Delhi face cheerful Rajasthan

Delhi Daredevils were surrounded by the pre-tournament favorites in each of the first three seasons of the IPL. They also begin each of the first three seasons with victories. This time, though, they have been questions over the power of their squad, and they started with a big beat to Mumbai Indians. The only plus from their opening game was the middle-order batting of Venugopal Rao and Naman Ojha; the pair put up some confrontation after the crowd-pullers at the top had flop. 

On Tuesday, Delhi come up next to an opponent who seem to have the weakest team on paper, especially in the nonappearance of Shane Watson, who is away in Bangladesh where he broke the record for hitting the most sixes in a one-day innings. 

As usual, in their opening game against Deccan Chargers, Rajasthan relied on their low-profile Indian players to supply solid performance. Amit Singh and Siddharth Trivedi delivered, taking three wickets apiece, while Shane Warne showed little sign of being away from cricket for a year with a correct spell of legspin bowling, which fetch him two wickets.

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Kallis star in Knight Riders' first win

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) wins its first match of IPL-IV at the Eden Gardens, receiving the better of Deccan Chargers by nine runs here on Monday.

Set a target of 164 in 20 overs, Deccan Chargers' (DC) run chase suffer early jolts after it lost the openers for 15 runs in the fourth over. Jacques Kallis was affirmed the man of the match.

KR's choice to begin bowling with left-arm slow bowler Iqbal Abdulla was a master-stroke. The Mumbai youngster did a fantastic job, snaring three wickets for 24 runs. The openers, Shikhar Dhawan and Ishank Jaggi unsuccessful, which put the Chargers' middle-order under pressure.

A solid fifty by Jacques Kallis helped Knight Riders register their first win as they comfortably beat Deccan Chargers by nine runs at the Eden Gardens on Monday. Deccan Chargers could not have started off their chase on a worse note. Chasing a challenging 164, the Hyderabad outfit was hit hard and early.

Opening the bowling attack with his off spinners, Iqbal Abdulla clean bowled opener Ishank Jaggi in the third over itself for just three. Jaggi went for a big pull but the ball kept low and crashed into his stumps.

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Pune Warriors win by 7 wickets

Pune Worriers

Sahara Pune Warriors cruise to a seven-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab on introduction in DLF IPL 4, cruising to 113 for three in 13.1 overs at the D.Y. Patil Stadium on Sunday.

Mithun Manhas better his standing as a reliable middle-order batsman with an enterprising 35 off 31 balls, lent a helping hand to his bowlers whose hard work earlier had limited Kings XI Punjab to 112 for eight off its 20 overs.

The IPL debutant lost opener Graeme Smith first ball before the certain Manhas counter-attacked. After Manhas deceased, Jesse Ryder continuous in the destructive vein. However, he paid the price for brazen hitting.

Stepping outside leg stump to slash Mclaren over slips, he finished up nick it behind into Gilchrist's gloves. Pune Warriors fans roared in approval as Yuvraj Singh joined Robin Uthappa at the crease at 68 for three in nine overs, 45 runs away from target, and the duo saw them through to the end. At that juncture, Rimmington and Dinesh Karthik drop a catch each. The punishment was swift as Uthappa swung two sixes, clearance the hurdle with smooth swings. Yuvraj whacked one six.

Earlier, Yuvraj, the Pune Warriors captain, used seven bowlers; deny the Kings XI batsmen the smallest amount chance to find their bearings against a varied attack.

Left-armer Shrikant Wagh emerges as the revelation package. The Vidarbha youngster struck in the second and fourth of the match, claiming opener Shaun Marsh and Dinesh Karthik. South Africans Alponso Thomas and Wayne Parnell also did their bit with new ball, hustle batsmen with pace and keeping a tight line. Ryder too kept the brake on scoring with teasing length and gave away just nine runs in three overs.

Kings XI's batsmen manage only one six and 12 fours in 20 overs on a fast outfield, out of which six fours and six came off McLaren's blade. There were no first-match jitters on the field as seven catches were taken. Uthappa at the back the wickets accounted for three of them.

Gilchrist was crushed by pace and rebound against Thomas, the ball lobbing off the bat handle for a high catch into Uthappa's gloves. Rahul Sharma pulled off a sharp catch at deep square leg to send back Shaun Marsh.

He also detained a slash by Dinesh Karthik over slips at third man — both catches off a Shrikant Wagh. Pune Warriors then get a bonus wicket in the form of a run-out. Sunny Singh charged out for a run next a powerful pull to mid-on while Abhishek Nayar at the non-striker end did not respond.

Soon, Kings XI establish itself at 36 for five in six overs, and bank on Nayar to bail them out.The left-hander, opt to blast his way out of difficulty and living a charmed life, slash at a Ryder ball outside the off stump but could not clear Smith at point.

Parnell's line and nip off the track in a three-over spell helped Pune Warriors drive batsmen further into aggravation as Kings XI stumbled to 50 from 11 overs.

Yuvraj then twisted to slow bowlers for further inroads, using Manhas's off-breaks and leg-spinner Sharma to deny batsmen pace.

Meanwhile, McLaren muscled his way to a victorious 51 and Piyush Chawla chipped in with 15 in a gritty 35-runs set for the seventh wicket.

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