Aarushi Talwar, a fun loving 14 year old teenage girl, was found brutally murdered in her Noida, Jalvayu Vihar apartment. Initially the cops put the blame on their domestic help Hemraj. And then the very next day, Hemraj was found murdered too. Now at a wits end, they came up with story of another domestic help, Vishnu, who murdered both of them. And now comes the latest angle, that Aarushi was killed by her Dad, Dr. Ramesh Talwar, a practicing dentist at Fortis Hospital in Noida. And it was done because her dad was having an affair with his colleague Dr. Anita Durrani, herself a married woman, and Aarushi came to know of it. And now the cops claim that Aarushi's mom Dr.Nupur, herself helped her husband in the murder of their kid.

But considering the way the Noida cops have gone about this case, one wont be surprised to see further twists.  Honestly to call the Noida cops as policeman, is an insult to the term itself. The Nithari case itself laid bare their incompetency, but this murder case takes the cake. First they said it was the domestic servant who murdered her, then after he was killed, they tried to come up with some other angle. In the mean while they came up with Aarushi Talwar having an alleged affair with Hemraj, indulging in the worst form of character assasination.

WHO IN THE WORLD HAS APPOINTED THESE JOKERS AS COPS? THE IG IN A PRESS CONFERENCE KEEPS ON REFERRING TO ARUSHI AS SHRUTHI AND THEN LAUGHS IT OFF. GODDAMN IT MAN, WHAT KIND OF POLICEMEN ARE THEY. HONESTLY MY BLOOD BOILS READING THIS.

And  yeah we have another set of crooks, the media. Right now the entire media is agog with stories about how Aarushi was sexually promiscous, how she had affair with her servant. There was this blog post by one a**h**e, sorry wont call them as columnists and reporters. He was in fact trying to justify her so called sexual promiscuity , when no one had even closely indicated so.

ARE THESE MEDIA PEOPLE VULTURES? OR MAYBE EVEN WORSE THAN VULTURES. VULTURES AT LEAST EAT DEAD PEOPLE. THESE PEOPLE EAT PEOPLE DEAD AND ALIVE. WHO IN THE WORLD HAS GIVEN THEM THE RIGHT TO  INDULGE IN SUCH SLEAZY CHARACTER ASSASINATION OF AN INNOCENT GIRL. FIE ON SUCH PEOPLE.

Aarushi has been murdered not once but thrice.  Once by her Dad, once by the cops when they cast aspersions on her character. And now by the media people who seem to have no ethics, no shame, nothing as they wilfully strip the dignity of a dead girl. Pestilence be on them.

Aarushi's death is a slap on every one of our faces. Her death reminds us of the great depths to which we have degenerated today. It has laid bare the degeneration exisiting in us. And shown that beyond the chrome and steel glass malls and talk of Shining India, there is something clearly rotten.

In the movie The 10 Commandments, during that famous scene where the Red Sea parts, the Pharaoh's commander tells him about Moses"He stops us with a pillar of fire, and then he commands the sea to part for him,  this man is the  Son of God".  Yesterday VVS  must have wondered the same about a  blonde haired, pot bellied, stocky character, and so must have his team mates, who could not contain their enthusiasm. Shane Keith Warne,  take a bow sir, you are truly a once in a life time person. And to his team mates he must truly be a Moses, the way he has motivated them, led them, egged them on.


17 runs to win in the final over, just 3 wickets in hand, Deccan Chargers seemed all set to win their first match. Warne's  Aussie team mate Symmo comes in to bowl. Earlier Symmo had scored a destructive 100 off just 53 balls, and this seemed to be his day. Or so he must have thought. 3 runs off the first 2 balls. Now Shane Warne on strike. Ball No 3, thwack, over the bowlers head for 4. Target down to 10 off 2 balls, again the match is any one's guess. Ball No 4, Warne lofts it for a 6. The target is down to just 4 off 2 balls, and Warne obliges with a massive 6. Symmo, VVS, Deccan and the entire Rajiv Gandhi Stadium are as shell shocked, as the Pharaoh's soldiers must have been when they saw the Red Sea opening up. One of the greatest escapes in any form of  game, Harry Houdini would have nodded approvingly.


The matches in IPL seem to get better. If the match between Chennai Kings    and Mumbai Indians, seemed like an action thriller, this one was like one of those suspense thrillers, where things suddenly take a crazy twist in the last hour. Though I doubt if even Alfred Hitchcock or Robert Ludlum, could have scripted such a crazy twist. It is sad that Australian cricket missed Warne's services as a captain. Honestly the way he has motivated a team that had been written off by all and sundry, and not having any Glam Boys, and the way he has led from the front, is the stuff of which heroes are made of. Whatever happens to Rajasthan Royals, they can walk with their heads high, thanks to Warne. After the drubbing they had in the first game at Delhi, no one seemed to give them a ghost of chance. Now with 2 wins out of 3 they are in 4th position.



Warne's captaincy was seen in the early stages too. After Munaf Patel had been clobbered by  Gilly for 3 consecutive boundaries, he bought on Yusuf Pathan, who prom ptly pegged back Deccan by getting rid of Gilly and the dangerous Afridi.  VVS had also gone to a return catch by Warne. And at 75-3, it seemed advantage Deccan. But then Symmo justifying his high price for the first time, put on a 111 run partnership with Rohit Sharma, who maintained his consistency. In the company of first Sharma and then Arjun Yadav, Symmo played a blinder, hammering the bowlers all over the park, with effortless hits to clear the boundary. Records tumbled as Deccan scored a massive 214 off just 20 overs.


In reply Rajasthan lost Akmal early, but Graeme Smith and Yusuf Pathan put on a 98 run partnership, which laid a solid foundation. Smith played  a good anchoring role, as Yusuf, quite often in the shadow of his more famous brother Irfan, played a brilliant innings of 61 off just 28 balls. However Yusuf holed out and soon, the hero of their earlier match, Shane Watson, was bowled by Afridi. A tentative Smith and a Md Kaif, who was not exactly a blaster were at the crease. Kaif however shook off the jitters, and took on the bowling, especially Symmo, whom he clattered for 2 6's. Smith meanwhile was going steadily, scoring at every opportunity,. The two put on 60 before Kaif was caught by Symmo, and Smith feel soon, both of them to Afridi, bowling a brilliant spell. R.P.Singh bowled a brilliant 18th over, without conceding any runs, and both Jadeja and Salunkhe were out, and at 196/7 with 17 runs needed in the last over, the match seemed to be over for Rajasthan. But then as they say in cricket, it aint over till the last bowl is bowled. Till then cherish the memories of  Warnie, and feel privileged, to have seen this man live in action on TV.  There never will be another Shane Warne for sure.

An excellent thriller yesterday, with enough twists and turns, going right down to the wire, that sums up the Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians match yesterday at  Chepauk.  Though both teams were more or less balanced, Chennai had the advantage with Hayden, Hussey, Dhoni, Oram any one of whom could tear the attack apart. And in balance Mumbai had Jayasurya, Pollock and Robin Uthappa.


Bhajji won the toss and inserted Chennai in. I think the only reason i could reckon with this was of the dew and moisture factor. At best of times Chennai resembles a sauna, and during summer, it is like sitting in a gigantic pressure cooker. And we saw that too, as bowlers struggled to grip the ball, many times it slipped from their hands. And the heat was just energy sapping. Even bowlers like Murali and Pollock struggled to come to terms with the ball. And it was advantage batsmen. Parthiv Patel in his inimitable style continues to flatter to deceive, as he hit 3 4's before edging one to the keeper. Hussey the hero of the match against Punjab, was all deceived by one that came in from Nehra, and at 39/2, it was fairly even stevens. Hayden and Raina put on a 100 plus partnership to get Chennai to a position of strength.


Hayden seems to have a special liking for Pollock. He had earlier hammered him in a World Cup match, and he did the same today, taking him apart. Though Hayden biffed and hammered his way, for me it was Suresh Raina's that was the far better innings. Excellent placing, elegant shots, superb running between the wickets it was really brilliant. Raina later fell while trying to clear the field, and it was Dhoni's turn to come to crease. Though he and Hayden put on a 51 run stand, i really felt that they showed no urgency. Hayden especially seemed to be playing more for himself. With Pollock totally off color, the rest of the Mumbai bowling was plain mediocre. And that is what i could not understand Bhajji's tactics, Sanath Jayasurya's slower offbreaks work perfectly well in this kind of match, and he is a very tricky kind of bowler. Why was he not used at all? Neither did Bhajji try to bowl himself much either. Sachin's absence was clearly being felt here. At the end Chennai Super Kings set a target of  209 in 20 overs.


Mumbai started off badly with wicketkeeper Ronchi run out and then Jayasurya holing out, and the score 30/2. Uthappa and Pollock attempted to repair the damage, with  the former playing a brilliant innings of 43, before he was castled by the bowler Gony. This tall strapping Punjabi bowler was first rate, bowling superbly. Whoever said that T20 is all about batsman?  Pollock fell  soon, and when Dwayne Bravo departed to a stunning catch by Jacob Oram, it was 130/5 and after a couple of balls Khote also departed with the score now at 141/6 in 15.3 overs. With most of the batsmen back in the pavilion, and an asking rate creeping up to 15, it seemed like a total rout on the cards for Mumbai.


But then as you say that in cricket, the match aint over till the last ball. Bhajji was a failure as a captain, but as a batsman he showed that he can still fight till then end. And yes another hero came on to the center stage now Abhishek Nayar playing one of the best innings under pressure. Brilliant placement, cheeky running, clean hitting, superb innings by this young lad here. And most important he refused to give up, he made Chennai sweat hard.  Murali was taken apart, and so were Jacob Oram and local boy Amarnath. What looked like a walk in the park for Chennai was now becomming a down to the wire affair. 45 runs were put on, the hitherto relaxed atmosphere was now becomming tense, the Mumbai dugout which earlier looked totally dejected was now on its feet.


And then Bhajji holed out in the deep and the crowd roared their approval. 20 runs off 2 overs still needed. Abhishek Nayar refused to give up and clattered the bowlers at will, Dhoni's smile was gone. Last over, 14 runs needed. Joginder's first two balls went for 8 runs, the target was down. It was any one's match, and to make matters worse, a no ball and a free hit. However Ashish Nehra spoilt the chance given, and Joginder pulled it back. Chennai  Super Kings won by 6 runs, Mumbai however was not disgraced, they lost with honor. And Sachin's return could prove critical. Dhoni now seems to have become an expert at winning these kinda close matches, the T20 final, the CB series final and now this match. As also Joginder Sharma, who is doing what Steve Waugh used to do for Australia earlier, the ice mean in the death overs specialist.

Some time back i had welcomed some of the new features on Moutshut, hoping that it would lead to better interaction and more flexibility. But like anything else, most of those changes seemed to have lost  their meaning. And no use finger pointing here, every one is equally culpable of this. I just wanted to bring some of them to notice. 

And of all feature  the Bulletin feature sucks, big time. It simply does not make any sense to send a bulletin to all the people in your Trust Circle, just because you posted a review or a dairy post. I keep getting Bulletins asking me to check this review or that post. Sorry to say it, a majority of those reviews or posts are on topics on which i have absolutely no idea nor any interest. Let me make it clear i only RRC on those topics, which i am interested in. And i had an experience from other side also, when i recently sent a couple of Bulletins out, and i got some not too favorable responses. Dont blame them also, i certainly would not like it if i get a bulletin on something which i am least interested in. Yeah i do tend to ignore such bulletins, but i dont expect every one to do the same. MS management has two options either scrap the bulletin feature totally or make changes so that i can send the bulletin only to those in my Trust Circle whom i want to. I do hope that MS looks into this aspect as soon as possible.

One is a master of the line and length, renowned for choking the batsmen and getting them out. Another is a young tyro whose action is modelled on the former, and who takes pride in being called the next of that ilk. Glenn Mc Grath and Md.Asif, two bowlers, with a similar kind of action, both of whom have a reputation of being Uncle Scrooge when it comes to giving runs. And when both of them are on the same side, one can just imagine the plight of the opposing batsmen. Add to that Fervez Maharoof, who manages to choke batsmen with his straight line and length.


When the 3 came together for Veeru's Delhi Daredevils, the Deccan Chargers, filled with stroke players like Afridi, Symonds, Gilchrist, found themselves in a total choke. VVS found himself castled by one that came in, Gilchrist played on to the stumps, Venu Gopal looked like a deer caught in the headlights as he played and missed, before Maharoof put and end to his misery. Symonds threatened, and fell, Afridi fell before even threatening, and Deccan Chargers found itself totally discharged. The recovery was led by a youngster who played no fancy or flashy shots, just simple intelligent cricket. Rohit Sharma, take a bow, we knew he had the talent, we saw that in T20 and in the CB Series. And today he revealed that he had a mature cricketing brain, as he built up the innings intelligently and then exploded in the last 3 overs, including a 26 run over off the otherwise impressive Maharoof.


Actually it was only in those last 3 overs that Deccan Chargers seemed to be playing a game. Two teams were playing, but Deccan Chargers was certainly not one of them. Its array of stroke players and glam boys found themselves totally stiffled and choked by McGrath, Asif and Maharoof, and even the other two bowlers, YoMahesh and Bhatia. The fielding of Delhi was spot on, with balls rarely reaching the boundary. And had it not been for Rohit Sharma's brilliant knock, they would not even have reached that stage. The strategy seemed to make no sense at all.On what grounds was Venu Gopal Rao sent as an opener? He totally looked like a fish out of water in T20, and makes me wonder how he was even selected.


And their defence of the total was as listless. While Vaas did put in an effort to choke the runs, the others were not as impressive for sure. The only success they had was when R.P.Singh got Gambhir out to a nothing shot. And of course the biggest blunder was dropping Sehwag. It is simple, you drop Veeru, you are asking to get massacred. And a massacre it was, as Sehwag played a blinder of an innings. And no it was not just about big hitting, it was an intelligent knock with excellent placings and good running between the wickets. And of course the icing on the cake, when Veeru hammered Symonds for 30 runs, talk of getting a taste of one's medicine.


After Punjab, Deccan is the next hyped up team to disappoint in IPL. Maybe they could take a leaf out of Delhi's book. Veeru's team does not have any glam boys or stars apart from Veeru himself. What they do have is the ability to get the basics right. Bowl the right lines, stop the runs, place the innings intelligently, run well between wickets and build partnerships. When you win two matches consecutively by a margin on 9 wickets, that means you are getting the basics right. In the first match it was Gambhir and Dhawan, and here it was Veeru and Dhawan. Shikhar Dhawan certainly seems to be the next best bet for India along with Rohit Sharma. And their bowling attack is something any captain would die for. And Sehwag has been doing a good job as a captain too. One thing the IPL has proved ruthlessley, it is not glamor or marketing hype that wins matches, it is simple good old fashioned cricket.

Well whether you like it or not IPL is here to stay. And who are the persons who can make or break the IPL,  it is not the King Khans or the Preity's or the Mallyas or the Ambanis, however rich and powerful they may be. It is us the ordinary fans who will make it or break it. And the fan following for IPL is going slowly day by day.

Every team  has it's own website, blogs, Orkut communities, Facebook communities dedicated to it. Considering that a majority of MS ians are hard core cricket fanatics, this post is to find out which team you are a fan of.

And when i say fan, as in fanatic. The rivalry between fans of Manchester United and Arsenal is as legendary as the rivalry between the clubs themselves. You have to be a hard core fanatic supporter of your team. Fence sitting is just not done.As a fan you need to wear your heart on the sleeve. If you are not interested in IPL or you are with an attitude of I support the Best Team, sorry this post is not meant for you.

So wear your heart on your sleeve folks, and openly declare your support for your team here in the comments section.

And me all for Bangalore Royal Challenge Team.

We have the Thakkathu------- Victory is Namma Hakku.

The IPL received a major boost on Monday night, when unfancied Rajasthan Royals upset the fancied Kings XI Punjab. This was exactly the kind of match that was needed to rubbish the critics and nay sayers. At the beginning of the match though Punjab was an overwhelming favorite filled with stroke makers like Yuvraj Singh, Sangakarra, Jayawardene, Hopes and bowlers like Brett Lee and Sreesanth. On the other hand Rajasthan Royals was led by an ex player Shane Warne, and most of the players were has beens like Shane Watson, Darren Lehmann, Mohd Kaif, no one really gave them a ghost of a chance.

And when Karan Goel & Kumar Sangakarra started off in blazing fashion, for Punjab, it appeared to be a rout on the cards for Rajasthan. Munaf Patel however pegged it back, by yorking Goel. Punjab also did not reckon with the Old Fox Warnie. Though he has retired from the game, and been out of action for quite some time, that has had the least effect on good ol Shane Warne. He first dismissed Sangakarra with a return catch, then had Jayawardene stumped by Kamran Akmal, and got Hopes with an lbw to leave Punjab reeling at 4-73. Ah the Good ole days when Warnie ran circles around the batsmen, what a sight it was watching him again.

Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan then repaired the damage with a 63 run partnership, Yuvi hitting the ball fluently and sending it over the ropes quite often. Just when the stand was assuming dangerous proportions, Warnie again gets Yuvi out with a plumb lbw and Pathan also falling in quick succession, Rajasthan Royal is back in the hunt. It is only a quickfire 24 off 11 balls by Piyush Chawla, that takes Punjab to a competitive target of 166. Incidentally Irfan's brother Yusuf played on the opposing side for Rajasthan Royals, making it a rare match in which it was bhai vs bhai.

Rajasthan Royals started off none too comfortably with Kaif, Yusuf Pathan falling. Kamran Akmal hit around for some runs aided by dropped catches, but he ultimately fell to hopes. It was then left to an unlikely pair of Aussies to turn things. Darren Lehmann was a has been, while Shane Watson had been in and out of the Aussie national squad. However Watson played a brilliant innings first anchoring it to safety with Lehmann in a stand of 51. When Lehmann fell with score at 99, it was still a distance for Rajasthan. Watson however found company in Raveendra Jadeja, and the pair put on an unbeaten 69 runs to take Rajasthan Royals to a victory none would have even expected. Jadeja scored a quick fire 36 giving good support to Watson who was just brilliant with some wonderful hitting and placing. So ultimately the Aussie pair of Warne and Watson was responsible for this upset. And now with Younis Khan, Grame Smith likely to join Rajasthan Royals, it aint one of the pushovers any more.

Punjab Kings however must be concerned after their second straight loss. In spite of having a star studded line up in bowling and batting, they have just not been able to hit the right spot. And also luck has not been their way with dropped catches and close appeals being turned down. All in all the match was of good competitive nature, being a touch and go affair for most of the time. There was some good batting and bowling from both teams. The fielding however was awful, with catches being dropped by both sides. And will some one tell Sreesanth, that its high time he starts to speak with his ball rather than the mouth. All in all the IPL is wide open now, and looks like any one's game. And me of course will root for Namma Bengalooru, and Bangalore Royal Challengers.

We have the Thakatthu- Victory is Namma Hakku

Kolkata scampered to a last minute victory over Deccan on an Eden Gardens pitch that resembled a minefield. Ishant Sharma exploited the bounce brilliantly sending Deccan captain VVS Laxman back with a snorter. None of the Deccan batsmen could negotiate the bounce, as the ball spit and reared at crazy angles. It was only some last minute hitting by Andrew Symonds, that saw Deccan to a respectable total of 110. While chasing Kolkata did not have it easy either. Brendon Mc Cullum Kolkata's first match hero, discovered that it is one thing to hammer bowlers on a flat pitch, and another thing to survive, as he fell for just 5 runs.

The old wily fox Chaminda Vaas made it a double sending back Ricky Ponting and Wriddhiman Saha. 21 for 3 it was game on, and VVS did not make things easier, by cutting off the run supply, while Vaas and Scott Styris made life difficult for batsmen. Saurav Ganguly survived, rode his luck before he fell. And when Mohd Hafeez got out soon, Kolkata was in real trouble, and as if to compound the misery, we had high drama with lights conking out all of a sudden. Fortunately the lights were restored but it was still game on, with 22 of 20 balls. If it was Mike Hussey who rode the spotlight in Mohali, here it was another Hussey, his brother David, who turned out to be the hero of the day, playing a cool innings and taking Kolkata to victory. The Hussey family back home in Australia would be surely proud.

After the batathons of the first 2 matches, and the totally one sided match between Rajasthan and Delhi, the IPL finally came into it's own on Sunday. Both the matches were totally competitive, both went down to the wire. And most importantly, it showed that T20 was not just about 4's and 6's. It was about true grit and competition. Kolkata Knight Riders overcame a minefield of a pitch, a power failure and a Mexican shoot out to prevail against Deccan. And in the best match of the tournament so far, dark horses Bangalore Royal Challengers, overcame their rout in the first match to shock favorites Mumbai Indians. Most importantly in both the venues, Eden Gardens and Wankhede, the fans took to their teams, like duck to water. The support was raccous, partisan, the opposing players were booed. Are we seeing the beginning of a new rivalry here?

Well anyway first and foremost i am delighted that Namma Bengalooru team won, in a match they were expected to lose by many( including yours truly). There are times when i dont mind eating my own words, and this was one of them. I honestly had no hope for Bangalore Royal Challengers, especially after the rout in the opening encounter. Also most of the Bangalore RC team had conventional batsmen like Dravid, Kallis, Jaffer who were not exactly slam bang specialists, the exception being MarkBoucher. Against that Mumbai had an array of stroke makers in Uthappa, Pollock, Jayasurya and all rounders like Pollock,Jayasurya himself, and above all Sachin Tendulkar.

But then Zaheer bowled brilliantly ably supported by Praveen Kumar. Honestly this was one of the best matches. Mumbai would start off well, Bangalore would pull things back, and just when it seemed Bangalore was dominating, Mumbai again come back. A real fascinating see saw battle. Uthappa played a brilliant knock, but when he fell, Mumbai still had a long way to go, and that was when old fox Pollock, played a blinder of an innings, especially taking apart Vinay Kumar in the final overs to take Mumbai to 165 in 20 overs.

In reply Bangalore started well with Dravid and Chanderpaul. Unfortunately Dravid's stop and start approach, did slow things down, he played some superb strokes, but also got bogged down, especially against Pollock. And just when Mumbai seemed to be taking the match, Boucher and Kallis put on a 55 run partnership. For me Mark Boucher remains the most underrated of all cricketers, apart from being a superb wicketkeeper, he is a gutsy player to the core. In fact one of the rare S.African players who dont choke at the last minute. And he showed his value here, as he intelligently placed the ball, and then lashed out in the final overs to take Bangalore to a victory. This was easily the best match so far.

Well let me stick my neck out, and say for sure, that Bangalore Royal Challengers is the team to watch out. Yeah what i learnt from the Mumbai match was to wear your heart on your sleeve, and i am proud to be a Bangalore Royal Challengers fan. Yep watch out guys, we are the dark horses for sure, and we are gonna give you all a nasty surprise. . Go Bangalore Go.

The first leg of the IPL has seen 3 matches so far,  Bangalore vs Kolkata, Chennai vs Punjab and Rajasthan vs Delhi.

I have not seen any of the matches on TV( don't get telecast here in Seoul), so this is basing on what i track from Cricinfo. So i really have no clue about all the entertainment stuff. But i did cringe when i heard Sony Max was telecasting it. That TV channel has been singularly responsible for dumbing down cricket coverage in India.

Anyway comming to the matches for me only the match between Chennai  Super Kings and Kings XI, Punjab looked like a match to me. The other two matches were mismatches of the first order.

Bangalore Royal Challengers were anything but Royal in mounting a challenge to the Knight Riders from Kolkata. The challenge was over before you could even say cheese. While every one was expecting Chris Gayle to provide the fireworks, it was the Kiwi batsman, Brendon McCullum, who did the honors with an astounding 158 off just 73 balls. It was a one man show all the way as Ganguly, Ponting and co, together contributed only 64 runs. Zaheer, Kallis, Praveen Kumar were all swept aside with total contempt.  In sharp contrast Bangalore collapsed to just 82 runs, making this a mother of all routs. Problem with Bangalore Royal Challengers is that most of their batsmen like Kallis, Dravid and Jaffer are the long distance runners, the slap dash nature of T20 is not their alley. Mark Boucher is the only one who can do the slam bang stuff, but when he got out, it was curtains. Interestingly it was Mr.DuckworthAjit Agarkar, who got 3 wickets.

The best match was between Yuvi's Kings XI Punjab and Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings. These 2 do look like the best teams in the IPL so far. For me though nothing to beat the sight of Matthew Hayden comming out and hammering Brett Lee and Hussey toying around with James Hopes. Aussie vs Aussie, Oye, Oye any one. But the best entry in score card would be Sangakarra being dismissed by Murali. Trust me thats a collector's item for sure. If it was Brendon in Bangalore, in Mohali it was Mr.Cricket Hussey, who did the honors with 116 from 54 hammering 8 boundaries and 9 6's. Punjab did give a strong reply through Hopes with 71 from 33 balls, but the dismisal of Hopes and Yuvraj, put paid to their hopes. Still this was a match, for quite some time. Dhoni's Midas touch seems to continue here also. Inspite of cheering from good ole Preity Zinta and some energetic Punjabi pop cheerleading, Chennai had the last laugh.

After the bowlers getting a hammering at Mohali, the pendulum swung the other way, where the Old Fox, er do i make it Pigeon, Glenn Mc Grath, proved that he can still throttle batsmen with line and length. As they say heroes never fade away. Much more outstanding was Maharoof  whose average was just 2.75. The Rajasthan Royals contained mostly has beens like Kaif, Shane Watson and Darren Lehman, and it just collapsed against the Delhi Daredevils bowling attack. 6/71 at one stage, they managed to end up with 129/8 in their 20 overs. And the target did not trouble the Delhi Daredevils at all, winning by 9 wickets comfortably. Gambhir and Dhawan knocked off the runs comfortably, with Sehwag's early dismisal being the only blip.

The comming two matches are really interesting. Dada's Kolkata Knight Riders will be taking on Deccan Chargers led by VVS Laxman in Eden Gardens, the decibel level is sure to be pitch high. But it wont be easy this time. Deccan has an array of slam bang specialists- Herschelle Gibbs, Adam Gilchrist, Shahid Afridi, Andrew Symonds, Scott Styris in its ranks, and the bowling dept is well served by Chaminda Vaas, Scott Styris, R.P.Singh and you can always count on Afridi for his deceptive spin. This match should be a cracker.

The Bangalore Royal Challengers will face another tougher opponent in Mumbai Indians led by Sachin. Apart from Sachin, Mumbai has a number of stroke makers too like Dwayne Bravo, Loots Bosman, Jayasurya, Uthappa and Shaun Pollock. And Mumbai has a good number of all rounders, Sachin, Jayasurya, Pollock and Bravo, so  Bangalore now has a real tough challenge on its hands to stay in the contention. Till then watch this space.