All Time Great Championship: T20 Franchise Frenzy

[Wilted]

Game 17A: Gemini Arabians vs Perth Scorchers
Gemini Arabians: S Chanderpaul, V Sehwag*, K Sangakkara+, B Hodge, R Levi, S Ali, J Kemp, K Mills, N ul-Hasan, S Mushtaq, M Muralitharan
Perth Scorchers: S Marsh, H Gibbs, M Marsh*, A Voges, C Bancroft, J Inglis, L Livingstone, A Agar, B Hogg, M Johnson, J Behrendorff
Gemini Arabians won the toss and elected to bowl.

Perth Scorchers
M Marsh 61(32), S Marsh36(26)
K Mills 4-35, M Muralitharan 3-26

9-172 (20 overs)

Gemini Arabians
S Ali 46(28), K Mills 26*(21)
J Behrendorff 3-30, A Agar 3-31

169 (19.5 overs)

Perth Scorchers won by 3 runs
M Marsh was awarded Man of the Match.

The Marsh brothers and Gibbs set the Scorchers up with the perfect start, reaching 2-128 at the 13-over mark. Mitch Marsh's fifty helped the runs tick over at a rapid pace but a three-wicket over from Murali and a 4fa from Mills brought any chance of a big score crashing down. After a brilliant start, the Scorchers had to settle for a target of 172 runs. Behrendorff started the defence with his own three-wicket over. None of the Arabians were able to stick around except for Ali, who put on a solid 46 in his maiden match. Ali, Kemp and Mills put on some much-needed runs in the lower order but when tasked with scoring 10 runs off the final over, Johnson picked up the final three wickets, and the Arabians fell just three runs short.

Game 17B: Perth Scorchers vs Gemini Arabians
Perth Scorchers: S Marsh, H Gibbs, M Marsh*, A Voges, C Bancroft, J Inglis, L Livingstone, A Agar, B Hogg, M Johnson, J Behrendorff
Gemini Arabians: S Chanderpaul, V Sehwag*, K Sangakkara+, B Hodge, R Levi, S Ali, J Kemp, K Mills, N ul-Hasan, S Mushtaq, M Muralitharan
Perth Scorchers won the toss and elected to bat first.

Perth Scorchers
H Gibbs 23(17), A Voges 23(19)
M Muralitharan 3-24, K Mills 2-31

6-135 (20 overs)

Gemini Arabians
S Chanderpaul 74*(50), S Ali 30*(31)
B Hogg 2-28, A Agar 1-23

4-137 (17.4 overs)

Gemini Arabians won by 5 wickets
S Chanderpaul was awarded Man of the Match.

The Scorchers would have felt frustrated they could not put more runs on the board while still having four wickets up their sleeves. The Arabian bowling attack was tight and economical, and none of the Perth batsmen ever looked settled. While Murali and Mills were amongst the wickets again, Mushtaq was the standout bowler, going for just 3.25 runs per over. Despite some tricky bowling from the Scorcher spinners, Hogg and Agar, the Arabians looked comfortable as they waltzed to victory with time to spare. Chanderpaul was unbeaten for the entirety of the chase and Saqib Ali has likely cemented his spot in the team just in time for finals. Their final game of the Group Stage confirmed a top 2 finish for them while Perth's loss sees them finish in third for their group.

[Wilted]

Round 4 Results
In Group A, the Round 4 results had no impact on standings going into the penultimate round. If anything, it only reinforced which three teams will make it through to the finals. A single win to the SEC this round does keep them in the running but it will take a monumental effort for them to break into the top three. It was a similar story in Group B with the Round 4 results almost confirming the top three. With one win each, Southern Brave and the Auckland Aces aren't completely out of the running but will go head-to-head against each other to see who ends up in last place.

The batting performance of the round goes to the entire Jaffina Kings batting lineup, who scored a mammoth 242 runs against the Auckland Aces without a single batsman passing 50. A phenomenal team batting effort. Baartman proved to be the pick of the bowlers for this round. Despite being a late addition to the SEC XI, he has quickly risen up the leading wicket-taker list with impressive figures. His latest outing saw him collect a 5fa in a losing game followed up by a economic spell that led his team to their second win of the tournament.

Group A

PS defeated IU IU defeated PS

SEC lost to CV CV lost to SEC

GemAR - bye

Group B

AUCK lost to JK JK defeated AUCK

TKR defeated CSK CSK defeated TKR

SB - bye

Standings

Group A	Played	Wins	Ties	NRR	Total
Gemini Arabians	6	4		0.84	8
Islamabad United	6	4		0.57	8
Perth Scorchers	6	4		-1.09	8
Comilla Victorians	8	2		-0.71	4
Sunrisers Eastern Cape	6	2		-1.05	4

Group B	Played	Wins	Tie	NRR	Total
Chennai Super Kings	8	7		1.34	14
Trinbago Knight Riders	6	4		1.13	8
Jaffina Kings	6	3		0.34	6
Southern Brave	6	1		-1.00	2
Auckland Aces	6	1		-1.84	2

Tournament Stat Leaders

Batter	Runs	Bowler	Wickets
S Watson (CSK)	393	M Saifuddin (CV)	16
M Hayden (CSK)	369	M Mortaza (CV)	15
S Chanderpaul (GemAr)	261	D Bravo (CSK)	14
M Dhoni (CSK)	256	L Livingstone	12
D Conway (SB)	252	R Rampaul (TKR)	12

Round 5 Fixture

Group A

GemAr vs PS

SEC vs IU

CV - Bye

Group B

SB vs AUCK

TKR vs JK

CSK - Bye

Who Will Make the Finals?

Group A
After their bye, the Gemini Arabians are still holding on to the top stop thanks to their NRR. It is a very tight race for the top spot, with Islamabad and Perth having an equal amount of wins as the ladder leaders. In the bottom two spots, the Comilla Victorians and Sunrisers Eastern Cape have two wins each. Unfortunately with a bye this round, the Victorians are out of the running for a top-three spot. The final round sees the Arabians go up against the Scorchers and a clash between Islamabad United and SEC. If SEC pulls off an unlikely double win, they could see themselves propelled into the top three depending on the NRR of the other teams. If that does not happen, then the Arabians, Islamabad and the Scorchers will be vying for the top spot. Islamabad are most likely to take it since they are going up against the team at the bottom of the table.

Group B
CSK have dominated their group stage matches and have secured a spot at the top of the table and a ticket straight to the semi-finals. With a bye this round, they can put their feet up and watch the other teams duke it out for second and third spots. TKR also sealed a spot in the top three and just one win against the Kings will see them locked in at second and a home qualifying final. Jaffina Kings will need two wins against TKR to leapfrog them into second since there is a large NRR gap between the two teams. Southern Brave and the Auckland Auckland will go head-to-head for a cellar dweller clash in their final game of the group stage. If (and it's a big if) either of them wins both of their matches by a large enough margin and TKR win both of their games against the Jaffina Kings, the Jaffina Kings could be knocked out of the tournament. Still, it is a very unlikely scenario.

[Wilted]

Game 16A: Trinbago Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings
Trinago Knight Riders XI: C Munro, L Simmons, B McCullum*, H Amla, K Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, A Russell, A Hosein, S Narine, R Rampaul, A Khan
Chennai Super Kings XI: M Hayden, S Watson, M Vijay, M Dhoni*+, S Raina, M Hussey, D Bravo, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, D Chahar, I Tahir
Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to bat.

Chennai Super Kings
S Raina 50(26), M Vijay43(29)
A Khan 3-25, D Bravo 3-38

8-179 (20 overs)

Trinbago Knight Riders
D Bravo 73*(39), B McCullum 43(43)
D Bravo 3-43, R Ashwin 1-25

5-183 (20 overs)

Trinbago Knight Riders won by 5 wickets
D Bravo (TKR) was awarded Man of the Match.

Both of the tournament's leading run-scorers, Watson and Hayden, fell cheaply in the first few overs off the bowling of Bravo. Vijay and Raina rallied to put on a partnership to rebuild their innings but once that partnership was broken, the wickets tumbled again. CSK were on their way to an underwhelming score until Chahar teed off on the last over, adding an extra 26 runs to his team's total off the final six deliveries. Bravo and American, Ali Khan, were the spearheads of the bowling attack, picking up three wickets each. Munro started the chase with an explosive but short-lived start that drastically reduced the required run-rate early in the chase. Ashwin undid any progress Munro made with some very tight bowling but it was Bravo who proved to be the difference again with both bat and ball by bringing his side home to victory with an unbeaten 73, including a 15-run final over and a final-ball 4 to seal the deal.

Game 16B: Chennai Super Kings vs Trinbago Knight Riders
Chennai Super Kings XI: M Hayden, S Watson, M Vijay, M Dhoni*+, S Raina, M Hussey, D Bravo, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, D Chahar, I Tahir
Trinago Knight Riders XI: C Munro, L Simmons, B McCullum*, H Amla, K Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, A Russell, A Hosein, S Narine, R Rampaul, A Khan
Trinbago Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bowl.

Chennai Super Kings
M Hayden 95(57), M Dhoni 35(24)
R Rampaul 3-46, A Khan 1-5

5-178 (20 overs)

Trinbago Knight Riders
C Munro 43(23), H Amla 42(28)
R Jadeja 3-35, I Tahir 2-27

7-177 (20 overs)

Chennai Super Kings won by 1 run
M Hayden was awarded Man of the Match.

Making up for his duck in the first innings, Hayden made a statement with a score of 95 runs. It was almost a century but was caught on the boundary on the final ball of the innings. Cameos from the rest of the top order allowed CSK to reach 178 runs. The only bowler to take multiple wickets was Rampaul with the big scalps of Dhoni, Raina (for a golden duck) and Hayden as mentioned above. Fast-paced scores from Munro, Amla and Pollard had CSK looking down the barrel of two straight losses. Needing less than a run per ball from the final three overs, Bravo and Jadeja disrupted the flow of runs with three wickets and despite needing just two runs off the last three balls, Bravo produced a wicket and two dots to win the match.

[Wilted]

Game 15A: Auckland Aces vs Jaffina Kings
Auckland Aces XI: C Munro, M Guptil, M Chapman, C de Grandhomme, R O'Donnell*, C Fletcher+, A Mahmood, K Mills, A Adams, M McClenaghan, L Ferguson
Jaffina Kings XI: A Fernando*, S Samarawickrama+, R Rossouw, S Malik, R Gurbaz, T Kohler-Cadmore, T Perera, W Hasaranga, D Wellage, M Theekshana, J Behrendorff
Auckland Aces won the toss and elected to bowl.

Jaffina Kings
S Samarawickrama 49(22), R Gurbaz 42(15)
L Ferguson 4-60, A Adams 2-53

8-242 (20 overs)

Auckland Aces
R O'Donnell 32(23), M McClenaghan 32*(14)
D Wellage 3-19, J Beherndorff 2-24

8-144 (20 overs)

Jaffina Kings won by 98 runs
D Wellage was awarded Man of the Match

You would think an innings where the two highest scores were in the 40s would be a positive sign for the bowlers. The Jaffina Kings batsman decided to hit out or get out and posted a huge score of 242. Fernando was The only batsman not scoring with a strike rate over 200. The wickets were regular but it was a fireworks display in between dismissals. The target of 242 runs was never in the picture for the chase and if it wasn't for an unbeaten 32 from McClenaghan at number 10, it stopped this from being one of the biggest losses in Auckland's history.

Game 15A: Auckland Aces vs Jaffina Kings
Jaffina Kings XI: A Fernando*, S Samarawickrama+, R Rossouw, S Malik, R Gurbaz, T Kohler-Cadmore, T Perera, W Hasaranga, D Wellage, M Theekshana, J Behrendorff
Auckland Aces XI: C Munro, M Guptil, M Chapman, C de Grandhomme, R O'Donnell*, C Fletcher+, A Mahmood, K Mills, A Adams, M McClenaghan, L Ferguson
Jaffina Kings won the toss and elected to bat.

Jaffina Kings
S Samarawickrama 60(36), A Fernando 46(27)
C de Grandhomme 2-33, M McClenaghan 1-46

4-205 (20 overs)

Auckland Aces
C de Grandhomme 56*(43), K Mills 34(31)
W Hasaranga 2-29, J Behrendorff 2-39

Jaffina Kings won by 49 runs
S Samarawickrama was awarded Man of the Match.

Jaffina Kings reached another 200+ run total. Openers, Fernando and Wickramaled led the way with an 85-run partnership. Gurbaz and TKC finished the innings with a blazing unbeaten 62-run partnership. A lightning-paced opening stand from Munro and Guptil had the Aces on track early but a string of wickets from Behrendorff and the spinners put a swift end to any hopes of a successful chase. The Ace's lone highlight of the game was de Grandhomme's unbeaten half-century to go along with two big losses.

[Wilted]

Game 14A: Sunrisers Eastern Cape vs Comilla Victorians
Sunrisers Eastern Cape XI: J Hermann, T Bavuma, T Stubbs, A Markram*, J Smuts, A Rossington+, M Jansen, R van de Merwe, S Magala, O Baartman, B Carse
Comilla Victorians XI: T Iqbal, L Das+, D Malan, M Rizwan, M Ali, M Samuels, A Russell, S Afridi, M Saifuddin, R Khan, M Mortaza*
Comilla Victorians won the toss and elected to bat.

Comilla Victorians
M Rizwan 59(35), D Malan (38) 27
O Baartman 5-34, 2-28

8-169 (20 overs)

Sunrisers Eastern Cape
J Hermann 40(26), T Stubbs 28(26)
R Khan 3-24, 2-22

153 (19.5 overs)

Comilla Victorians won by 16 runs
M Rizwan was awarded Man of the Match.

A standout 5fa from Baartman gave Comilla's batsmen a hard time but a fighting 50 from Rizwan allowed his team to reach a solid 169 runs. It was always going to be a tough total to defend on a completely flat deck. If there's one bowler who could squeeze out every dot ball on a flat deck, it was Rashid Khan. He took three wickets and went for just six runs per over. He was also supported by Mortaza and Afridi who also bowled out their overs at a run-a-ball as well as taking a few wickets on the way. Out of the 18 runs needed from the last over, SEC managed only two of them.

Game 14B: Comilla Victorians vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Comilla Victorians XI: T Iqbal, L Das+, D Malan, M Rizwan, M Ali, M Samuels, A Russell, S Afridi, M Saifuddin, R Khan, M Mortaza*
Sunrisers Eastern Cape XI: J Hermann, T Bavuma, T Stubbs, A Markram*, J Smuts, A Rossington+, M Jansen, R van de Merwe, S Magala, O Baartman, B Carse
Comilla Victorians won the toss and elected to bat.

Comilla Victorians
D Malan 71*(44), T Iqbal 50(36)
O Baartman 1-29, M Jansen 1-33

3-181 (20 overs)

Sunrisers Eastern Cape
T Stubbs 96(48), A Markram 62(48)
M Mortaza 3-24, M Saifuddin 1-34

5-182 (20 overs)

Sunrisers Eastern Cape won by 5 wickets
T Stubbs was awarded Man of the Match.

Iqbal got the Victorians off to the perfect start with a 50, which was followed up by an unbeaten 71 from Malan to put Comilla into a similar position to their first game. None of the SEC bowlers could stem the flow of runs as they allowed batsmen to reach 181 runs. Two wickets fell in the opening overs of the chase but a 151-run partnership from Stubbs and Markram guided SEC within a few runs of victory before Mortaza knocked over a couple of late wickets. It was too little, too late as SEC scampered through for the winning runs with an over to spare.

[Wilted]

Game 13A: Perth Scorchers vs Islamabad United
Perth Scorchers XI: H Gibbs, S Marsh, L Livingstone, A Voges, C Bancroft, M Marsh*, J Inglis*, A Agar, B Hogg, M Johnson, A Tye
Islamabad United XI: C Munro, A Hales, B Haddin, M ul-Haq, L Ronchi+, A Russell, I Wasim, S Khan*, M Sami, U Gul
Perth Scorchers won the toss and elected to bowl.

Islamabad United
B Haddin 59*(32), C Munro 59(40)
L Livingstone 1-19, A Agar 1-25

5-195 (20 overs)

Perth Scorchers
A Voges 49(26), H Gibbs 46(41)
A Russell 1-24, F Ashraf 1-35

5-196 (20 overs)

Perth Scorchers won by 5 wickets
A Voges was awarded Man of the Match.

Munro and Hales put on 100 runs together in the first 10 overs before Hogg broke the partnership. It didn't get much better once Haddin launched an unbeaten 50 to finish the innings off. Fortunately for the Scorchers, none of the other batsmen made it past 10 runs. An all-round effort from the Scorchers' batsmen had them within 15 runs of victory in the last over. Back-to-back-to-back 4s from Inglis had the match in the bag before Gul slowed things down for the next two balls. Scores were level with one delivery to go and Inglish pushed it straight to cover but a direct hit was not enough to stop the single and the Scorchers walked away with the win.

Game 13B: Islamabad United vs Perth Scorchers
Islamabad United XI: C Munro, A Hales, B Haddin, M ul-Haq, L Ronchi+, A Russell, I Wasim, S Khan*, F Ashraf, M Sami, U Gul
Perth Scorchers XI: H Gibbs, S Marsh, L Livingstone, A Voges, C Bancroft, M Marsh*, J Inglis*, A Agar, B Hogg, M Johnson, A Tye
Islamabad United won the toss and elected to bowl.

Perth Scorchers
S Marsh 54(32), H Gibbs 27(18)
S Khan 3-30, U Gul 1-40

7-199 (20 overs)

Islamabad United
C Munro 106*(55), 37(21)
L Livingstone 1-3, A Tye 1-62

2-201 (20 overs)

Islamabad United won by 8 wickets
C Munro was awarded Man of the Match.

After a fantastic start from Shaun Marsh, Islamabad's spinners slowed the flow of runs. Three wickets fell from one of Shadab Khan's overs, but Perth's lower order bounced back and smashed the rest of United's bowlers to score 199 runs after 20 overs. A 50+ partnership between Munro and Hales was followed up by another 50+ run partnership from Munro and Haddin. And to round things off, that was followed up by another 50+ partnership from Munro and ul-Haq. In 18 overs, Munro led the way with a brilliant century off 53 balls that included 20 boundaries. United chased down the 200 required runs with two overs to spare.

[Wilted]

Round 3 Results
In Group A, Gemini Arabians and Islamabad United continue to hold onto their spots at the top of their table. Perth Scorcher's two victories over Comilla Victorians gave the Scorchers a stronghold on a top 3 spot. With only two rounds remaining, it will be difficult for the Comilla Victorians or Sunrisers Eastern Cape (who had a bye this round) to break into finals from here. There's more room for movement in Group B with CSK remaining undefeated on top of their table and the two bottom teams walked away with a win each when they played each other. At the moment it's a three-way race for third between Auckland Aces, Southern Braves and Jaffina Kings.

Watson walked away with two Man of the Match awards this round thanks to his batting performances. His 116 is the highest score of the tournament so far and he is almost 100 runs clear of the leading run-scorers. Without a doubt, he earned the batting performance of the round. When Southern Brave were bowled out for 106, it was Theekshana leading the way with four wickets taken from the middle order. Not only did he take four wickets, his four overs went for only 14 runs, giving him the best bowling performance of the round.

Group A

CV lost to PS PS defeated CV

IU defeated GemAr GemAr defeated IU

SEC - bye

Group B

AUCK lost to CSK TKR defeated AUCK

JK defeated SB SB defeated JK

TKR - bye

Current Standings

Group A	Played	Wins	Ties	NRR	Total
Gemini Arabians	6	4		0.84	8
Islamabad United	4	3		0.61	6
Perth Scorchers	4	3		0.44	6
Comilla Victorians	6	1		-1.04	2
Sunrisers Eastern Cape	4	1		-1.60	2

Group B	Played	Wins	Tie	NRR	Total
Chennai Super Kings	6	6		1.82	12
Trinbago Knight Riders	4	3		1.65	6
Auckland Aces	4	1		-0.92	2
Southern Brave	6	1		-1.00	2
Jaffina Kings	4	1		-1.45	2

Tournament Stat Leaders

Batter	Runs	Bowler	Wickets
S Watson (CSK)	363	M Saifuddin (CV)	13
M Hayden (CSK)	274	S Mushtaq (GemAr)	11
S Chanderpaul (GemAr)	261	L Livingstone (PS)	10
D Conway (SB)	252	M Mortaza (CV)	10
M Dhoni (CSK)	198	D Chahar (CSK) + 3 others	10

Round 4 Fixture

Group A

PS vs IU

SEC vs CV

GemAr - bye

Group B

AUCK vs JK

TKR vs CSK

SB - bye

[Wilted]

Game 12A: Jaffina Kings vs Southern Brave
Jaffina Kings XI: A Fernando, R Gurbaz, S Samarawickrama+, R Rossouw, S Malik, T Kohler-Cadmore, T Perera*, W Hasaranga, M Theekshana, J Behrendorff, N Thushara
Southern Brave XI: D Conway, Q de Kock+, J Vince*, A Davies, M Stoinis, P Stirling, G Garton, C Jordan, C Overton, J Lintott, T Mills
Southern Brave won the toss and elected to bat.

Southern Brave
C Overton 29*(20), D Conway 18(9)
M Theekshana 4-14, J Behrendorff 3-25

106 (15.3 overs)

Jaffina Kings
A Fernando 49*(36), S Samarawickrama 25(29)
J Lintott 2-110, C Overton 1-19

2-110 (14.3 overs)

Jaffina Kings won by 8 wickets
M Theekshana was awarded Man of the Match

A 19-run first over from Conway and de Kock had the Southern Brave looking to score aggressively right from the start but when Behrendorff took two wickets in his first over, momentum suddenly shifted. Wickets continued to crumble as the Jaffina Kings slumped to 7-73 at the 10-over mark. While Behrendorff's three-wicket spell started the collapse, Theekshana finished it with a four-wicket haul. Jaffina Kings were disappointed with their total of 106 runs. Led by an unbeaten 49 from Fernando, the Jaffina Kings chased the needed runs in just over 14 overs for a decisive victory.

Game 12B: Southern Brave vs Jaffina Kings
Southern Brave XI: D Conway, Q de Kock+, J Vince*, A Davies, M Stoinis, P Stirling, G Garton, C Jordan, C Overton, J Lintott, T Mills
Jaffina Kings XI: A Fernando, R Gurbaz, S Samarawickrama+, R Rossouw, S Malik, T Kohler-Cadmore, T Perera*, W Hasaranga, M Theekshana, J Behrendorff, N Thushara
Jaffina Kings won the toss and elected to bat.

Jaffina Kings
T Perera 26*(16), R Rossouw 16(11)
G Garton 3-13, C Overton 3-34

101 (15.2 overs)

Southern Brave
J Vince 62*(46), D Conway 31(34)
N Thushara 1-11, W Hasaranga 1-24

2-102 (14.2 overs)

Jaffina Kings won by 8 wickets
J Vince was awarded Man of the Match.

The Kings were barely scoring a run-a-ball at the end of the power play and were three wickets down. Jordan was only leaking three runs per over and Overton was leading the charge with two wickets. Their innings never recovered and they were bowled out for 101 runs. Garton and Overton picked up three wickets each. After a number of failures at the crease, Vince was able to lead his team in a rather simple chase with an unbeaten 62. With both Southern Brave and Jaffina Kings getting one win each in this round, each team now has at least one victory.

[Wilted]

Game 11A: Chennai Super Kings vs Auckland Aces
Chennai Super Kings XI: M Hayden, S Watson, M Hussey, S Raina, M Dhoni*+, M Vijay, D Bravo, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, D Chahar, I Tahir
Auckland Aces XI: C Munro, M Guptil, M Chapman, C de Grandhomme, R O'Donnell, C Fletcher+, A Mahmood, K Mills, A Adams, M McClenaghan, L Ferguson
Auckland Aces won the toss and elected to bat.

Auckland Aces
R O'Donnell 68(37), A Mahmood 55(35)
D Chahar 2-36, I Tahir 2-36

7-180 (20 overs)

Chennai Super Kings
S Watson 76(46), 58(36)
L Ferguson 3-21, M McClenaghan 1-48

4-184 (20 overs)

Chennai Super Kings won by 6 wickets
S Watson was awarded Man of the Match.

A golden duck for Munro continued his poor form for the tournament but his innings was not the only failure. Chahar and Tahir took a couple of quick wickets each and left the Aces reeling at 5-54. A middle-order rennaissance from Mahmood and O'Donnell revived their team's innings and powered them to a very solid total of 180 runs. An opening stand of 131 runs and 50s for both Hayden and Watson. That partnership made the rest of the chase barely manageable as the rest of them struggled to have the same explosive impact. After a dull period of play, CSK needed seven runs off the final over and with the scores level with one ball to spare, none other than Dhoni hit the winning runs.

Game 11B: Auckland Aces vs Chennai Super Kings
Auckland Aces XI: C Munro, M Guptil, M Chapman, C de Grandhomme, R O'Donnell, C Fletcher+, A Mahmood, K Mills, A Adams, M McClenaghan, L Ferguson
Chennai Super Kings XI: M Hayden, S Watson, M Hussey, S Raina, M Dhoni*+, M Vijay, D Bravo, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, D Chahar, I Tahir
Auckland Aces won the toss and elected to bowl.

Chennai Super Kings
S Watson 116(55), S Raina 26(20)
M McClenaghan 4-38, A Adams 2-43

9-213 (20 overs)

Auckland Aces
C de Grandhomme 63(38), M Guptil 35(22)
D Bravo 3-35, R Jadeja 2-36

9-176 (20 overs)

Chennai Super Kings won by 37 runs
S Watson was awarded Man of the Match.

Watson has been at the peak of his game this tournament. His second century came in less than 50 balls and put CSK on track for a huge score. While expensive, McClenaghan took four wickets in the back half of the innings to keep CSK's total to "just" 213 runs. A second golden duck in a row for Munro had the Aces on the back foot from ball one. De Grandhomme, Guptil and the middle-order did their best to pile on runs but they were unable to score quickly enough, falling 37 runs short.

[Wilted]

Game 11A: Islamabad United vs Gemini Arabians
Islamabad United XI: C Munro, B Haddin, L Ronchi, A Hales, M ul-Haq, S Khan*, A Russell, I Wasim, F Ashraf, M Sami, U Gul
Gemini Arabians XI: S Chanderpaul, V Sehwag, K Sangakkara+, B Hodge, R Levi, J Rudolph, J Kemp, K Mills, N ul-Hasan, S Mushtaq, M Muralitharan
Gemini Arabians won the toss and elected to bowl.

Islamabad United
B Haddin 37(26), A Hales 36(19)
S Mushtaq 2-27, N ul-Hasan 1-35

5-167 (20 overs)

Gemini Arabians
S Chanderpaul 56(36), A Hales 36(19)
F Ashraf 3-22, A Russell 2-27

156 (19.2 overs)

Islamabad United won by 11 runs
F Ashraf was awarded Man of the Match.

While none of the Islamabad United batsmen went on to make big scores, everyone made it to double figures. Even some of the greatest bowlers of all time were unable to make significant inroads into their batting lineup. Still, a total of 167 was always going to be a tough task to defend against a stacked team such as the Gemini Arabians. Chanderpaul led the charge for the Gemini Arabians in the chase, making a steady 50 while batsmen around him scored quickly, but recklessly, to keep them ahead of the chase. Despite a few wickets lost, they were in a comfortable position until Ashraf came in and took three wickets in an over. That one over turned the tide of the match and the Arabians fell short of the chase by 11 runs with four balls to spare when Russell took the last wicket.

Game 11B: Gemini Arabians vs Islamabad United
Gemini Arabians XI: S Chanderpaul, V Sehwag, K Sangakkara+, B Hodge, R Levi, J Rudolph, J Kemp, K Mills, N ul-Hasan, S Mushtaq, M Muralitharan
Islamabad United XI: C Munro, B Haddin, L Ronchi, A Hales, M ul-Haq, S Khan*, A Russell, I Wasim, F Ashraf, M Sami, U Gul
Gemini Arabians won the toss and elected to bat first.

Gemini Arabians
S Chanderpaul 59(41), R Levi 32(26)
F Ashraf 2-26, U Gul 2-48

7-180 (20 overs)

Islamabad United
A Russell 40(25), R Levi 32(26)
K Mills 2-34, S Mushtaq 2-35

6-179 (20 overs)

Gemini Arabians won by 1 run
S Chanderpaul was awarded Man of the Match.

After going out cheaply in the last game, Sehwag came out swinging and was scoring with a strike-rate over 300 for the first two overs before falling for 27. The ever-consistent Chanderpaul made his third 50 of the tournament to give the Arabians a platform to launch in the latter overs. Kemp hit seven consecutive boundaries in the final overs of the game to see the Gemini Arabians reach a total of 180 runs. A couple of early wickets were not what Islamabad needed but a steady partnership from Haddin and Hales got things back on track. From there, Khan and Russell managed to get within 14 runs with one over to go. The final over of the match had everything. A no ball, a wicket on a free hit, a dropped catch and a 6 off the final delivery. Unfortunately for Islamabad, Wasim's final ball heroics were not enough as they fell short by just one run.

[Wilted]

Game 9A: Comilla Victorians vs Perth Scorchers
Comilla Victorians XI: T Iqbal, L Das+, D Malan, M Rizwan, S Afridi, M Samuels, A Russell, M Saifuddin, R Khan, M Mortaza*, T Islam
Perth Scorchers XI: H Gibbs, J Inglis+, S Marsh, A Voges, C Bancroft, M Marsh*, L Livingstone, A Agar, B Hogg, M Johnson, A Tye
Comilla Victorians won the toss and elected to bowl.

Perth Scorchers
A Voges 76*(51), C Bancroft 65(38)
M Saifuddin 4-37, M Mortaza 2-19

6-185 (20 overs)

Comilla Victorians
T Iqbal 39(23), M Rizwan 30(26)
L Livingstone 4-37, A Tye 3-38

155 (19.5 overs)

Perth Scorchers won by 30 runs
A Voges was awarded Man of the Match.

Despite a few early wickets from the CV quicks, a tremendous partnership between Voges and Bancroft put the Scorchers into a formidable position. The only thing that kept the Comilla Victorians in the game was fantastic death bowling from Saifuddin who finished with four wickets. Perth Scorchers also started their bowling attack with a couple of wickets, but CV could not put together any meaningful partnerships to keep up with the run rate. By the time they needed to amp up the boundary-hitting in the final overs, they didn't have enough wickets in the shed to sustain a successful chase.

Game 9B: Perth Scorchers vs Comilla Victorians
Perth Scorchers XI: H Gibbs, S Marsh, L Livingstone, A Voges, C Bancroft, M Marsh*, J Inglis+, A Agar, B Hogg, M Johnson, A Tye
Comilla Victorians XI: M Rizwan, L Das+, D Malan, S Afridi, T Iqbal, M Samuels, A Russell, M Saifuddin, R Khan, M Mortaza, M Rahman
Perth Scorchers won the toss and elected to bat.

Perth Scorchers
S Marsh 43(31), C Bancroft 33(25)
M Mortaza 3-13, M Saifuddin 1-12

5-137 (20 overs)

Comilla Victorians
S Afridi 26(20), T Iqbal 25(17)
L Livingstone 5-12, M Johnson 2-26

122 (17.5 overs)

Perth Scorchers won by 15 runs
L Livingstone was awarded Man of the Match.

Mortaza tore through the Scorchers' top order by taking three quick scalps. Once again, it was up to Perth's middle order to rebuild but this time they had to take a defensive approach thanks to tight bowling from Rashid Khan and Saifuddin who bowled their overs for less than a run per ball. The notable run scorers were the Marsh brothers and Bancroft who got Perth to 137 runs. On a deck as ragged as this, 137 would be a tricky chase. A chase that Rizwan and Das were more than up for as they carefully navigated the powerplay. It wasn't until the two Mitch's, Marsh and Johnson, broke through and took four wickets in the space of four overs. The final nail, or the final five nails, came from the only international player in the Perth squad, Livingstone, who came in and took 5-12 to win the match.

[Wilted]

Round 2 Results
It was as even as it could get in Group A with each team walking away with one win and one loss. The Auckland Aces and the Trinbago Knight Riders also each had one in Group B but the Chennai Super Kings remained undefeated with two victories over Southern Brave. After two rounds, CSK are showing why they are one of the favourites in this tournament.

One of the reasons CSK remain undefeated is MS Dhoni, whose century singlehandedly won them their second game against Southern Brave. Without a doubt, the best batting performance of the round. The Trinbago Knight Riders have shown themselves to be one of the most aggressive batting teams in the tournament. This made McClenaghan's four overs without a single boundary all the more impressive, giving him the bowling performance of the round.

Group A

PS lost to SEC SEC lost to PS

GemAr lost to CV CV lost to GemAr

IU - bye

Group B

AUCK defeated TKR TKR defeated AUCK

SB lost to CSK CSK defeated SB

JK - bye

Current Standings

Group A	Played	Wins	Ties	NRR	Total
Gemini Arabians	4	3		1.40	6
Islamabad United	2	2		0.97	4
Comilla Victorians	4	1		-0.07	2
Perth Scorchers	2	1		-0.30	2
Sunrisers Eastern Cape	4	1		-1.60	2

Group B	Played	Wins	Tie	NRR	Total
Chennai Super Kings	4	4		1.71	8
Trinbago Knight Riders	4	3		1.65	6
Auckland Aces	2	1		-0.82	2
Southern Brave	4			-1.57	0
Jaffina Kings	2			-2.75	0

Tournament Stat Leaders

Batter	Runs	Bowler	Wickets
M Hayden (CSK)	204	R Rampaul (TKR)	9
D Conway (SB)	203	M Saifuddin (CV)	8
S Watson (CSK)	171	M Muralitharan (GemAr)	8
M Dhoni (CSK)	161	S Narine (TKR)	7
L Simmons (TKR)	147	D Chahar +2 others	7

Round 3 Fixture

Group A

CV vs PS

IU vs GemAr

SEC - bye

Group B

CSK vs AUCK

JK vs SB

TKR - bye

[Wilted]

Game 8A: Southern Brave vs Chennai Super Kings
Southern Brave XI: D Conway, Q de Kock+, J Vince*, P Stirling, A Davies, M Stoinis, C Jordan, R Ahmed, G Garton, J Lintott, C Overton
Chennai Super Kings XI: M Hayden, S Watson, S Raina, M Hussey, M Dhoni*+, D Bravo, A Morkel, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, I Tahir, D Chahar
Southern Brave won the toss and elected to bowl.

Chennai Super Kings
M Dhoni 56(31), M Hussey 46(32)
J Lintott 2-25, G Garton 2-37

8-189 (20 overs)

Southern Brave
D Conway 53(31), A Davies 48(32)
R Jadeja 2-29, D Chahar 1-21

5-163 (20 overs)

Chennai Super Kings won by 26 runs
M Dhoni was awarded Man of the Match.

The quick dismissal of the tournament's leading run scorers, Hayden and Watson, meant things were looking up for the Braves. A resurgent partnership from Dhoni and Hussey put things back on track for CSK. A late flurry of wickets prevented a huge score from being posted. A strong start from Conway was put to an end by a stunning bowling spell from Jadeja. From there, it was just a matter of time before the required run rate was just too much for Southern Brave to keep up with.

Game 8B: Chennai Super Kings vs Southern Brave
Chennai Super Kings XI: M Hayden, S Watson, S Raina, M Hussey, M Dhoni*+, M Vijay, D Bravo, R Jadeja, D Chahar, I Tahir
Southern Brave XI: D Conway, Q de Kock+, J Vince, P Stirling, A Davies, M Stoinis, C Jordan, G Garton, L Lintott, C Overton, T Mills
Southern Brave won the toss and elected to bat.

Southern Brave
D Conway 74(44), A Davies 38(23)
R Ashwin 3-35, D Chahar 1-39

6-190 (20 overs)

Chennai Super Kings
M Dhoni 103*(55), S Raina 46(29)
G Garton 2-29, T Mills 1-24

4-191 (20 overs)

Chennai Super Kings won by 6 wickets
M Dhoni was awarded Man of the Match.

Once again, Jadeja broke through the de Kock and Conway partnership. Conway's 74 and a few fast-paced knocks from the middle-order allowed Southern Brave to reach 190 runs, a fantastic score against an all-star bowling attack. A golden duck for Hayden and some quick wickets for Garton put Southern Brave ahead of CSK until Dhoni came to the crease and notched up a well-timed 50 to bring Chennai back into the game. Needing 38 runs off the final three overs, Dhoni continued to swing away, winning the game off the final ball and bringing up a century.

[Wilted]

Game 7A: Auckland Aces vs Trinbago Knight Riders
Auckland Aces XI: C Munro, M Guptil, M Chapman, C de Grandhomme, R D'Odonnell, C Fletcher+, A Mahmood, R Hira, K Mills, A Adams, M McClenaghan
Trinbago Knight Riders XI: C Munro, B McCullum+, H Amla, K Pollard*, L Simmons, Dwayne Bravo, A Russell, A Hosein, S Narine, R Rampaul, A Khan
Auckland Aces won the toss and elected to bowl.

Trinbago Knight Riders
L Simmons 78*(41), K Pollard 71(51)
K Mills 2-20, A Adams 2-42

4-176 (20 overs)

Auckland Aces
R O'Donnell 47*(25), M Guptill 44(28)
S Narine 3-34, D Bravo 1-35

4-179 (19.5 overs)

Auckland Aces won by 6 wickets
R O'Donnell was awarded Man of the Match.

The Auckland Aces frustrated the likes of McCullum with only two boundaries being hit in the powerplay. Once the powerplay was over, it was time for the Pollard and Simmons show who put on a partnership of 125 runs and both batsmen reached the 70s in very little time. They did the bulk of the scoring in the Knight Riders' innings of 176. Any time one of Auckland's batsmen looked like they were starting to strike the ball well, they were dismissed. Eventually, captain ODonnell and Fletcher were able to combine to put on a fast-scoring partnership to seal their team victory with a ball to spare.

Game 7B: Trinbago Knight Riders vs Auckland Aces
Trinbago Knight Riders XI: C Munro, L Simmons, H Amla, K Pollard*, B McCullum+, Dwayne Bravo, A Russell, A Hosein, S Narine, R Rampaul, A Khan
Auckland Aces XI: C Munro, M Guptil, M Chapman, C de Grandhomme, R D'Odonnell, C Fletcher+, A Mahmood, R Hira, K Mills, A Adams, M McClenaghan
Auckland Aces won the toss and elected to bowl.

Trinbago Knight Riders
D Bravo 55*(42), A Russell 36(27)
A Mahmood 4-25, A Adams 3-30

8-160 (20 overs)

Auckland Aces
K Mills 40*(31), R Hira 30(23)
A Khan 2-12, R Rampaul 2-15

8-123 (20 overs)

Trinbago Knight Riders won by 37 runs
D Bravo was awarded Man of the Match.

After an abysmal start where only Simmons, in his new role as opener, made it to double figures, TKR put on a huge fightback to post a score of 160. This was mainly due to allrounders, Bravo and Russell, but Azhar Mahmood from the Aces's 4-25 was the best performance of the innings. The only American in the tournament, Ali Khan, bowled a wicket maiden to start off his team's defence. The bowling was so tight that not a single boundary was struck in the powerplay and the Aces were left reeling at 4-16 at the six-over mark. It took eight overs and six wickets for the Aces to hit their first 4 of the innings finally. By that time, the game was all but over.

[Wilted]

Game 6A: Gemini Arabians vs Comilla Victorians
Gemini Arabians XI: J Rudolph, V Sehwag, K Sangakkara+, B Hodge, S Chanderpaul, R Levi, J Kemp, K Mills, N ul-Hasan, S Mushtaq, M Muralitharan
Comilla Victorians XI: T Iqbal, L Das+, D Malan, M Rizwan, M Ali, M Samuels, A Russell, S Afridi, M Saifuddin, R Khan, M Mortaza*
Comilla Victorians won the toss and elected to bowl.

Gemini Arabians
R Levi 32(23), N ul-Hasan 31(37)
A Russell 3-25, R Khan 2-21

9-129 (20 overs)

Comilla Victorians
L Das 50*(41), D Malan 38(29)
J Kemp 1-13, N ul-Hasan 1-18

3-132 (16.2 overs)

Comilla Victorians won by 7 wickets
L Das was awarded Man of the Match.

Taking two wickets in his first over, Andre Russell sent a ripple of worry through the team of legends. Mortaza took a further two wickets and that ripple soon turned into a wave. Despite having big names in their squad, the Comilla Victorians were huge underdogs in this match but they had a stranglehold on the game up to the powerplay. The next two wickets came from the spin duo of Moeen Ali and Shahid Afridi. That was now six wickets inside ten overs. To rub salt into the wound, Rashid Khan took a wicket with his first ball of the innings. Levi and ul-Hasan made a defensive effort to hold their wicket and the Arabians limped to 20 overs with a total of 129 runs. The Victorians made short work of the chase, losing only three wickets as they reached the target with four overs to spare.

Game 6B: Comilla Victorians vs Gemini Arabians
Comilla Victorians XI: T Iqbal, L Das+, D Malan, M Rizwan, M Ali, M Samuels, A Russell, S Afridi, M Saifuddin, R Khan, M Mortaza*
Gemini Arabians XI: J Rudolph, V Sehwag, K Sangakkara+, B Hodge, S Chanderpaul, R Levi, J Kemp, K Mills, N ul-Hasan, S Mushtaq, M Muralitharan
Comilla Victorians won the toss and elected to bowl.

Gemini Arabians
K Sangakkara 67(42), B Hodge 23(9)
2-33, 2-34

8-191 (20 overs)

Comilla Victorians
M Rizwan 62(28), D Malan 36(26)
M Muralitharan 2-41, J Kemp 1-25

6-187 (20 overs)

Gemini Arabians won by 4 runs
K Sangakkara was awarded Man of the Match.

A solid start from both teams and a strong finish Comilla Victorians were unable to stop Sangakkara from leading a barrage of boundaries in the middle overs that led to a difficult total of 191 runs. It would have been much bigger but some very tight death bowling and a wicket maiden from Khan halted the flow of runs before it reached the 200-run mark. The Victorians were behind the entire innings and with three overs left, they needed 50 runs still. It would have been an amazing feat if they pulled off that chase but the effort led by Rizwan that saw them fall just four runs short made for some very nervous fans on both sides.