High drama in low-scoring chase

Sehwag played an innings of 52 off 44 balls where he was restrained and waited for the loose deliveries as he hit only four boundaries and a six. Sehwag got lucky when his upper cut slipped from Nathan Rimmingtons hands to go for a six and brought his half-century. However,Rimmington made amends as he came on to bowl in the next over,removing both Irfan Pathan 14 and Sehwag to reduce Delhi from a relatively comfortable 94/4 to 96/6.

Agarkar,who had earlier bowled beautifully,then came to the party and hit a couple of boundaries under pressure and his 11 not out proved to be priceless in the end. Needing 8 off the final over,Agarkar hit a cover drive off Rimmington and then took a single as Negi took the strike. Needing three from four balls,young Negi blasted Rimmington through the mid-wicket for a four.

While Morkel had the best figures of 3/19 in his four overs,credit should be given to Agarkar who bowled splendidly in the middle overs getting two wickets and giving away only 14 runs in the process.

Herschelle Gibbs got a six with a pull-shot off Irfan Pathan but was dismissed played-on when Morne Morkel climbed up a bit more than the batsman expected. The powerplay fetched Scorchers 34 runs but Shaun Marshs initial struggle was there for all to see. It took him 25 balls to score the first 15 runs but then in the company of Katich,started growing in confidence.

A pull shot off Agarkar brought up the 50 for the team in the ninth over. Their half-century partnership came off 50 balls. After adding 73 runs for the second wicket,Marsh was back in the pavilion when his mistimed pull shot was taken by Sehwag stationed at the mid-wicket. Marsh made 39 off 41 balls with six fours.

From 84 for two,it soon became 87 for three when Katich was brilliantly caught by Jayawardene off Agarkars bowling. Katich contributed 34 off 33 balls with two fours and a six.

BRIEF SCORES: Perth Scorchers 121 for 5 wickets in 20 overs S Marsh 39,S Katich 34; M Morkel 3/19,2/14 Delhi Daredevils 123 for 7 wickets in 19.3 overs V Sehwag 52,I Pathan 14; M Beer 2/18,J Mennie 2/21

KKR sign off in style

Kolkata Knight Riders produced a clinical performance in their concluding group league match as they comprehensively thrashed Titans by 99 runs. Put into bat,KKR scored an imposing 188 for five in 20 overs and then shot Titans out for a paltry 89 in 16.4 overs,with Laxmipathy Balaji picking up four wickets.

Although it was only a consolation victory for KKR,but their performance will certainly have a bearing on the group table where Delhi Daredevils now have a very bright chance of making it to the last four. The Daredevils now lead the group table with 10 points from three games followed by Titans who are on eight points and the defeat also dented their net run-rate. From 2.450 it dipped to -0.017 and it can have a bearing on the semi-final line-up.

KKR batsmen finally found some form going their way. Gambhir top scored with 44 off 36 balls,McCullum contributed 36 but Debabrata deserved a special mention. Debabrata scored 43 in only 19 balls with six boundaries and two sixes in the final overs and helped KKR reach the highest total in the tournament.

Brief scores: KKR 188/5 Gautam Gambhir 44,Debabrata Das 43 not out,Brendon MCCullum 36 vs Titans 89 L Balaji 4/19,M Tiwary 2/8.

MONDAYS FIXTURES: CSK VS YORKSHIRE AT 5PM,MI VS SIXERS AT 9PM