It was double-header time in the IPL again today, but I missed the first match because it conflicted with the Turkish Grand Prix. From the scorecard it looks like another disappointing performance by the Deccan Chargers. After their limp surrender against the Royals they must have hoped for a better performance in from of their home crowd. As it was, they found Ganguly in fine form, and his 91 off 57 deliveries helped the Knight Riders to a daunting total of 204. The Chargers’ batting managed to keep pace for a long time, but they lost too many wickets in the process. A swashbuckling 71 by Venugopal Rao late on in the innings makes the final score look respectable, but I don’t think the outcome could ever have been in much doubt.

The second game saw Warnie and the Royals take on one of their biggest rivals, the Delhi Daredevils. It was Dimi Mascarenhas’s first game in the IPL, and he found himself opening the bowling against Gambhir and Sehwag, surely the most destructive partnership in the tournament. To get out of that with an economy rate of 7.25 and two wickets is pretty laudable. The Daredevils finally amassed a total of 156, which should have been fairly easy. As it was the Royals kept making it harder than it should have been, losing Kaif and Watson to run-outs, and Warne and Mascarenhas to wild swings. Thankfully the tail didn’t panic and were able to capitalize on Watson’s excellent 74, making the 7 needed off the last two overs to bring home the win. Which puts the Royals a game clear at the top of the table. That’s my boys!