Delhi won by 9 runs
Every body was thinking of two devils, namely, Sehwag and Gambhir in the Delhi contingent but de Villiers and Dilshan made it clear that each and every player of the Delhi team is a devil. No one could expect a team except for Delhi Daredevils, to resurrect from an early mis
hap of losing key players like Sehwag and Gambhir for a score of 8 runs to a comfortable poising of 46/2 in 5 overs and further develop it to 189/5 after 20 overs. The whole show belonged to de Villiers who beckoned his maiden IPL ton which also is the first in IPL Season 2 to make the Super Kings way out of caging the Daredevils. He was not ready to compromise with anything except for sixers and fours and in fact he took over the slaughter from Dilshan after the latter departed immediately after scoring his half century. Till then he was looking like a gentleman hiding the devil in him behind and once his companion parted the half century partnership, the Protean kept aside the policy of taking singles and propelled the ball 11 times beyond the fence out of which 6 times it did not touch the ground before ensuring the maximum runs. His 105* but could not help Daredevils touch 200 mark as Balaji claimed some good bowling and 3 wickets.Hayden and Patel had some home work done before they started the chase as the duo could make a ‘super’ start with the partnership finding the fastest fifty runs of IPL Season 2, off just 27 balls. In fact Super Kings were better placed than the opponents with the score on 56/0 after the first quarter of their innings comparing to the 46/2 of Daredevils by that time. Patel departed with score on 57 but Hayden was in massive form and 7th over was the worst hit for Daredevils as 25 runs were conceded off it. But Sangwan at last got the fish with Hayden hitting him to find Nannes receiving the ball at mid-on. With 57 runs off 27 balls he surely swayed the game towards the Kings’ side. The fall of Hayden not only allowed Daredevils to stump over the opponents but it also made Kings feel that the match was not theirs or else they could have easily chased down the target with the run rate surging way ahead of the required one. Even singles and odd boundaries would have done the trick for them but after the fall of a giant king like Hayden it is obvious to see this sort of twist in the match. Last two overs found them needing 24 runs with 5 wickets in hand. But Badrinath could not take on the pressure and he was trapped by Vettori and though Gony could keep the mercury levels high with a six off Vettori, his fight concluded on the last ball of the over with a run out. 15 runs needed off the last over by Nannes but the bowler beautifully handled the situation though Joginder could scalp 4 runs off first two balls. Then he too ran to get out and on the very next ball Balaji too did commit the same mistake of running for an impossible run and lastly with Morkel managing only a single on the penultimate delivery, Muralitharan had one ball with a requirement of 10 runs. He could not make any miracle as obvious and it remained a dot ball to register a 9 run win for the Daredevils.
Rajasthan Royal Vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata won the game by super over
IPL witnessed its first nail-biting tie-breaker to otherwise staid game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals. Sourav Ganguly’s struggle to take the Knight Riders to the other side of 150 didn’t really succeed as his team exhausted the quota of 20 overs dot at 150. The match reached decision through a Super Ov
er which was more entertaining than the entire two innings today, thanks to Yusuf Pathan’s crazy hitting.Earlier in the game, the Knight Riders elected to field after winning the toss. The Royals had things going good for them. The wickets fell every now and then but the run rate remained healthy till Yusuf Pathan kept blasting the deliveries hurled at him. At a strike rate of 200, he scored 42 which included 6 boundaries and 2 sixes. The game turned slow after Mendis got him off Yashpal Sharma. Ishant Sharma, Anureet Singh and Ajantha Mendis bagged two wickets each as the Royals finished their innings at 150 for 6.In response, the Knight Riders lost skipper McCullum (3) for cheap but Chris Gayle set the Cape Town ground ablaze with his 41 off 33 balls. Hitting 2 fours and 4 sixes, he got the junta what it really expects out of IPL, some glorious hard-hitting. Ganguly kept things ticking with his 46 off 30 balls but failed his team at 149 at the second last delivery. Yusuf Pathan was righteously awarded the Man of the Match prize. Rajasthan Royals move up the points tally to the fourth position while Kolkata are now deep in the bottom at the second last spot.
Deccan Chargers Vs Royal Challengers
Deccan chargers won by 24 runs against Royal challengers
Luck has been eluding the Bangalore Royal Challengers since their first win of the IPL season against the Rajasthan Royals. First, they were steamrolled by the Chennai Super Kings and now they have been done in by the Deccan Chargers, who have played a game of their life today. Sadly for Pietersen, his poor run as a captain continues. As for the Deccan Chargers, Adam Gilchrist and Rohit Sharma took the team to the best total of the tournament so far. The two batsmen combined for a 3rd wicket pa
rtnership of 61 runs from 6 overs – definitely a feverishly paced score – ultimately leading the team to a score of 184 for 6. Clearly the day belonged to them.After winning the toss and opting to bat first Gilchrist scorched the field with 71 off 41 balls, a score that comprised of 5 sixes and 6 fours. He took no time to settle in, taking Pravin Kumar’s first over for 3 consecutive fours. The second over by Steyn went for 14 runs including a 6. Those first two overs called for nearly 6 fielding changes. The 3rd over saw the fall of Herschelle Gibbs’ wicket, and VVS Laxman followed shortly; but amidst all this Gilchrist’s show continued. But the real story began when Rohit Sharma entered the field and hit a four off his very first ball. He went on to score 10 runs from the first 12 balls and 42 off the next 18. There was no curtailing the Deccan Chargers after that. Between them, Gilchrist and Sharma scored 123 runs in 75 balls, with 88 of those runs coming off boundaries. Rohit Sharma fell to Steyn at the far end of the innings in the 18 over, resulting in only 10 runs coming off the last two overs, but by then the damage had been done. As for the Bangalore Royal Challengers, they seem to be getting used to poor starts. Their innings began with Edwards bowling Ryder out in his very first ball. Following that they lost 3 quick wickets and were floundering at 62 for 4 in 11, chasing a target of 185 with a required run rate of 13.33. The only commendable performances came from Rahul Dravid (48 off 27 balls) and Virat Kohli (50 off 32 balls). But with an ever escalating run rate and 4 lost wickets, the match was as good as lost.
Mohali Vs Kolkata
Kolkata won by 11 runs
Kolkata picked themselves up from the disappointments of Cape Town to put their first points on getting the better of King’s XI Punjab on Tuesday. Though victory came via the Duckworth-Lewis route -- the Knights declared winners by 11 runs after rain stopped their chase at 79 for 1 in 9.2 overs -- the Knights presented a much more purposeful approach than they did on Sunday.
With a relatively subdued Shah Rukh Khan watching anxiously from the terraces, KKR did well to first restrict the dangerous Kings XI batsmen to a total of 158 for six in their 20 overs. Then, Chris Gayle came out blazing to suggest that the Knights would get to their target without outside help. He was unbeaten on 44 off 26 deliveries when the heavens opened up and prevented further play. With the threat of a D/L intrusion hovering above, and the Kingsmead’s reputation of aiding new-ball bowlers on the ground, it was a good toss to win for Brendon McCullum and an absorbing 20-over battle between bat and ball ensued as both teams, in desperate need for victory after losses in their openers, tried to grab the initiative. Ishant Sharma sent down a fiery first over, announcing the bounce in the wicket and making promises on behalf of KKR. The first wicket came early as well, but Irfan Pathan, promoted to one-drop, unleashed a blistering 32 to turn the tide. Sourav Ganguly came on to begin with a sensational over, stopping the marauding Pathan and, a couple of balls later, having Ravi Bopara edging to McCullum.Mumbai Indians Vs Rajasthan Royals
Rain stopped the Game
The Indian Premier League match between defending champions Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain on Tuesday. Both teams secured a point each after the washout. Mumbai now have three points from two games, while Rajasthan took their first point after losing their opening match.
