The match between the Daredevils and Punjab Kings has been delayed by the game. As i hear on the TV, its gonna be a 14 over game. Albeit the 7 mins tactical cum money churning break remains. I seriously doubt the idea of this. Why not do away with those 15 mins and get 2-3 more overs in. Ludicrous.
No McGrath. Why ?
First tactical break now. Sehwag has been in Napier mode for the captaincy. The bowlers he has trusted to get the breakthrough havent been to the mark. They have pitched in too short and that has given free hand to Goel and Bopara to go for runs. 67 runs in 6 overs would mean 150 odd in 12 overs. That would setup a great contest and that would mean the hottest pair (cricket wise) in international cricket would have their task cut out.
And Danny boy strikes off first ball. Bopara gone lbw. Vetts is the best bet for wickets and stopping the runs in T20. In short, the Vetts boy is the best in business for T20. Meanwhile King Sangakara is being troubled by Danny for 2 balls in row. Things seem to be turning now. It would be interesting to see how Yuvraj takes on Danny which most prolly would now happen in 9th over. Spinners have had more success this iPL than fast bowlers. Kumble, Warne, Bhajji, Jaya and now Danny.
Danny boy gets Sangakara. 2 in 2. Sangakara taking the field for first time after Lahore fiasco. With time he would just get better. Blabba king is on the field now. I just love him. And he claims Yuvraj Singh, who had started looking good. He had just hit a six. Damn Mahela Jayawardhena. Age old theory : look at the partner than the ball. And he is gone too. Poor shot. Damn you dude. Useless fellow. 5/98. Doesnt look if that Kings XI would now cross max 115. Delhi on fire. One more run out could be. Sehwag would now be a happy man. Tiwary this time. He gets his man. Piyush Chawla gone. 6 for 98 in 11. Coming back to Sehwag, he should have been the man to lead India after Dravid. Unfortunately he lost his form in 2007 and for stupid reasons Dilip Vengsarkar dropped him off the Test side. And since then Dhoni rose to the peak. And Sehwag faded. Albeit now he is back with bang.
Irfan Pathan unable to connect to the ball. 2 dot balls in final over. 100 reached. Punjab doesnt have enough firepower to stop Sehwag and Gambhir. And unless Sehwag doesnt get himself out ridiculously like in Napier, he should see Delhi Daredevils home easily. The fielding has been superb for Delhi today. AB this time.
By the way 2 errors by Veeru. Mishra and McGrath should have been in for Sangwan and Nannes. 104 for 7 is not a winning score. Not when you dont have bowling firepower in the lineup and when there is the most dangerous opening pair in the opposite camp. Danny boy continues his excellence and the script of spinners’ excellence this IPL goes on.
Second Innings:
Sehwag and Gambhir are on. No Warner, no McGrath. Delhi batting looks good. Following this 2, there is Dilshan, AB, Tiwary, Karthik (LOL) and Danny boy. First up Pathan and Sanga stands up to the stumps. Will Pathan get some swing and force his way back to this earlier reputation of 2003-05. Now will Gambhir will walk down ? First boundary. Pace is lacking. One more. 9 now in first over. Looking to Sehwag and Gambhir, I rememeber Sholay evergreen song
Yeh dosti hum nahi todenge
First ball to Veeru and he hits one down the leg side. Almost gone, but still a 4. Abdullah ka Bismillah isnt good in IPL. One more. 2 in 2. Full toss to Veeru. Are you kidding? Would be gone in stands. Ravi says 5 overs is the D/L cutoff. Rains started. Edged and 4. They are heading off. Covers being brought in. DD 0/24 in 1.5. Have that as a tactical break. If the match gets underway dont break again for the tactics. I think its ridiculous to have a tactical break when it would rain. So 10 overs are bowled, no rains, a tactical break. Match resumes, rains come down, match broke. Whats the use of the break here? That time should have been used as a continution to the game and time lost to rains can be taken as tactical break.
Meanwhile its raining stronger than ever before in the day. Things looking bad. Now its looking that the match would get underway and also the 2nd one would get underway though it depends on the rains. The score is going to be reduced. Ahh its mockery. 54 to win in 6 overs. So 30 to win in 25 balls. i guess it would be 10 balls more. Poor fielding by VRV Singh and 4 more. 26 in 24 needed. Man of the match candidate : One of this batsmen or Danny Boy. 25 off 23 now. Veeru on strike. A slog and a miss. Sanga having bad day. 24 off 22 now. 23 off 21 now. No urgency or warming up shown by Kings Punjab. Have they already believed that they have lost ? The reason is this. Sehwag. Huge hit. Ease, ease and easy. Bottom hand. One more try. Misses. 17 off 19. Effortless and in no time. Edged and 4. 13 off 3 overs.
This is tailor made situation for Sehwag. He has been hitting runs at furious speed in ODIs and tests. T20s give him more of freedom and license to do so. And he is going for it. Edges or nudges doenst matter to him. No for me too. And for his fans too. VRV comes in. Long time i saw him last, precisely to be after 2007 SA series. 12 off 17. 2 sixes. Now ? Miscue. 11 off 16. Yuvraj looks subdued. Good running. V and G are best runners in the team between the wickets. 9 off 15. One more walk down the track and single. Sehwag on strike. 8 off 14. 29 off 11 for the Najafgarh Sultan. Missed. Whats he gonna do now ? No run. 8 off 2 overs. rare 2 dot balls. Chawla comes in. He is no Warne or Kumble. Sehwag is now on strike. Go hit the Melbourne style six when he tried and got out. But he got 2. 5 off 10. One. 4 off 9. 50 for DD. Good running again. 3 off 8. Hit the four or six Veeru!!! Wide. 2 off 8. Thats it. 6 for Veeru. And DD win. Whatta style….Sehwag rocks. Gambhir playing 2nd fiddle and thats what makes this pair the rock star it is. The ODIs, the Tests and the T20Is. Vettori looks good for the MoM award..
