Bravo's many disguises, and Johnson's new weapon

The two-card trick

Dwayne Bravo, one of the canniest T20 bowlers on the planet, executed the bouncer-yorker combination to perfection to dismiss one of the most destructive batsmen around. Glenn Maxwell had consciously set himself up for Bravo's dipping slower balls, but the West Indian used all his experience to fox him. Bravo banged in a sharp bouncer in the 12th over, followed by a quick and accurate yorker, both of which caught Maxwell off guard. Looking to make room, Maxwell failed to keep the second one out.

The dipping novelty

Bravo is responsible for cricket's newest innovation - the slow, dipping full toss. The difficult of playing it probably stems from how hard it is to decipher the release. David Miller, who promoted himself to No. 3 for the first time in the IPL, figured that out the hard way. Miller saw the ball dipping and played across the line. The next thing he saw were his disturbed stumps and Bravo running around in celebration.

The Stoinis barrier

Australia allrounder Marcus Stoinis, making his IPL debut, was forced into tip-and-run cricket after quick wickets had pegged Kings XI Punjab in the middle overs. In the 15th over, he pushed one back towards the bowler James Faulkner, who collected the ball and fired a throw at the batsman's end, spotting Stoinis out of his crease. Diving back home Stoinis stretched out his bat which came in the way of the ball. It seemed intentional, but Faulkner only made a half-hearted appeal for obstructing the field and Stoinis survived.

The swing deception

Brendon McCullum was playing his first match since his international retirement in February. In what was also Gujarat Lions' first match, he was intent on carrying on where he left off after his record-breaking Test century in Christchurch. With McCullum's dancing pyrotechnics known to all, wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha came up to the stumps to the medium-pacer Sandeep Sharma. That did not stop McCullum, who shimmied down to the second ball he faced, and Sandeep pulled his length back and swung the ball away to beat his bat. With McCullum stranded a long way down the pitch, Saha completed the formalities

Johnson's improv mode

If cricketing skills don't work, improvise. Mitchell Johnson silenced many critics, who have questioned football as a mode of preparation. In the 15th over of the chase, Dinesh Karthik tapped a ball back down the pitch, called for a single, and got a positive response from his partner Ravindra Jadeja. Considering Jadeja's sprightly feet, the only way he was going to be found short was if Johnson used his. That he did, and Kings XI had a small moment of celebration in an otherwise chastening five-wicket loss.