nine fours before being dismissed by Mooney.
England lost some quick wickets at the end before posting a huge target for Ireland. John Mooney finished with the best figures claiming four wickets in nine overs for 63 runs.