17: KKR vs KXIP 18: RCB vs RR

I'll have to admit that I wasn't able to watch any of Sunday's games, was at Wembley watching Tottenham get well and truly thumped by Chelsea, although even I could tell Mata's effort was nowhere near the line let alone it over it! Don't worry though, I was constantly checking the scores on my phone and it was phenomenal to see both Punjab and Rajasthan picking up improbable wins at two of the toughest grounds in the IPL. Rather than produce a couple of match reports, as I probably don't have time before Mumbai-Delhi, I'll just have a look at the day's best performers having watched some highlights.

Sunil Narine - 4-0-19-5
The Trinidadian is a hot property in limited overs cricket and his performance against Punjab showed exactly why. He was brilliant to watch as the ball was turning both ways to bamboozle anyone that had the misfortune of facing him. The doosra that bowled Shaun Marsh through the gate could barely have been better in terms of flight, line and length to crash into the stumps, an absolute beauty. He was helped out by good glovework from Bisla, with a couple of sharp catches, to end up with 5 wickets but he richly deserved the rare feat. It will be interesting to see how he goes for the rest of the tournament, if the opposition can't figure him out then he'll be taking plenty more wickets.

Rajat Bhatia - 4-0-14-2
The bowling all-rounder from Delhi has become a really reliable performer for Gambhir to turn to in a side with plenty of big name players. He can easily go under the radar but his record suggests he's unlucky never to have played international cricket. His array of slower balls and cutters are so tough to get away when combined with his supreme accuracy, shown by a 20/20 economy of 6.98. Yesterday's showing was another example of his holding role, not hit for a single boundary as well as a couple of wickets really is a top effort.

Piyush Chawla - 4-0-18-3
Watching a leg spinner on the top of their game is always a treat and, having struggled last year, it looks like Chawla might be back to near his best. Gilchrist has a lot of faith in him and always backs his ability and this must be crucial to a leggie, all of whom thrive on confidence. He bowled with flight and drift as well as good control of the googly, sending back the well set Bisla with one that ripped back in through the gate. I'm a big fan of Chawla and its great to see him taking wickets in a format that can be particularly harsh on leg spinners.

Zaheer Khan - 4-1-15-1
An experienced campaigner in all forms of the game, Zaheer is a man that Vettori is always relying on for control and invaluable advice for the other seamers. The maiden he sent down to Rahane was a great example of his exemplary discipline as there was absolutely nothing to hit and the pressure was cranking up throughout. He got the wicket he deserved as Shah holed out in the penultimate over and the fact he managed to go for so few runs in a total of 195/2 shows just how well he bowled at the top and later on in the innings.

Ajinkya Rahane - 103* from 60 balls, 12 fours, 5 sixes
I was really disappointed when Rahane fell in the 90s earlier on in the tournament because he'd played wonderfully and deserved a hundred. He put that right against RCB, who possess one of the best attacks in the IPL, and his first ton in this format was an awesome performance. He changed gears effortlessly and the over from Aravind that went for 24 stands out. He showed that he has all the shots in the book as every ball went for 4 and had everyone in the stadium on their feet applauding. Rahane is fast becoming my favourite batsman to watch in the tournament as he won the game for his side, taking back the orange cap in the process. Brilliant innings and he's certainly up there with the likes of Kohli, Sharma and Raina in India's future batting generation.

Owais Shah - 60 from 26 balls, 5 fours, 5 sixes
When on song there are few better strikers of a the ball in the IPL, just ask the RCB bowlers. He is so difficult to bowl to as he can target any part of the ground, repositioning himself in the crease to dictate terms to the bowler, and some of his leg side 6s were enormous. Dravid clearly holds Shah in high regard and the faith shown in him has worked brilliantly as he's yet to play a bad innings for RR. As there are so few Englishmen in this year's edition I'm always keen for him to perform and he's having a blinder at the moment, maybe even a return to English colours could be on the cards if he keeps this up.

Pankaj Singh - 4-0-18-2
Having scored 195 it was vital that Rajasthan's bowlers got them off to a good start and Pankaj Singh  certainly did this. I think yesterday was his first game of IPL 2012, could be wrong, and starting up against Chris Gayle must be nerve-wracking but he more than held his on as he sent back both Gayle and opening partner Agarwal, showing the ability to bowl a heavy ball and good control, to complete a sound performance when he'd have been nervous. Trivedi (4-25) and Hogg (1-19) were also exceptional for RR but I went for Singh because to play your first game as an opening bowler up against Chris Gayle and walk away with 2-18 is a serious achievement.