IPL 2010 Points Table as of March 23

Team	P	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR
MUM	4	3	1	0	6	+1.33
BAN	4	3	1	0	6	+1.21
HYD	4	3	1	0	6	+0.45
CHN	4	2	2	0	4	+0.45
KOL	5	2	3	0	4	- 0.85
DEL	5	2	3	0	4	- 0.92
MOH	4	1	3	0	2	- 0.28
JAI	4	1	3	0	2	- 0.95

Kings XI Punjab reigns in thriller

The humdinger at Chepauk twisted and turned before concluding in an explosive tie. Then came the Super Overs. What a finish!

Yuvraj Singh held his nerve under the cauldron, reverse-sweeping the fourth delivery from Muttiah Muralitharan to the fence to provide Kings XI Punjab a tremendous come-from-behind victory. Chennai Super Kings made nine for two — each side can lose a maximum of two wickets in the Super Over — off five deliveries bowled by Kings XI Punjab paceman Juan Theron.

Matthew Hayden was bowled off the second ball, Suresh Raina slog-swept the fourth ball for a six and then was held at cover off the fifth. Theron, rightly, bowled a fuller length. Would the contest swing again? Mahela Jayawardene dismissed off-spinning wizard Muralitharan's first delivery for a six over long-on. He was held at long-on off the second.

Muralitharan spun one past Yuvraj but the left-hander settled the issue off the next ball.

CSK now has two wins and two defeats — both at home — in four matches. And the thriller here gave Kings XI Punjab its first win in four games.

Earlier, chasing 137 after opting to field, CSK required 10 runs off the final over delivered by Irfan Pathan. The host, then, needed three off three.

The left-armer, holding his nerve, conceded a brace off his fourth ball, sent down a dot ball and then had R. Ashwin caught at mid-off with the final delivery of the innings. Kings XI had given itself a lifeline.

Earlier, the left-handed Pathiv Patel 57 (58b, 4x4, 2x6) had held the innings together for most part of the chase. Matthew Hayden biffed a 24-ball 33 but this was a night when the CSK could not sustain momentum.

For Kings XI, Irfan Pathan, opening the innings, played a few spanking shots. When Manpreet Gony pitched short, he was pulled and slashed to the boundary. And Yuvraj Singh pressed on with some tremendous blows at the finish.

The scores: Kings XI Punjab: R. Bopara c Balaji b Morkel 1 ( 8b), I. Pathan b Balaji 39 ( 32b, 5x4, 1x6), K. Sangakkara st. Patel b Muralitharan 15 ( 16b, 2x4), M. Jayawardane lbw b Muralitharan 3 ( 5b), Yuvraj c (sub) Bailey b Morkel 43 ( 28b, 4x4, 2x6), M. Kaif c Morkel b Muralitharan 14 ( 16b), M. Bisla (run out) 7 ( 9b, 1x4), P. Chawla (not out) 8 ( 4b, 2x4), J. Theron (run out) 0 ( 1b), R. Powar (not out) 2 ( 1b), Extras (lb-2, w-2): 4, Total (for eight wkts. in 20 overs) 136.

Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-54, 3-58, 4-64, 5-109, 6-124, 7-124, 8-125.

Chennai Super Kings bowling: Morkel 4-0-23-2, Goni 2-0-20-0, Ashwin 4-0-32-0, Balaji 4-0-29-1, Muralitharan 4-0-16-3, J. Kemp 0.1-0-1-0, Raina 1.5-0-13-0.

Chennai Super Kings: P. Patel st. Sangakkara b Chawla 57 ( 58b, 4x4, 2x6), M. Hayden b Powar 33 ( 24b, 4x4, 2x6), S. Raina (run out) 15 ( 11b, 1x6), M. Vijay lbw b Theron 0 ( 3b), S. Badrinath c Sangakkara b Yuvraj 2 ( 2b), A. Morkel (not out) 12 ( 12b, 1x4), M. Gony b Theron 2 ( 6b), R. Ashwin c Kaif b Pathan 2 ( 5b), Extras ( b-2, lb-3,w-7, nb-1): 13, Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs) 136.

Fall of wickets: 1-65, 2-96, 3-97, 4-104, 5-121, 6-127, 7-136.

Kings XI Punjab bowling: Pathan 3-0-22-1, Powar 4-0-22-1, Srivastava 3-0-25-0, Theron 4-0-17-2, Chawla 4-0-27-1, Yuvraj 2-0-18-1.

Kings XI won in Super Over

Mumbai Indians steamrollers KKR

IN SUBLIME FORM: Sachin Tendulkar was simply unstoppable against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday.

Sachin Tendulkar's value to Mumbai Indians' batting is beyond question. The captain set the pace with a blazing 71 off 48 balls (10 fours) to steamroller Kolkata Knight Riders in the DLF IPL 2010.

The home team cruised to a seven-wicket victory, mocking at the visitor's target off 156 by racing across the line in 18.3 overs for the loss of only three wickets.

Shikhar Dhawan and Saurabh Tiwary were his able lieutenants at the Brabourne Stadium on Monday, smashing 23 off 21 balls and 30 off 24 balls respectively, to drive the Knight Riders' attack up the wall. Different strokes came off Tendulkar's blade, an imperious frontfoot drive to long-on, a controlled pull to square leg, a clever placement between cover and mid-off and a smashing hit across the line to mid-wicket. His 50 came off 35 balls and except for one dropped chance by a hasty Murali Kartik on the follow-through, KKR bowlers made no impression.

Dhawan, opening for the first time in place of Sanath Jayasuriya, got down to the business straightaway, picking three fours in Shane Bond's opening over. The left-hander created space at the crease for forcing shots, his best being a shot through point after leaning back to hit a ball pitched on the off-stump. Tendulkar attacked Ishant Sharma, while Tiwary waded into Gayle.

KKR lost the plot at the start. Ganguly, opening the batting after winning the toss, showed the caution usually reserved for the 50-50 version. Gayle was denied opportunities to free arms for huge swings. Both even allowed themselves the luxury of getting their eye in. Owais Shah (31 off 23 balls) showed the way to bat in T20, but by then it was too late.

Zaheer and McLaren cramped batsmen for room right through. Malinga kept firing in around the off-stump and Harbhajan's control over length coming round the wicket kept runs to a trickle. MI pacemen conceded just 34 in the first five overs. Gayle needed time to settle down and the more enterprising Ganguly flicked off his pads for boundaries, using the pace generated by McLaren.

Gayle broke his sober approach at the crease with a swatted six off Bravo, dismissing the ball over mid-wicket with a languid swing. The ninth-over mandatory time-out saw the openers manage 60 runs before a crude sweep off Harbhajan resulted in the first breakthrough. Malinga came on for his final fling in the 14th over. Gayle finally got cracking against Zaheer, kickstarting with a one-handed pull to fine leg, then swung a full toss down the same route, followed by a trademark six over long-on.

The scores:

Kolkata Knight Riders: C. Gayle lbw b Zaheer 75 (60b, 7x4, 2x6), S. Ganguly b Harbhajan 31 (34b, 5x4), O. Shah b Zaheer 31 (23b, 3x4), A. Matthews (not out) 3 (3b); Extras (b-6, lb-3, w-6): 15; Total (for three wkts. in 20 overs): 155.

Fall of wickets: 1-70, 2-152, 3-155.

Mumbai Indians bowling: Malinga4-0-28-0, Zaheer 4-0-27-2, McLaren 4-0-38-0, Bravo 4-0-36-0, Harbhajan 4-0-17-1.

Mumbai Indians: S. Dhawan c Ganguly b Kartik 23 (21b, 4x4), S. Tendulkar (not out) 71 (48b, 10x4), S. Tiwary c Ganguly b Ishant 30 (24b, 3x4, 1x6), K. Pollard lbw b Ishant 7 (7b, 1x4), R. Sathish (not out) 21 (11b, 3x4); Extras (w-4): 4; Total (for three wkts. In 18.3 overs): 156.

Fall of wickets: 1-61, 2-117, 3-129.

Kolkata Knight Riders bowling: Bond 3-0-31-0, Ishant 4-0-44-2, Gayle 4-0-31-0, Kartik 4-0-21-1, Mathews 3.3-0-29-0 .

President presents 56th National Film Awards

HONOUR FOR TECHNICIAN: President Pratibha Patil presents the Dada Saheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award to veteran cinematographer V.K. Murthy at the 56th National Film Awards 2008 in New Delhi on Friday.

NEW DELHI: Veteran cinematographer V.K. Murthy became the first technician to be awarded the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award at the 56th National Film Awards (2008) presentation ceremony here on Friday. President Pratibha Patil presented the award to Mr. Murthy, who is best known for his works in classics like Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool.

Having started his career in 1957, Mr. Murthy, who shot India's first cinema-scope film Kaagaz Ke Phool, was given a standing ovation by the audience and found a special mention in the President's address.

Anirudh Roy Choudhary was presented the Swarna Kamal for directing Antaheen (Bengali), the best feature film, while Neeraj Pandey and Ronnie Screwwala of UTV Motion Pictures were presented the Swarna Kamal as part of the Indira Gandhi Award for best first film, for A Wednesday (Hindi).

Popular Hindi film Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! fetched its director Dibakar Banerjee a Swarna Kamal for the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment.

In the best actor category, Upendra Limaye walked away with the honours for his performance in Marathi film Jogva, and Priyanka Chopra took home the best female actor award for her role in Fashion. The film also fetched Kangana Ranaut the award for best supporting woman actor. “At 22 receiving this award is a great achievement,” she said.

Arjun Rampal took home a Rajat Kamal for the best supporting actor in Rock On (Hindi). The film was also adjudged the best Hindi film.

Master Shams Patel was declared the best child artist for his role in Thanks Maa (Hindi).

Best Actor Upendra Limaye with Best Female Actor Priyanka Chopra.

In the best singers category, the winners were Hariharan for Jogva and Shreya Ghoshal for Jogva and Antaheen. Ms. Ghoshal, who was not there to collect her award, has won the honour thrice earlier.

The Nargis Dutt Award for best feature film on national integration was given to Assamese film Aai Kot Nai.

Little Zizou was awarded the prize for best film on family values while Jogva was selected as the best film on social issues.

Abhaya Simha received the Swarna Kamal for his directorial debut Gubbachigalu (Kannada) in the best children's film category, while Jugal Hansraj was awarded the Swarna Kamal for his film Roadside Romeo in the best animation film category. The Special jury award went to Malayalam film Bioscope.

Bala, director of the Tamil film Naan Kadavul, won the best director award while the award for best cinematography went to Avik Mukhopadhyay for Antaheen.

In the non-feature film category, Director Haobam Paban Kumar received the award for the best non-feature film AFSPA 1958, and the special jury award was presented to Rajesh S. Jala's Children of the Pyre. The award for best director in this category was given to Umesh Kulkarni for Three of Us.

In the category for best writing on cinema, Bollywood Melodies by Ganesh Anantharaman was awarded the best book on cinema, while Altaf Mazid and R.K. Bidur Singh won the best film critics award.

In her address at the end of the presentation ceremony, Ms. Patil said the interest in Hindi cinema was growing internationally and Indian films and music compositions had been receiving international acclaim and awards.

She said cinema needs to be continuously nurtured, as a part of our efforts to not only excel in making films, but also to use it as a medium to tell our stories, as well as give expression to the importance of a humane approach in life.

“Cinema has an immense influence on thinking and on lifestyles particularly of the young generation. There is much positive energy that can be generated by using films, for conveying the message of good values to society and also eradicating harmful social evils,” she said.

Referring to the impact on Hindi cinema globally, she said: “During my visits abroad, often references are made by my interlocutors to the popularity of Indian films, and their role in promoting cultural understanding. India's profile and stature on account of our rapid economic growth, our skilled human resources and future prospects, is increasing.”

The President also made a special mention of Mr. Murthy and Master Shams Patel. “I was told that he is an amateur actor with no acting experience and that this was his first film. His award for a film at his first attempt deserves applause from all of us,” she said about Master Shams.

Pune and Kochi to join 2011 Indian Premier League

Pune and Kochi have been announced as the two new franchises in the Indian Premier League.

At an auction in Chennai, Pune was bought by Sahara Adventure Sports Group for $370m and Kochi went to Rendezvous Sports World Limited for $333m.

The two new franchises will join the IPL from 2011, taking the total number of teams to 10.

Earlier this month, the MCC scrapped plans to buy into an IPL franchise and host matches at Lord's.

Competition to buy the teams reflects the success of the world's richest cricket league, whose third season is currently underway.

Some of India's wealthiest businessmen have bought into the franchises.

IPL 2010 Points Table as of March 20

Team	P	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR
RCB	4	3	1	0	6	+1.21
MI	3	2	1	0	4	+1.52
CSK	3	2	1	0	4	+0.60
DC	3	2	1	0	4	+0.43
KKR	4	2	2	0	4	- 0.91
DDD	4	2	2	0	4	-1.03
RR	4	1	3	0	2	- 0.95
KXIP	3	0	3	0	0	- 0.38

Kallis guides RCB home

Jacques Kallis continued to rewrite the art of batting in Twenty20 cricket with composed, calculated hitting as Royal Challengers Bangalore brushed aside Mumbai Indians by seven wickets in the DLF-IPL III here on Saturday.

A picture of poise and balance, his unbeaten 66 (45b, 10x4) helped the visitor (155 for three) make light of Mumbai Indians' 152-run target. Kallis is unbeaten in four back-to-back knocks so far.

The Challengers captain, Anil Kumble, showed earlier with the ball that his hunger for wickets burns fierce as ever in a fitting setting, a packed Brabourne Stadium.

Kallis and Manish Pandey (40 off 27 balls) sucked the momentum out of the Mumbai attack with ruthless strokeplay. The burly South African went after Lasith Malinga, shifting weight onto the front foot for a rocket-like drive to long-off and carting the next ball into the hoarding at mid-wicket with an easy swing of the bat.

Brutal Methods

Pandey's methods were more brutal, clearing the ropes at long-on against Harbhajan Singh with a powerful drive after picking the length early. He hit three fours and two sixes before making way for Robin Uthappa to continue the shock treatment.

The turning points for Challengers, earlier, were Kumble defusing Saurabh Tiwary's threat with a googly and Rahul Dravid covering ground at mid-wicket to complete a brilliant catch with an outstretched hand.

The two India stalwarts came up with inspiring moments when opportunity presented itself.

An aggressive Tiwary, who stepped out against Kumble, did not have time to correct himself and heard the rattle behind as Kumble (4-0-18-1) celebrated a classic spinner's dismissal. Dravid's catch cut short R. Sathish's brilliance at the crease just when the wily Mumbai batsman had got into the mood to tear into the bowling.

He led the charge for Mumbai with stylish shots and fantastic running between the wickets. He harvested boundaries with slick placements and put bowlers and fielders under pressure. Zaheer's huge blows at the end resulted in three fours and one six in 23 off nine balls, coming as an unexpected boost to the Mumbai total.

Vinay Strikes

Vinay Kumar pegged Mumbai back with a three-wicket burst in his third over, pitching short outside the off-stump for A.T. Rayudu's attempted slice into Boucher's gloves, then seeing off the great man Sachin Tendulkar bowled leg-stump in another flick to fine-leg. His third victim was Bravo, a leg-before verdict coming after repeated appeals.

The scores: Mumbai Indians: S. Jayasuriya lbw b Steyn 2 (5b), S. Tendulkar b Vinay Kumar 25 (22b, 4x4), A. Tare c Pandey b Kallis 9 (10b, 2x4), S. Tiwary b Kumble 25 (21b, 3x4), A. Rayudu c Boucher b Vinay Kumar 3 (4b), D. Bravo lbw b Vinay Kumar 1 (2b), R. Sathish c Dravid b Steyn 24 (22b, 3x4), K. Pollard c Kohli b Steyn 21 (19b, 1x4, 1x6), Harbhajan c Kallis b Praveen Kumar 4 (6b), Zaheer (not out) 23 (9b, 3x4, 1x6), L. Malinga (not out) 0 (0b); Extras (lb-10, w-4): 14. Total (for nine wkts. in 20 overs): 151.

Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-36, 3-71, 4-74, 5-75, 6-76, 7-123, 8-125, 9-135.

Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling: Praveen 4-0-37-1, Steyn 4-0-26-3, Kallis 4-0-35-1, Vinay Kumar 4-0-25-3, Kumble 4-0-18-1.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: M. Pandey c Pollard b Harbhajan 40 (27b, 3x4, 2x6), J. Kallis (not out) 66 (45b, 10x4), R. Uttappa c Malinga b Zaheer 23 (15b, 2x4, 1x6), V. Kohli (run out) 17 (12b, 2x6), E. Morgan (not out) 7 (6b); Extras (b-1, lb-1): 2. Total (for three wkts. in 19.1 overs): 155.

Fall of wickets: 1-85, 2-116, 3-136.

Mumbai Indians bowling: Zaheer 4-0-18-1, Malinga 4-0-25-0, Bravo 3.1-0-35-0, Pollard 2-0-24-0, Harbhajan 4-0-35-1, Jayasuriya 2-0-16-0 .