Delhi Daredevils
Kotla: The Delhi team was desperate for a victory, following their poor performance in this year’s IPL event. They finally managed to get a win under their belt, beating the in- form Punjab team by 29 runs. Finally, Delhi will be relieved and feel they can win more matches from now on.
It was a batsmen day out today at Kotla, with more than 430 runs scored in the match, the highest so far in IPL 2011. The bowlers were just present to complete the formality of bowling 20 overs, as the pitch had nothing for the bowlers. The pitch suited the batting side and it was a run galore today at the Kotla Stadium.
The Kings XI Punjab won the toss and elected to field first. The Daredevils started their innings with Virender Sehwag and David Warner. The two are known for their hard hitting and explosive game play. The Delhi showed that they are here to only win and started their innings in great fashion. Both the openers looked in good touch. The duo when in form, can hammer any bowling attack in the world. It did happen today.
The opening pair failed to show their worth so far. But they came back with a bang. The Delhi captain Sehwag, along with the Australian opener, punished the bowler’s right from the start of the Innings. Praveen Kumar, who was outstanding in his last match, was hammered all around. The duo showed no mercy on the bowlers, as they bludgeoned them all over the stadium. The duo kept on punishing the bowler, until Sehwag perished to David Hussey in the 11th over for a thunderous performance of 77 runs of just 35 deliveries, consisting of 8 boundaries and 4 sixes. Warner continued with his hammering, before he was dismissed by Kumar in the 15th over for a blistering knock of 77 of just 48 deliveries. But the scorecard was not pleasing for the Punjab team. Venugopal Rao along with Naman Ojha scored a quickfire 47 runs in the last 3 overs, giving Delhi a thunderous finish. Delhi managed to score a massive 231 in their 20 overs.
The Punjab team had a mountain to climb. Though it did not look impossible, following the form Gilchrist and Valthathy are in. The Punjab carried on their good luck as both the openers were dropped without scoring. The Delhi team must have felt that they almost dropped the match. Valthathy did look good, hitting two big sixes but soon perished to Pathan for a mere score of 14 in the 3rd over. The in-form batsmen, Shawn Marsh stepped in. Gilchrist took the charge and started punishing the bowlers. Marsh too started from the word go, and hammered the bowling attack.
Things were looking good for Punjab, until Gilchrist was dismissed in the 10th over by a beauty from the youngster Aaron. Gilchrist scored a quick 42 of just 33 deliveries. But there was no stopping the young Australian, as Marsh was explosive in his approach and the bowling attack was taken apart. Marsh lacked support as Karthik failed to perform once again. Hussey too looked promising, but only for a while, scoring just 20 runs.
Marsh fight was still on, as he got the better of the bowling department. But the total was too much for the Punjab, as Wickets kept trembling, with no support for Marsh. Marsh’s fighting effort of 95 of just 45 deliveries went in vain as Punjab fell short of 29 runs of the Total.
The Delhi Team would be a happy bunch. They needed this victory more than any team. But they still need work hard, and have a tough task ahead. Bowling still remains a concern for the team. On the other hand, though Punjab lost the match, they should not be discouraged, as the team put up a fighting performance and the batting line up looks healthy and strong.
Tags: Cricket, David Warner, DD, Delhi Daredevils, Indian Premier League, IPL, IPL 2011, IPL 4, Kings XI Punjab, KXIP, Virender Sehwag
