… Amit Singh bowls Rajasthan Royals to victory
CHENNAI Super Kings moved to the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) table with a 12-run win over Kings XI Punjab in a rain-reduced match at Centurion.

Matthew Hayden, the tournament’s leading run-scorer, again fired for the Super Kings clattering six sixes on his way to 89 as they posted their best score of the tournament – 185 for three from their revised 18 overs.

It looked a target the Super Kings should defend, and claim their fourth win on the spin. However, sloppy fielding and dropped catches undermined their effort in the field.

Simon Katich hit a breezy 50 before Yuvraj Singh and Mahela Jayawardene both rode their luck in an unbeaten 90-run stand which kept their victory hopes alive until the end.

Needing 30 from the final two overs, and with Yuvraj in full flight, Punjab looked well placed but a superb penultimate over from Suresh Raina cost just six runs to blunt their charge.

Meanwhile, a clinical bowling display handed the Rajasthan Royals a seven-wicket victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Fast bowler Amit Singh was the star for Rajasthan with four wickets and off-spinner Ravindra Jadeja took a further three as Bangalore posted a poor total of 105 after being put in to bat first in Centurion.

It was the second-lowest total of the tournament so far and the Royals needed only 15 overs to reach the victory target.

Naman Ojha took the plaudits with the bat after scoring his second consecutive half-century to send Shane Warne’s team back to the summit and keep Bangalore just outside the semi-final places.

Amit was named man-of-the-match for his performance as the Royals made excellent use of the hard Centurion surface to bowl out the Challengers after winning the toss.