• It was great to finally get on the points board on Sunday night in Chennai. Hopefully, we can now build on some much needed momentum against Rajasthan Royals. We've had a slow start to the tournament, but we know we have the quality to get to the semi-finals.

     

    It was a great game in Chennai and it is those kinds of tight matches that really make tournaments like this. It could have gone either way, but the fact that we clinched it is really pleasing. Good teams win close matches.

     

    As it turned out, I thought my losing the toss was a blessing in disguise. The pitch behaved differently to what we'd anticipated. We thought it was going to be very good for the batsmen but in the end it had some bite for the spinners and was holding up a little bit, making stroke play difficult.

     

    Although the conditions were not ideal for batting, it was still disappointing to lose wickets in clusters. You need partnerships and losing quick wickets seriously disrupts momentum. However, Irfan and Yuvi, at

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  • Wednesday will witness the first of the do-or-die encounters in this year's IPL. Both Rajasthan and Punjab would be eager to register their second win after they made amends, over the weekend, for their slow start.

     

    Punjab's victory over Chennai was really amazing because I had switched off the television when there were 20 runs left for Chennai to win. I caught the Super Over on the highlights and it was a truly incredible win for Kumar Sangakkara's team. A victory like this could be a catalyst for the side, making them a stronger, more confident and charged unit in coming games.

     

    The biggest gain for Punjab would be the way their icon, Yuvraj Singh, pulled off the game for them. There has never been any doubt that the left-hander is one of the biggest talents around. Focusing on the game has been an issue in the past but when he puts his mind to it, Yuvraj has been a proven match winner.

     

    Punjab's coach Tom moody is also back in the mix after an ordinary season with Western

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  • Just about ten days into the IPL and already the lead has changed hands several times. And one can be sure that most teams will continue to be everywhere - near the top, near the bottom, somewhere in the middle - over the next month. That signifies both the flip flop nature of Twenty20 cricket and the fact that the eight contestants are more or less evenly matched.

     

    It should not be forgotten that the teams that occupied the last two slots in the inaugural edition in 2008 contested the final a year later, with Deccan Chargers which took cellar position the first time finishing as champions last year. What I am trying to get at is to drive home the point that predicting a winner in cricket's newest and shortest - and I dare say most popular format - is an exercise fraught with danger.

     

    There are too many things happening within such a short time and as the cliche goes you blink and you miss it. Whereas, in Fifty50 an over or two can dramatically change the complexion of the game in

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