Mid-table crisis for Bangalore

Match facts

Wednesday, May 9, Mumbai
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big Picture

Mumbai Indians face Royal Challengers Bangalore for the first time this season, thanks to the scheduling. The two heavyweights have met each other nine times in IPL and the record is almost even with five wins to Mumbai Indians.

Both teams were pre-tournament favourites, boasting intimidating batsmen and experienced bowlers. However, things haven't gone smoothly for either. Royal Challengers have five wins and five losses and they are lingering in mid-table, trying to push their way up. A loss in Mumbai will put them in a tight spot. Mumbai Indians have been slightly luckier with seven wins out of eleven, even though they have been inconsistent. Whereas, Royal Challengers have been overly dependent on the Gayle-de Villiers duo, Mumbai's batting has flickered between good and ordinary.

However, the difference between the teams is mainly in the potency of their bowling attacks. Mumbai Indians are the second most economical team, giving away 7.28 runs per over as against Royal Challengers' 8.47, the worst in the tournament. This has affected their ability to take wickets as they average 36.82 runs per wicket against Mumbai Indians' 21.80, the best among all the teams. No surprises here as Mumbai Indians also have three bowlers in the top ten list of leading wicket takers while Zaheer Khan, Royal Challenger's top bowler, is 18th. Royal Challengers addressed the issue by bringing back Muttiah Muralitharan in place of Daniel Vettori in their previous game and he responded with an economical spell, but lacked support from the other end.

Both teams have done better in chases with a few last-ball finishes. However, de Villiers, who has been critical in those situations, might find Lasith Malinga slightly trickier than Dale Steyn in such a situation. In any case, that sets the stage for interesting contests - Tendulkar-Muralitharan, Malinga-Gayle, Malinga-de Villiers.

Kolkata evict Delhi from top spot

IPL Season 5 51st Match
Kolkatta Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils
7 May 2012 Monday

Kolkata Knight Riders 154 for 4 (McCullum 56, Gambhir 36) beat Delhi Daredevils 153 for 9 (Pathan 36, Kallis 2-20) by six wickets

The clash between the two most impressive teams in the tournament proved to be a one-sided affair as Kolkata Knight Riders cruised to a six-wicket victory at a packed Feroz Shah Kotla, displacing Delhi Daredevils from the top spot they had held virtually from the start of the tournament.

Jacques Kallis made two big early breakthroughs, Sunil Narine continued to confound batsmen and Rajat Bhatia quietly continued to prove an important cog in Knight Riders' bowling as they stifled Daredevils' formidable batting. The chase of 154 proved straightforward, the only real moment of concern for Knight Riders coming when Brendon McCullum brutally pulled a delivery straight at their dug-out in the 15th over.

Daredevils' two most productive batsmen this season have been Virender Sehwag and Kevin Pietersen, and their consistency had so far shielded the rest of Daredevils' batting from too much scrutiny. With Sehwag finally failing after a record five half-centuries in a row and Pietersen back home, the rest of the line-up couldn't quite deliver.

Brett Lee began with a maiden to David Warner, who was playing his first game of the tournament, but Sehwag and Warner slammed 34 off the next two to provide Daredevils a flying start. Kallis nipped that stand early by slipping in a length delivery after a couple of shorter ones to trap Sehwag lbw. Warner also didn't last long, nicking behind in Kallis' next over.

That over ended with an angry confrontation between Mahela Jayawardene and Gautam Gambhir after Jayawardene survived a loud and confident shout for caught-behind. In the next Kallis over, there was less doubt about whether Jayawardene edged the ball but he was lucky as wicketkeeper McCullum spilled a tough chance to his right. He couldn't capitalise on the lives though, as he was run-out attempting a suicidal single. Gambhir under-armed a direct hit and spiritedly celebrated the wicket.

Bhatia and Narine choked the batsmen, conceding only 25 runs in a five-over stretch in the middle of the innings. The biggest struggle was for the out-of-form Ross Taylor, who scratched around for 16 off 27 deliveries, potentially putting his place in jeopardy. A cameo from Irfan Pathan, who again showed off his clean hitting, lifted Daredevils beyond 150 despite four wickets in the final over from Narine.

That total didn't prove too much of a challenge for Knight Riders. Gambhir and McCullum put on their fourth fifty-plus stand in six innings to demoralise Daredevils as they raced to 60 for 0 by the end of the Powerplay. Gambhir was the more fluent of the openers, extending his prolific run this season with a quick 36 before being bowled by fast bowler Varun Aaron, playing his first match in five months.

McCullum tried to muscle the bowling early on but couldn't time it too well, though he gradually grew in confidence and was reverse-sweeping Irfan Pathan by the time he was nearing his half-century. As Gambhir's striking had reduced the asking rate, Kallis didn't need to try anything fancy, sticking to conventional strokes as he and McCullum added 60 before they were dismissed off consecutive deliveries by Umesh Yadav, who regularly reached 150kph.

Those strikes weren't enough, though, for Daredevils to hang on to the No. 1 spot, as Knight Riders coasted to victory with eight deliveries to spare.