Royal Challengers Bangalore continued their push towards an Indian Premier League 2013 play-off spot, with a hard-fought four-run win over Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
Bangalore now have 16 points from 13 matches, while the hapless Daredevils finish their home games with another loss, at just six points from the same number of games.
In a tournament that has already seen some blistering centuries and some stunning finishes, David Miller scripted one of the most remarkable of each to see Kings XI Punjab to a six-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in Mohali.
Set 191 to win after half-centuries from Cheteshwar Pujara and Chris Gayle, Kings XI needed 94 in 40 balls but thanks to Miller hammering 101 not out in 38 deliveries, got home with two overs to spare.
Four weeks into the 2013 Indian Premier League and the knock-outs' picture is beginning to take shape. If you compare it with 2012, it isn't a close run thing.
At this stage last season, there were seven teams vying for four spots. A year later, things have evolved a little bit more, with only five teams in the fray now and a sixth with an outside chance.
Even a change of dressing room couldn't inspire Pune Warriors to victory as they succumbed by 17 runs to Royal Challengers Bangalore, who managed their first away win of Indian Premier League 2013.
Half-centuries from Saurabh Tiwary and AB de Villiers helped Bangalore post 187 for three and although Robin Uthappa replied with 75 in 45 balls, Pune only managed to close on 170 for nine.
Rajasthan Royals continued their unbeaten run at home with a fine four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore, at Jaipur. The Royals now have twelve points from nine games and are placed third in the 2013 IPL points table. The other Royals, the Challengers from Bangalore, meanwhile have lost their second game on the bounce and are now feeling vulnerable in second spot, also with twelve points but from ten games played.
Mumbai Indians roared back into Indian Premier League 2013 contention with a second successive win, this time at home, when they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by a comfortable margin of 58 runs at the Wankhede Stadium.
This win took Mumbai into the top four, with 10 points from eight games, pushing Sunrisers Hyderabad down to fifth (also with 10 points after their loss earlier in the day). Bangalore remain top with 12 points from nine games, but their run-rate took a beating.
Ideally this headline should read as 'Royal Challengers Bangalore Lay Down The Marker', having taken an early lead in the Indian Premier League 2013. Despite Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals pushing towards the top, Virat Kohli's side has stayed at the top consistently. Chetan Narula rounds up the latest IPL 2013 action as we approach the halfway stage.
An IPL TV cricket video for Cricket World TV about the latest cricket news as we look back at Chris Gayle smashing 175 in 66 balls for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League 2013 - IPL 2013 - IPL 6 in India.
There were some 17 Chris Gayle sixes as he struck his fourth Indian Premier League century and RCB broke the previous T20 record of 260 by closing 263 for five with Tillakaratne Dilshan and AB de Villiers also hitting out to good effect.
Chris Gayle smashed a new world record Twenty20 score of 175 not out to propel Royal Challengers Bangalore to a world leading score of 263 for five and a 130-run win over Pune Warriors in Bangalore.
Gayle's fourth IPL century saw him surpass Brendon McCullum's long-standing record of 158 and included 17 sixes - another record - as Bangalore returned to the top of the Indian Premier League 2013 table when Pune could only reach 133 for nine in reply.
Royal Challengers Bangalore continued their winning run at home, with a dominant seven wicket win over Rajasthan Royals at Bangalore. The Challengers move to the top spot in the points table, with ten points from five wins in seven matches. Rajasthan meanwhile are in fourth spot, with eight points, after four wins in six matches.
An extraordinary Indian Premier League 2013 match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils was only decided in the former's favour from the final ball of the tournament's second Super Over.
Chasing 153 for victory, Bangalore lost five wickets for nine runs before managing to level the scores and then defended 15 to win the Super Over when Ravi Rampaul bowled Irfan Pathan with Delhi needing five to win.
In their latest series of Indian Premier League 2013 podcasts, John Pennington and Chetan Narula discuss a number of topics, ranging from Delhi Daredevils' struggles to the form of Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.
Two weekends in the 2013 Indian Premier League have come and gone, almost as a wind. The cricket on show has been enticing, at times a little slow and at other times the supposed entertainment took over.
The one assured aspect that came out on top though, and will continue to do so, is the ebb and flow of different teams as fortunes will change daily. Chetan Narula runs the rule over the start of the 2013 tournament.
Chennai Super Kings recorded a sensational four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chennai to move into fourth place in the Indian Premier League 2013 points table.
They now have four points from three games, while Bangalore are at second spot with six from five games after a dramatic match which was only settled in the dying moments.
Chris Gayle blasted Royal Challengers Bangalore to an eight-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders as they registered their second straight Indian Premier League 2013 victory.
After they fought back to restrict Kolkata to 154 for eight, Gayle smashed 85 not out in 50 balls to see the Challengers home with more than two overs to spare.
Cricket World TV looks back at the opening week of the Indian Premier League 2013 - IPL 2013 - IPL 6 in India, which at the time of recording saw four times level on two points at the top of the table.
Virat Kohli blasted a new career-best of 93 not out to drive Royal Challengers Bangalore to a convincing seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in front of their home crowd.
Sunrisers, through Cameron White and Thisara Perera, had reached a good total of 161 for six but with Kohli in sparkling form, Bangalore got home with 14 balls to spare.
After seven matches of the 2013 Indian Premier League, John Pennington and Chetan Narula discuss the start of the tournament, which has seen outsiders Sunrisers Hyderabad hit the top of the table.
Dale Steyn didn't allow Chris Gayle to score 21 runs in the Super Over as Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The hosts, thus, move to the top of the table with full points from two straight wins, while Bangalore suffered their first loss of the new IPL season.
Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Mumbai Indians by two runs in the second game of the Indian Premier League 2013, beating Mumbai in Bangalore for the first time in five attempts.
After Chris Gayle's 92 had helped Bangalore post a challenging 156 for five, Mumbai were in trouble before Dinesh Karthik struck a quickfire 60 but Ranganath Vinay Kumar took two wickets in the final over to seal the win for Bangalore.
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL) will combine for the sixth successive year to ensure that the 2013 IPL tournament is played in the right spirit.
The sixth edition of the IPL starts today, when 2012 winners, Kolkata Knight Riders, host Delhi Daredevils at Eden Gardens.
A number of Indian Premier League 2013 matches have been rescheduled to avoid clashes with assembly elections in Karnataka.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka players are set to be given the go-ahead to play in the tournament but will not feature in any matches in Chennai.
With the start of the 2013 Indian Premier League now just 41 days away, teams are finalising their line-ups for the sixth edition of the Twenty20 competition.
Chief among them are 2011 runners-up Mumbai Indians and 2009 champions Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have appointed new captains in Ricky Ponting and Virat Kohli respectively.
Australians Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson and James Faulkner were among the big winners as the auction for IPL 2013 took place in Chennai. Maxwell fetched the biggest amount of the day when he was sold for $1 million (five times his base price) to Mumbai Indians. Faulkner and Richardson also fetched more than expected, with the former selling for $400,000 to Rajasthan Royals and Richardson going to Pune Warriors for an incredible $700,000.
