Duminy and Zaheer keep Kolkata down

A late assault from JP Duminy proved to be the difference between Mumbai and Kolkata © AFP Duminy and Zaheer keep Kolkata down The Bulletin by Aye Aye Maung May 1, 2009 Mumbai turned the game irreversibly in six overs: the last three of their innings and the first three of Kolkata's. The main characters in this script were JP Duminy and Zaheer Khan. Duminy's late assault helped Mumbai scored 42 in the last three overs of an otherwise limp effort and, on the other side of the break, Zaheer removed Kolkata's openers Chris Gayle and Sourav Ganguly in his first two overs.

Praveen and Bangalore upstage Yuvraj in thriller

Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kings XI Punjab, IPL, Durban

Praveen and Bangalore upstage Yuvraj in thriller

The Bulletin by Aye Aye Maung

May 1, 2009

Royal Challengers Bangalore 145 for 9 (van der Merwe 35, Abdulla 4-36, Yuvraj 3-22) beat Kings XI Punjab 137 for 7 (Yuvraj 50, Praveen 2-27, Kumble 2-25) by eight runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	A brisk fifty followed a hat-trick, but Yuvraj Singh's day ended in contrasting manner © AFP

Nerves? Perhaps. But nerves of steel. Having given up 14 runs in the 17th over, Praveen Kumar displayed admirable composure to bowl a four-run, double-wicket final over and seal an amazing eight-run win for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Two teams that met in Durban at contrasting positions in the IPL traded blows for 40 overs of a pulse-setting Twenty20 and, when it came to the crunch, Bangalore threw the biggest blow, derailing Kings XI Punjab from 70 for no loss to 137.

To put this finish in perspective, you have to understand where Punjab were placed for more than two-thirds of this game. Having stunned Bangalore with a hat-trick spread over two overs, Yuvraj Singh promoted himself to open the innings in place of Ravi Bopara, departed for England duty. He struggled initially against a clever Praveen's changes of pace but the arrival of Jesse Ryder and Roelof van der Merwe brought out the beast. Yuvraj found the middle of his bat and some sweet timing with a club off Ryder past mid-on, and van der Werwe's first ball was dumped over long-on for six. From being 18 from 19 balls, Yuvraj whistled to fifty from 33 with three more sixes, one off Ryder and two off Anil Kumble. The couple off Kumble recalled that innings at this same venue.

Yuvraj fell two deliveries before the tactical break, attempting a fifth six but top-edging Kumble to midwicket. Then, as has happened so often, the seven-and-a-half-minute interval claimed another wicket. Karan Goel had been a silent accumulator while Yuvraj led Punjab's best opening stand of the season but his attempt to fill his captain's shoes didn't work. The wobble was on when Simon Katich, in his first game of 2009, was run out when called for a risky single by Kumar Sangakkara.

Punjab needed 62 from seven overs when Mahela Jayawardene joined Sangakkara. It seemed still achievable. Yet Punjab didn't manage a boundary in the 15th and 16th overs, bowled by Ryder and Kumble, and, after carving consecutive fours in the 17th, bowled by Praveen, Jayawardene scooped to point. Punjab still needed 30 from 17 balls. Game on.

Clarke and Bollinger seal series

Pakistan v Australia, 4th ODI, Abu Dhabi

Clarke and Bollinger seal series

Aye Aye Maung

May 1, 2009

Australia 200 for 2 (Clarke 100*, Watson 85*) beat Pakistan 197 (Ahmed Shehzad 43, Shahid Afridi 40, Bollinger 5-35) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Doug Bollinger's five wickets set up Australia's series win, and earned him the Man-of-the-Match award © Associated Press

Stand-in Australian captain Michael Clarke produced a superb century to seal the five-match series with a game to spare after an eight-wicket win in Abu Dhabi. An unbeaten hundred, his fourth in one-day cricket and first as captain, was arguably his finest and was the key to Australia's comfortable pursuit of Pakistan's 197.

Clarke and Shane Watson combined for a record-breaking 197-run partnership to lift Australia from its knees after Shoaib Akhtar wound back the clock with two early wickets in a blistering opening spell. Shoaib, on return after being left out of game three, claimed Brad Haddin and debutant Marcus North to leave Australia reeling at 3 for 2. But Clarke and Watson negotiated the rest of Shoaib's sharp four-over opening spell before flourishing under the floodlights.

The captain's innings was easily the best and most fluent of the series and featured sublime footwork and timing against both pace and spin. The ease with which he found the boundary was breath-taking as he produced nearly every shot in the book, punctuated by a crushing cover drive to bring up three figures.

Watson's innings was at times the total antithesis of his captain's but certainly no less valuable. For long periods he fought the Pakistan attack, the Sheik Zayed Stadium surface and even his own mind. Saeed Ajmal, whose ten overs cost just 20, mesmerised him but could not claim his wicket. Watson provided resolute support for his captain while exorcising his own demons with his best performance since returning from injury.

The chase was never really threatened after the initial Shoaib burst. The spinners proved a handful but could not break Watson's resolve and never looked like breaking Clarke's.

Doug Bollinger produced an exceptional bowling performance in just his second one-day international to help bowl out Pakistan for 197. Returning in place of Ben Hilfenhaus, Bollinger claimed his first wicket with the third ball of the day and came back in the 35th over to claim four more victim

Vaughan helps Yorkshire to victory

Michael Vaughan thumps a leg-side four on his way to 82 during Yorkshire's Friends Provident Trophy win over Sussex © PA Photos Michael Vaughan returned to form with 82 as Yorkshire beat Sussex by 14 runs at Headingley. His innings helped Yorkshire to 227 for 5, and Sussex were always struggling after Tim Bresman took three quick wickets. Luke Wright (46) and Murray Goodwin (45) kept the match alive but Will Beer was run out in the penultimate over.

Tait targets late-season IPL return

Tait targets late-season IPL return

Reporter: Aye Aye Maung

April 28, 2009

	Shaun Tait now senses a chance of participating in the latter stages of the IPL after a torn hamstring had put him on the sidelines for three months © AFP

Shaun Tait is aiming to play in the closing rounds of the IPL, despite Cricket Australia this month ruling him out of the tournament on medical grounds. Tait returned to the nets this week after three months on the sidelines with chronic hamstring tendonitis, and is hopeful of being cleared for the final stages of the Rajasthan Royals' campaign in South Africa.

Tait was the only senior Australian player to be selected in the 2009 IPL auction when purchased by Rajasthan for $375,000. The South Australian paceman was disappointed on learning of CA medical staff's intention to stand him down from the lucrative Twenty20 league, but believes he has now made sufficient progress in his recovery from injury to be reconsidered.

"If I can get myself fit, and there is a window for the final two or three games, that would be fantastic," Tait told Cricinfo. "Because of the injury, Cricket Australia weren't keen to release me to play [in the IPL], which ruled me out of training and playing with Rajasthan. That was pretty frustrating, because it was something I wanted to be a part of. But now that I am back in the nets and feeling good, hopefully there's a chance there."

When fit, Tait has been an integral member of Australia's 50- and 20-over squads in recent seasons, and the right-armer rates himself a "50-50" chance of being named in the final 15-man line-up for the World Twenty20 in June. The IPL, he feels, represents an ideal opportunity to gain much needed match-practice ahead of the tournament, in which Australia were defeated by India in the semi-finals in 2007.

Yuvraj Singh picked up the fourth IPL hat-trick

Yuvraj Singh picked up the fourth IPL hat-trick Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kings XI Punjab, IPL, Durban Yuvraj and Abdulla rock Bangalore The Bulletin by Aye Aye Maung May 1, 2009 20 overs Royal Challengers Bangalore 145 for 9 (van der Merwe 35, Abdulla 4-36, Yuvraj 3-22) v Kings XI Punjab Yuvraj Singh picked up the fourth IPL hat-trick Yuvraj Singh hasn't been contributing with the bat this season, so he decided to make an impact with the ball. With the last two balls of the 11th over of Royal Challengers Bangalore's innings, Yuvraj dismissed Robin Uthappa and Jaques Kallis and achieved the fourth IPL hat-trick with the first ball of the 13th, trapping Mark Boucher with another quick arm ball. Those excellent strikes further derailed an innings that had begun in disarray and Kings XI Punjab, aided by Yusuf Abdulla's four, found themselves primed for their fourth straight win. Yuvraj's hat-trick had compounded what was a poor innings from the start, even under a new change of the guard. Anil Kumble started off by winning the toss and opted to bat. For the fifth time in six games they lost a wicket in the first over and never looked like challenging Punjab.

Jean-Paul Duminy stroked a composed

Jean-Paul Duminy stroked a composed 59 but failed to prevent Kings XI Punjab from clinching a narrow three-run win against Mumbai Indians in Durban © AFP