Match 43: Delhi Wins! Keeps Their Hopes Alive!

Delhi Daredevils have beaten Bangalore Royal Challengers by 5 wickets with 10 balls to spare. They gained two crucial points and still stay in the competition. They still have a chance to secure their place in the first four if they win all of their remaining three matches.

Out of the 12 matches they played, they have won 6 and has 12 points. The remaining two matches has to be played against Kolkata Knight Riders on May 22 in Delhi, against Mumbai Indians on May 24 in Delhi. They can still go if Mumbai, Chennai and Kings XI lose all their matches.

Rightly chosing to field, Delhi chased the target with ease except at the end. Sehwag and Gambhir opened the fire from the first over. Sehwag once again missed the chance for recording the fastest 50. He was out for 47 off 17 balls with 9 fours and a six.

Zaheer Khan bowled very badly and did not give any support to skipper Dravid. He did not bowl like an international bowler. He was bowling on the leg stump with no fielder backing up. He gave 27 runs in his first 2 overs inclding 3 boundaries in his 2nd over by Sehwag.

Praveen Kumar's over also was not spard by the pair as Gambhir hit him for 2 fours and Sehwag hit one boundary.

Praveen Kumar's 2nd over was costly--Sehwag hit him for two fours, a six, and another four. He was out finally in the last ball caught by Chipli for 47. Th catch was a brilliant catch at point, where Chipli dived and took a sensational catch.

At the end of 7 overs, Delhi were 90 for 1. Gambhir got out in the last abll of the 9th over for 39. The second run was not their, but Gambhir went for it and got himself ran out.

At the end of 10 overs, Delhi were 105 for 2, requiring another 50 in 10 overs.

Two wickets in two overs sort of pressured Delhi and gave a hope to Bangalore. Dilshan was stumped by Goswami off Kumble for 4 in the 14th over and de Villiers was caught behind off Steyn for 21.

At the end of 15 overs, Delhi were 127 for 4, requiring 28 off 5 overs.

Kumble dismissed Karthik through a flighted delivery, which made the batsman come forward and drive the ball in the air. White at short cover took a good diving catch to give the 5th wicket.

22 required off 24 balls; Maharoof hit a six over point off Steyn in the 17th over. That reduced the target to 13 off 18 balls.

Zaheer Khan gave two fours to Maharoof and brought the target to 3 for 12 balls. Dhawan finished the match with a six over long off to give two points to Delhi and send Bangalore Royal Challengers out of the IPL!

Earlier, put into bat, Bangalore did not have good start they needed to win the match. Thought it was a better start, it was not enough. Kallis opened the innings and looked in good touch got out for 25, driving the ball pitched up on the off stump. The ball swung away and took a thick outside edge on the way to keeper.

Chipli struggled against the good bowling attack. He scored 2 off 10 balls. He was caught behind off McGrath, but lucky enough that he was given not out. McGrath was not happy and was having exchange of words with the batsman.

He was finally caught at mid wicket trying to pull the short ball from McGrath, who then asked the batsman not to leave until umpire gives out. He showed his frustration!

Man of the Match List

Points Table

IPL Scores Table!

The debutant Goswami scored a wonderful fifty and became the youngest player to do so. He hit 7 fours and a six in his 52, before caught by Dilshan at point of Maharoof. Trying to slog, took the edge and went in the air towards point.

Dravid did not stay long and was bowled by Dilshan for 9.

White was run out not looking or listening to Misbah's call. Misbhah hit the ball in the air to mid off where Shoaib Malik tried for the catch, but stopped it finally. The ball bounced just in front of him and rolled couple of yards away. Misbah watching his stroke and realized that it did not carry to the fielder, started a little late, but settled for one. White, not realizing it, came back for the second. The bowler collected the ball and sent it to keeper where Dinesh did the rest.

Misbah and Akhil had another misunderstanding. The ball was hit to short extra cover by Misbah and he did not want the run. But, Akhil went for it and realized it later that it is straight to Sehwag, who threw the ball to the Maharoof who knocked the removed the bails.

At the end of 19 overs, Bangalore were 130 for 7. The last over brought in some hope for them through 24 runs to take hte score to 154. He hit 3 sixes, a four and a two. All the sixes were huge and executed well.

Goswami was declared man of the match for his fifty in the first match he played in IPL. He is the youngest to score a fifty.

Match 43
Venue: Bangalore
Date: May 19, 2008
Teams: Bangalore Royal Challengers and Delhi Daredevils
Captains: Rahul Dravid and Virendra Sehwag
Toss: Delhi Daredevils and decided to field
Result: Delhi Daredevils won by 5 wickets with 10 balls remaining
Man of the Match: SP Goswami off Bangalore Royal Challengers (India)
Points: Delhi Daredevils-2; Bangalore Royal Challengers-0
Score:

Bangalore Royal Challengers 154 for 7 in 20 overs (JH Kallis 25, B Chipli 2, SP Goswami 52, R Dravid 9, Misbah-ul-Haq 47 not out, CL White 1, B Akhil 3, P Kumar 2, Z Khan 4 not out, Extras-9 (wide 9), GD McGrath 4-0-15-0, P Sangwan 3-0-51-0, VY Mahesh 4-0-25-0, MF Maharoof 4-0-13-2, R Bhatia 4-0-47-0, TM Dilshan 1-0-3-1) lost to Delhi Daredevils 158 for 5 in 18.2 overs (G Gambhir 39, V Sehwag 47, AB de Villiers 21, TM Dilshan 4, S Dhawan 16 not out, KD Karthik 6, MF Maharoof 13 not out, Extras-12 (b 1, lb 6, wide 5), DW Steyn 4-0-26-1, Z Khan 3-0-37-0, P Kumar 2-0-33-1, JH Kallis 2-0-16-0, B Akhil 3.2-0-21-0, A Kumble 4-0-18-2)

Man of the Match List

Points Table

IPL Scores Table!

Match 35: Akhtar Demolishes Delhi Daredevils!

Akhta's come back has proved vital as he demolished Delhi Daredevils single handedly. He was bowling between 145 and 150 kmph speed!

Chasing a moderate and kind of easy target of 134, sure that Delhi would have thought they can easily finish the game. To their surprise, the Rawalpindi Express really became the bullet train and put lot of pressure on the batsman.

With 150 KMH and only less than .6 seconds to take a decision on whether to play the ball or to leave it, Sehwag played at the ball pitched on the off and swung away and took the edge to keeper. Break through in the 2nd ball of the innings.

In the third over, Gambhir playing a square cut of the short ball, gave a simple catch at point to David Hussey of Shoaib again. In the fifth over, de Villiers pulled the short ball from Akthar, that hit the top of the bat and went to mid wicket in the air where Taibu took an easy catch. The next ball was a straight inswinger and had Tiwari play in the back foot, hit the back pad, plumb in front of the wicket--wicket number for 4 for Akthar. Delhi were 28 for 4 in the 5th over.

Man of the Match List

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Akhtar provided the great break throughs and rattled the top order. It is now up to other bwolwers to utilize this and take the remaining wickets.

Dhawan lost his off stump off Dinda for 7 and left Delhi at 43 for 5. Dilshan and Mishra played some good shots and resisted the victory for Kolkata. Their 24 run partnershp for the 6th wicket for a shortwhile created panic in Kolkata group, but soon the break through came in the form of run out. Dilshan ran for a quick single when Mishra playd the ball to short third man. Good throw by Shukla to Saha, who collected the ball and knocked the stumps. Close call for the third umpire, but he was found short of crease. Needless run!

Maharoof and Mishra tackled the bowling attack and started scoring few runs. Mishra hit 3 fours and scored useful 31 runs for his team. The game was still open at the end of 15 overs. Delhi needed 37 off 30 balls with 4 wickets in hand.

Maharoof got out in the 16th over last ball. The short ball hit him in the gloves and went to leg side where the bowler ran fast and picked it. Mishra started running and Maharoof started late, watching the ball, had to run faster! Dinda picked the ball, turned out and hit the stumps direct to send Maharoof back to the pavilion, a crucial wicket.

At the end of 17 overs, Delhi were 104 for 7, requiring 30 from 18 balls.

Shukla bowled the 18th over and finished the game by picking all the three wickets in the first five balls.

Mishra got out in the 2nd ball, trying to scoop over short fine leg where Ishanth took an easy catch.

Sangwan got out in the next ball, trying to slog it over long on, but hit straight to fielder Hussey.

Mahesh, the last batsman, moving way across to the off stump, trying to scoop over fine leg, missed the line and his middle stump was uprooted, giving 2 points to Kolkata Knight Riders. Sharukhan was dancing and asking all spectators to support the home team by chanting, clapping and shouting. He was dancing and encouraging the crowd.

Akhtar ended his bowling figures 3-0-11-4 and Shukla a dream figure of 0.5-0-6-3.

Earlier, winning the toss and batting first, Kolkata played a slow inniings. Salman Butt played a very slow innings, not timing the ball. He hit few fours, though, but not a convincing innings. He was the top scorer with 48 runs off 44 balls with 7 fours.

Chopra was the first to go, caught by Maharoof off Sangwan for 13. Ganguly hit a six off a free hit, but got out in the same over, trying to slog, lost his stump.

Then, Hussey, the man in form, joined Butt. They added 40 for the third wicket in 38 balls. Butt was caught by McGrath off Mahesh. Taibu and Shukla got out cheaply for 7 and 10 respectively.

Hussey hit two sixes to take the score to a reasonable level. He was out for 31 off 31 balls with 2 sixes. Kolkata finished their innings with 133 on the board.

Shoaib Akhtar rightly chosen as the man of the match for his 4 for 11 in 3 overs. This is his first appearance in the IPL, playing after few months of cricket and going through tough times of ban, court cases, etc.

Match 35
Venue: Kolkata
Date: May 13, 2008
Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils
Captains: Sourav Ganguly and Virendra Sehwag
Toss: Kolkata Knight Riders and decided to bat
Result: Kolkata Knight Riders won by 23 runs
Man of the Match: Shoaib Akhtar off Kolkata Knight Riders (Pakistan)
Points: Kolkata Knight Riders-2; Delhi Daredevils-0
Score:

Kolkata Knight Riders 133 for 6 in 20 overs (Salman Butt 48, A Chopra 13, SC Ganguly 7, DJ Hussey 31, T Taibu 7, LR Shukla 10, WP Saha 5 not out, Iqbal Abdulla 1 not out, Extras-11 (lb 3, wide 7, nb 1), GD McGrath 4-0-22-0, P Sangwan 4-0-29-1, VY Mahesh 4-0-34-2, MF Maharoof 4-0-25-2, A Mishra 3-0-13-0, V Sehwag 1-0-7-0) beat Delhi Daredevils 110 all out in 17.5 overs (G Gambhir 10, V Sehwag 0, AB de Villiers 7, MK Tiwary 9, S Dhawan 7, TM Dilshan 25, A Mishra 31, MF Maharoof 10, VY Mahesh 3, P Sangwan 0, GD McGrath 0 not out, Extras-8 (lb 1, wide 7), Shoaib Akhtar 3-0-11-4, I Sharma 3-0-18-0, AB Dinda 4-0-29-1, SC Ganguly 4-0-23-0, Iqbal Abdulla 3-0-22-0, LR Shukla 0.5-0-6-3)

Man of the Match List

Points Table

Match 33: Rajasthan beat Delhi! Wins 7 out of 9! Watson damages Delhi bowling!

Rajasthan posts easy win! Put into bat, Delhi started well by scoring 12 runs with Gambhir scoring 11 of that including two fours. Mascarenhas playing his first match, opened the bowling attack for Rajasthan.

Sehwag couldn't find his rhythm and Gambhir, managed to get few fours. At the end of 5 overs, Delhi were 39 for no loss with Sehwag on 16 and Gambhir on 21.

Sehwag got out in the 6th over, last ball of power play caught at point by Kaif off Watson for 17 off 20 balls. Dhawan did not use the opportunity and got out in the next over last ball. He sacrificed his wicket going for a run that is not needed. Bowler Patel picks the ball and easily run out him.

Gambhir got out in the 10th over, bowled by a slower one. Giving himself room trying to hit Trivedi over over, misses the line and loses his stump. He was out for 31 off 23 balls with 4 fours.

End of 13 overs, Delhi Daredevils were 89 for 3. Dinesh Karthik and de Villiers tried to build the innings, but de Villiers was caught by Warne off Mascarenhas for 20. He struck again in the same over sending Karthik for 13, caught behind.

A Mishra was bowled by Trivedi for 4 in the 16th over. At the end of 17 overs, Delhi were 109 for 6.

Dilshan opened up the scoring by hitting a four and a six off Trivedi in the 18th over. But it was Maharoof, who gave a chance to Delhi to get to some decent runs in teh scoreboard.

Warne bowling the 19th over, would have expected to bundle the innings by taking the remaining wickets. Sure that he was shocked and surprised after his over. He was hit for four sixes in that over by Maharoof.

First ball was a single by Dilshan and Maharoof got the strike. A one-handed six over long-ff. The ball was pitched short, outside side the off stump, Maharoof came few steps forward and hit it and as a follow through released the right hand. The ball cleared the fence.

Third ball was hit over long on and Kaif runs towards his right and takes a brilliant catch, but couldn't balance and slides in the ground on the boundary rope. Brilliant catch, but misses the balance, SIX.

Fourth ball was two runs, scoops over backward point.

Fifth ball was a full toss, over mid wicket for a huge six.

Last ball was connected as a full toss and hit it over midwicket for another huge six. Four sixes and 27 runs in that over to take Delhi to 149 for 6.

Maharoof hit a four in the 2nd ball of the last over and got out caught by Patel at deep cover. He scored a quick fire 39 off 16 balls with 2 fours and 4 sixes.

Last over added 7 to the total and Delhi ended their innings at 156 for 7. Without that 27 runs in the last over, sure that Delhi would have ended between 135 and 145.

Watson picked 2 wickets giving away 21 runs in his quota of 4 overs.

McGrath started the bowling for Delhi, as usual. Smith was dropped on 0, the first ball he faced by Mishra at deep square leg. It was a full length delivery pitched on the pads, Smith chips it upwards toward square leg and Mishra spilled a sitter.

End of 3 overs, Rajasthan were 11 for no loss, going slow. Fourth over gave break through for Delhi. Brilliantly fielding by de Villers at mid off sent dangerous batsman Yousuf Pathan back to pavilion. Pathan out for 8 off 13 balls.

The poor calling and understanding between Smith and Kaif helped Delhi to send Kaif run out for 1. It was the call of Smith after he pulled the ball to midwicket. He started for the run, but Kaif was looking at Sehwag who was fielding. Smith was half-way through and the ball was sent to wicket keeper Karthik and Kaif had to sacrifice his wicket.

End of 6 overs, Rajasthan Royals were going very slow at 21 for 2. It was Watson, who initiated the attack with a six of Mahesh over square leg and a four in the last ball. The score was 33 for 2, adding 11 runs in that over.

The eight over added 10 to the total and Rajasthan were improving in the run rate--43 for 2 in 8 overs. The 9th over was a good one for Rajasthan again.

Mahesh sent two continous no balls to give free hit to Watson, but he didn't utilize it properly. He hit him for a six in the first ball putting pressure on him. The next ball was a no ball and sent to four. Free hit was missed and two byes were run. Still free hit and two runs were scored. Last ball was once again a four at mid wicket. This over added 22 to the total and Sehwag was losing his grip in the match. End of over 9, Rajasthan were 65 for 2.

The 10th over bowled by Sangwan also costly. He gave 15 runs including a four by Smith and later a six by Watson. Rajasthan were 80 for 2 in 10 overs. The last 5 overs added 59 runs. 77 required of 60 balls.

11th over provided break through when Smith try to slog it over mid wicket, but the ball took the edge and went high in the air. Mahesh ran from mid on and took the catch just few inches away from the ground. Probably, catch of the tournament.

Smith was out for 24 off 27 balls with 3 fours. Jadeja was bowled by Mishra for 6. The two crucial wickets helped Delhi to come back to the game just for few minutes. The 12th and 13th over were tight overs and added just 7 to the total.

Watson back to business again. He hit a four and a six off Mishra. End of 15 overs, Rajasthan, eyeing the victory were 120 for 4, requiring 37 from 31 balls.

Masceranhas hit a six off Sehwag and got out in the next ball. Playing across for a slog over mid wicket, misses the line and ball hits the stump. Shane Warne hit a four of the first ball he faced and then the last ball was a six by Watson to finish the over with 138 for 5. 19 required off 24 balls.

McGrath was brought back, but not successful in taking the wicket. He gave away 6 runs. 13 needed from 18 balls. 6 runs were scored in the 18 over.

7 from 12 balls. Maharoof bowled Warne off the first ball and in the next ball, Watson was run out. Patel digs the yorker and starts for a run, but sent back by Watson. The ball misses the stump and they start for a run on the over throw. But, the ball was picked and thrown at the keepers and the bails were removed. The leg umpire did not give out, but Sehwag insisted that he refer the third umpire. The TV replay showed him out and Watson was not happy. It is against the rules to force the umpire to ask for third umpire. It is like going against the umpires decision and not respecting it. We have to wait and see what happens to Sehwag for this decision.

The umpire was suspended for a match when the umpire referred the third umpire after Ganguly forced him to do so on susupicion of not taking a clean catch by Smith.

No runs were scored in the next two balls, 5th ball was a single and last ball went for a boundary by Patel. it was a good shot dividing cover and mid off.

Last over, 2 runs to win. Mahesh to Rawat, low full toss on the off stump, took the outside edge and runs towards third man boundary. Though Karthik stretched himself to stop it, he could not stop the winning runs.

Rajasthan stays top of the table, thanks to Watson in this match for his wonderful 74 off 40 balls with 5 fours and 5 sixes. He reached his 50 in 32 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes.

Match 33
Venue: Jaipur
Date: May 11, 2008
Teams: Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils
Captains: Shane Warne and Virendra Sehwag
Toss: Rajasthan Royals and decided to field first
Result: Rajasthan Royals won by 3 wickets with 5 balls remaining
Man of the Match: Shane Watson off Rajasthan Royals (Australia)
Points: Rajasthan Royals-2; Delhi Daredevils-0
Score:

Delhi Daredevils 156 for 7 in 20 overs (G Gambhir 31, V Sehwag 17, S Dhawan 3, AB de Villiers 20, KD Karthik 13, TM Dilshan 18 not out, A Mishra 4, MF Maharoof 39, VY Mahesh 0 not out, Extras-11 (b 1, lb 6, wide 4), AD Mascarenhas 4-0-29-2, SR Watson 4-0-21-2, MM Patel 4-0-24-0, SK Trivedi 4-0-28-2, SK Warne 4-0-47-0) lost to Rajasthan Royals 159 for 7 in 19.1 overs (YK Pathan 8, GC Smith 24, M Kaif 1, SR Watson 74, RA Jadeja 6, AD Mascarenhas 9, SK Warne 11, NK Patel 4 not out, M Rawat 5 not out, Extras-17 (b 2, lb 7, wide 5, nb 3), GD McGrath 4-0-12-0, MH Maharoof 4-0-22-1, P Sangwan 4-0-33-0, VY Mahesh 2.1-0-35-0, A Mishra 3-0-27-2, V Sehwag 2-0-21-1)

Match 28: Chennai Wins Last Ball Thriller! Takes Revenge!

What a win for Chennai Super Kings? They have taken revenge and can be happy that they have gained two more points to move up one place in the points table.

Last over required 15 runs to win. Shewag already conceeded 22 runs in one of his overs, choose Shoaib Malik to bowl the last over. The new batsman Gony was facing and he hit a six off the first ball over mid wicket to bring down the target to 9 off 5 balls.

Shoaib thoght Gony would come down the track and hence bowled a faster one way outside the off just to be called wide. Target now is 8 off 5 balls.

The next ball took the outside edge when Gony tried to hit it over long on. The ball beat the third man and went for a four. Target new is 4 off 4 balls.

Gony scored a sing of the next ball to bring it down to 3 off 3 balls. Badrniath got the strike. He chipped the ball over extra covers for two runs. Easy for Chennai now, everyone thought--1 off 2 balls.

Badrinath played the yorker length delivery straight to bowler. Tension everywhere. If it is a tie, the teams would have to bowl at the wicket.

Fielders were brought inside the circle and one fielder was placed in mid wicket. Badri stepped down and hit it in air wide off midwicket just to escape from the fielder. The diving fielder could not catch it and they run and win! The closest match of the tournament so far.

Chennai made few changes in the team--Nitni, Patel, Anirudh Srikanth were out. Amarnath, Balaji, Kapugedera were brought in. Delhi made one change--Manoj Tiwari in for Rajat Bhatia.

Earlier, winning the toss and asking Delhi to bat, Dhoni should feel happy for restricting them to less than 200. Both the in-form batsmen opened the innings for Delhi--Shewag and Gambhir. Though Shewag was not timing the ball well as his shots did not go well as he did it in the previous match against Chennai, Delhi still managed to maintain a good run rate.

Shewag hitting just 3 fours got out in the last ball of the 5th over bowled by Gony of a beautiful Yorker on the off stump.

In the next over, de Villers was out on his first ball, bowled by Morkel. It was a good inswinger pitched on the yorker length and de Villiers missed the line and the ball uprooted the stump. At the end of 6 overs, Delhi were 50 for 2.

Gambhir initiated the momentum hitting at least one four in each over. At the end of 10 overs, Delhi were 83 for 2. The advantage Delhi had was the wickets in hand. They did not lose wickets often and were scoring steadily.

Laxmipathi Balaji, back after 2 years did not bowl to his full capacity, but he bowled well. He took two wickets in his four overs giving away 35 runs.

Gambhir reached his 50 with a six of Gony. He took 35 bals to achieve this milestone. Gambhir hit 3 continous fours of Amarnath in the 15th over. This over added 14 to the score and took it to 133 for 2 in 15 overs.

The 3rd wicket partnership was a record 121 runs in 76 balls. Kapuedera conceeded 15 runs in the 17th over. Dhawan hit two fors and Gambhir hit a four.

Balaji finally provided the break through in the 18th over last ball. He had Gambhir caught at point by Badrinath. He scored 80 in 49 balls with 11 fours and a six.

After that wickets started falling regularly. Dhwawan was out in 19th over for a wonderful 59. It came off 46 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Shoaib Malik was out in the first ball of the 20th over. With two fours and 3 singles, Delhi ended their innings.

The chase started very well. Vidyut started with a four of the first ball from McGrath and hit pull over mid wicket for another four. He hit another 2 fours in the next over bowled by Mohammad Asif and Fleming scored a four.

Good thing they did was not losing the wicket. At the end of 5 overs, Chennai were 42 for no loss.

Mahesh bowled the 6th over. Vidyut hit a six and a four and then Fleming hit him for 2 more overs. This over added 20 runs to the score and at the end of power play, Chennai were 62 for no loss.

Sangwan broke partnership immediately after the power play. The pull went straight to the fielder. He scored 40 off 23 balls with 6 fours and a six.

Dhoni promoted himself rightly for the 3rd position. He doesn't want to lose wickets and keep the scoreboard moving.

Fleming was going well at one end and Dhoni, to start with was struggling to hit boundaries. Fleming got out in the 10th over for a well made 44 off 28 balls with 7 fours.

Raina did not last long. He gave an easy catch to point. He scored 1. Morkel joined Dhoni and they both played well, but the fall of the two wickets made them cautious.

At the end of 13 overs, Chennai were 115 for 3, needing 73 from 7 overs.

Shewag's over was the turning point and gave all the confidence to Chennai. Morkel hit him for 3 continous sixes and a four. The first six over mid wicket was a big six and then over bowler's head and the third six was over midwicket again. The four was over long off. The target was revised to 50 from 6 overs.

The momentum was not continued. In the next over, poor run selection had Morkel run out. Morkel played left to McGrath who was trying to stop the ball follow up, but he missed it. Shewag covered him, picked the ball and hit direct at the stump to send Morkel, the danger man who hit 22 runs in the preivous over.

Morkel scored 30 off 15 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes. End of 15 overs, Chennai were 142 for 4, requiring 46 from 30 balls.

Asif bowled the 16th over well by giving just 6 runs. Followed by McGrath, who gave just 7 runs. With 3 more overs, 33 runs needed.

Dhonit hit a four of the last ball of the 18th over bowled by Asif. That over had 11 runs for Chennai. 22 of 12 balls.

Dhoni was out the first ball, caught brilliantly in the long on. DeVilliers came running and did a forward dive to send back Dhoni for 33 off 33 balls with 3 fours.

Next ball, another wicket for Mahesh. Kapugedera was out in the same fashion, but in long off, caught by Dhawan. Two wickets in two balls. Chennai needed 22 in 10 balls.

Badrinath hit a four of the fourth ball and the last two balls were singles. Last over required 15.

Shoaib's over had 6 by Gony, wide, four, single, two, no run and a single to give victory to Chennai in the last ball of the 20th over.

Dhoni, who played sensibly in the middle overs was declared man of the match.

With this win, Chennai moved to third place and Delhi into 4th place.

Match 28
Venue: Delhi
Date: May 8, 2008
Teams: Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings
Captains: Virendra Shewag and Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Toss: Chennai Super Kings and decided to field
Result: Chennai Super Kings won by 4 wickets with 0 balls remaining
Man of the Match: MS Dhoni off Chennai Super Kings (India)
Points: Chennai Super Kings-2; Delhi Daredevils-0
Score:
Delhi Daredevils 187 for 5 in 20 overs (G Gambhir 80, V Shewag 23, AB de Villiers 0, S Dhawan 59, Shoaib Malik 2, KD Karthik 6 not out, MK Tiwari 5 not out, Extras—12 (lb 6, wide 4, nb 2), M Gony 4-0-36-1, JA Morkel 4-0-35-2, M Muralitharan 4-0-25-0, P Amarnath 3-0-35-0, L Balaji 4-0-35-2, CK Kapugedera 1-0-15-0) lost to Chennai Super Kings 188 for 6 in 20 overs (S Vidyut 40, SP Fleming 44, MS Dhoni 33, SK Raina 1, JA Morkel 30, CK Kapugedera 8, S Badrinath 8 not out, M Gony 13 not out, Extras-11 (b 1, lb 4, wide 6), GD McGrath 4-0-23-0, Mohammad Asif 4-0-33-1, VY Mahesh 4-0-40-2, P Sangwan 4-0-29-2, Shoaib Malik 2-0-28-0, V Sehwag 2-0-30-0)

McGrath full of praise for Shewag too!

During the post match interview where he praised Shane Warne on his captaincy, he also had a word of praise for his skipper Virender Sehwag and he rated him as a great captain.

"I am feeling very good to be a part of this team and Sehwag is a great captain," he said.

McGrath felt the Twenty20 tournament was proving to be a good platform for the players to mingle with each other and play in the true spirit of the game.

"IPL has brought different cultures from different countries together. The interaction of the players help to develop friendship among the players and as a whole, it contributes to the spirit of cricket," he said.

Read here on what McGrath had to say about Warne's Captaincy!

Match 23: Pollock Leads Mumbai to another Win! Delhi Meekl Surrenders!

What a match? What thought to be another defeat for Mumbai and fifth straight win for Delhi changed completely and Delhi surrendered to Pollock's men cheaply.

Put into bat, Mumbai Indians without Sachin for one more time and lead by Pollock, scored 162, an easy target for Delhi Daredevil lead by Shewag. They chased 170 in their last match against Chennai Super Kings, couldn't do it this time.

Mumbai Indians started their innings well with Jayasuria scoring well. The first wicket fell at 46 in the 6th over. Takawale was caught by Sangwan off Mahesh for 14.

McGrath bowled fell with his line and length. He ended his first spell wtih 0/16 in 3 overs. Jayasuriya used Mahesh's first over well, but also lost his wicket. He hit for a six in the first ball, then a four and then a single.

Having score 11 runs in 3 balls, Takawale should have played sensibly by scoring 1 or 2, but he also tried to hit for a six, which took the outside edge and was caught at third man. The players crossed, Jayasuriya hit a four. He too could have played a big innings that is due from him. His another slog was a mistake and he lost his off stump uprooted. He was out for 34 off 16 balls with 6 fours and a six.

Uthappa and Thornely played well to take the score beyond 100 in the 13th over. They were 74 for 2 at the end of 10 overs. They added 4 runs in the 11th over. Uthappa hit two sixes of 12th over bowled by Bhatia.

Thornely hit a six of Sangwan and scored 10 runs in that over. Uthappa's shot of scooping over short fine leg did not yield expected result and went straight to the fielders hand. He was out for 22 off 21 balls with 2 sixes. This was the turning point because wickets started falling frequently after that.

Thornely hit a six in the next over and got out of the next ball for 30 off 24 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes.

Nayar and Bravo were dimissed in the successive overs leaving Mumbai Indians struggle at 112 for 6 in 15.1 overs. Skipper Pollock has to ensure that they bat through the full quota of 20 overs and score runs at the same time.

At the end of 18 overs, the score was 134 for 6, not even sure whether they would reach 150 because the bowling was tight. It was Pollock, who took the initiative of bringing runs to the score board. Tiwari lost his wicket in the 3rd ball of the 19th over bowled by Mohammad Asif caught by Shoaib Malik at long on. Pollock hit 3 sixe in that over--one straight over bowler's head on a full toss, and then a six over cover, giving himself room and swung the bat at the ball pitched away from off stump. The third six was a super shot. The short ball was pulled over square leg for a huge six off the three. The score went past 150 in that over, which was not expected with 6 more balls to spare.

At the end of 19, Mumbai Indians were 157 for 6. Pollock was out in 2nd ball of 20th over caught at long off. Raje hit a four and finally added 6 runs in the last over to end the innings at 162 for 8 giving them a chance to fight.

With the experience of chasing 170 in the previous game and the confidence of continuous winning, the successful pair of Delhi--Shewag and Gambhir opened the innings.

Ashish Nehra provided the first break through by sending the inform batsman Gambhir caught at covers by Uthappa for 1 in the 9 balls he faced. That was strange, of course.

Pollock dismissed Dhawan for 1, again caught by Uthappa. That was fantastic bowling and field setting. Mumbai were back in the game. At the end of 3rd over, Delhi were unusually struggling at 6 for 2.

But, de Villiers hit a six and a four in the 4th over and Shewag hit a four for his part. That over added 16 to the total. Shewag hit a six in the 5th over to take the score to 29 for 2.

The first ball of the 7th over was a turning point and luck favored Mumbai. Shewag's powerful straight drive touched the fingers of the bowler Kulkarni and hit the stumps at runner end where de Villiers was well short of his crease. He was out for 21 off 17 balls.

Bravo gave away 11 runs in his 2nd over including a four by Shewag of the last ball.

Malik and Shewag hit a four each in the 9th over bowled by Kulkarni. Jayasuriya was brought in for getting the breakthrough that he normally provides.

The first ball and last ball of his over went for a six by Shewag adding 16 in that over. At the end of 10 overs, Delhi Daredevils were looking good with 81 for 3. That last 10 overs required another 82.

The break through came when Thornely dismissed Shewag of a full toss. Shewag hit that inthe air straight to mid wicket caught by Pollock. He was out for 40 off 20 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes. That really turned gave a chance to Mumbai Indians to come back.

Karthik joined Shoaib Malik to boost the score up. Karthi hit two fours of Thornely and reduced the target to 62 off 2 balls. Raje gave 8 runs in the next over.

Pollock brought himself in the 15th over with Mumbai needing 54 of 36 balls. He got the required break through and the turning point of the match. Shoaib Malik tried to hit him over long off but ended up in Nayar's hand. He was out for 24 off 22 balls with a four. The remaining over went for 5 runs.

The pressure was adding up in Delhi camp with 49 off 30 balls. Raje gave 5 runs through his skill full bowling varying pace and line.

44 from 24 balls at 11 runs per over. Bravo trapped Karthik leg before when he shuffled across to play the ball to squre leg. He missed the line and got struck in the pad. Straight forward decision. Karthik out for 28 off 23 balls. Bhatia hit a six in the same over clearing long on boundary.

Delhi needed 34 off 18 balls with 4 wickets in hand. Nehra struck twice in continuous deliveries to send Sangwan caught by Tiwari at long off and in the next ball Bhatia was caught by Uthappa at long on. Both of them had no other option except to hit for a six or a four, but ended up losing their wicket.

31 required of last 12 balls with 2 wickets. Kulkarni dismissed Mohammad Asif for a duck, caught by Nehra at third man off a thick outside edge.

In the same over, 5th ball, McGrath was caught by Thornely at covers to end the Delhi Daredevils innings at 133. Mumbai Indians won by unbelievable 29 runs.

No one believed that Delhi would surrender that cheaply, but it was a good team effort and performance by the skipper who lead it from the front. Pollock hit crucial runs in the last few overs--3 sixes of 19th over from Asif and picked two wickets. He was the right man for the man of the match award.

Good morale boosting victory for Mumbai Indians, especially with the two top cricketers not available--Sachin Tendulkar due to injury and Harbhajan who was banned from IPL.

Match 23
Venue: Mumbai
Date: May 4, 2008
Teams: Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils
Captains: Shaun Pollock and Virendra Shewag
Toss: Delhi Daredevils and decided to field
Result: Mumbai Indians won by 29 runs
Man of the Match: Shaun Pollock off Mumbai Indians (South Africa)
Points: Mumbai Indians-2; Delhi Daredevils-0
Score:
Mumbai Indians 162 for 8 in 20 overs (YV Takawale 14, ST Jayasuriya 34, DJ Thornely 30, RV Uthappa 22, DJ Bravo 2, AM Nayar 2, SM Pollock 33, SS Tiwary 9, RR Raje 6 not out, A Nehra 0 not out, Extras—10 (b 4, lb 2, wide 3, nb 1), GD McGrath 4-0-26-0, Mohammad Asif 4-0-46-1, VY Mahesh 4-0-33-3, P Sangwan 4-0-21-1, R Bhatia 2-0-22-1, V Sehwag 1-0-2-1, Shoaib Malik 1-0-6-1) beat Delhi Daredevils 133 all out in 18.5 overs (G Gambhir 1, V Sehwag 40, S Dhawan 1, AB de Villiers 21, Shoaib Malik 24, KD Karthik 28, R Bhatia 9, P Sangwan 2, VY Mahesh 3 not out, Mohammad Asif 0, GD McGrath 0, Extras—4 (lb 3, nb 1), SM Pollock 4-0-16-2, A Nehra 4-0-25-3, DJ Bravo 3-0-27-1, DS Kulkarni 2.5-0-18-2, ST Jayasuriya 1-0-16-0, DJ Thornely 2-0-15-1, RR Raje 2-0-13-0)

Match 20: Chennai Super Kings Loses! Shewag Proves Delhi is the Boss!

The perfect openers for Delhi is a big advantage. They are able to score with proper cricketing shots and also slogging when needed.

Chepauk once again proved lucky for Delhi skipper Shewag. Chasing a moderate target of 170, the Delhi opener hit 3 sixes in the first two overs--first over 4th ball over third man, the remaining two in the bowling of Goni--first ball over long off and third ball over point. End of two overs, they were 25 for no loss. The initial domination by Shewag really put pressure to Chennai and they were looking for break through. Shewag hit two fours of Gony in his 2nd over.

Gambhir, the man in form scored two fours of Nitni. The runs were coming thick and fast for Delhi. At the end of power play, Delhi were 64 for no loss. The entire crowd including my watching it live really enjoyed the game of Shewag and thought that Delhi would win without losing a wicket.

Shewag reach his 50 in 24 balls with 4 fours and 4 sixes. He cracked Joginder Sharma's first over for 19 runs with a six and two fours. Though he was out caught at deep cover, it was a free hit.

At the end of 10 overs, Delhi were 106 for no wicket with Shewag on 64, scoring most the runs.

Though Muraitharan bowled tight at one end, Delhi were scoring in the other end. Finally, Joginder gave the break through when Shewag tried upper cut, was caught at third man by Muralitharan. He was out for 71 off 41 balls with 7 fours and 4 sixes.

deVillers was struggling at one end and Chennai was utilizing it. Gambhir reached his 50 in 35 balls with 5 fours and a six. He was soon out bowled by Gony for 50 in 37 balls. At the end of 15 overs, Delhi were 142 for 2, requiring 28 from 30 balls.

With the last three overs requiring 16, Gony gave just 2 runs in the crucial 18th over. With 12 balls and 14 required, Dhoni went in favor Morkel, who gave all the runs in that over. He started with a wide and then gave a two, one, and four in the first 3 balls. With 9 balls more, 6 runs required, he conceded two continuous twos and the target was 2 runs of 7 balls. The last ball was a full toss hit over mid wicket for 4 by Dhawan to giv Delhi the winning points.

I am disapointed with the result of the match. Though Chennai Super Kings had all the chances of winning, I though poor captaincy by Dhoni lead to this failure. He should have decided to bowl considering the batting strength of Delhi, poor field setting, where the batsman were running twos very easily placing the ball in the gap and also to the fielder, who were running from the boundary.

Earlier, winning the toss and deciding to bat, McGrath was at his best as usual. He dominated the opening attack. Stephen Fleming, playing his first match not able to do much against him. He was bowled by first ball of Mahesh which was a no ball. He hit the next ball, the free hit to a bounday, which again was a no ball. The next free hit was a four again. But he was out in the next proper ball, bowled through inner edge.

Parthiv Patel and Vidyut took the responsbility of building the innings for Chennai. Both of them struggled though they scored few boundaries. At the end of the power play, Chennai were 47 for 1.

Patel fell in the first ball of Shewag, caught at short third man for 21 off 20 balls with 3 fours.

At the end of 10 overs, Chennai Super Kings were 82 for 2 with Dhoni on 7 and Vidyut on 35. The 11th over of the innings was the costly over, bowled by Shewag where he gave two sixes--one by Vidyut and the other by Dhoni. They should have built the momentum from there, but the opporunity was missed.

Vidyut reached 50 in his first match itself off 31 balls. Should really appreciate Shewag for the way he rotated the bowlers. McGrath provided the break through by taking Vidyut's wicket caught by Mahesh at covers. McGrath finished his spell with 1 for 21 in four overs. End of 15 overs, Chennai were 126 for 3.

16th over bowled by Mahesh was the good over for Delhi. He gave just one run, that was very costly for Chennai. The last four overs also did not go well for Chennai as they scored just 42 runs where much more than was expected. Dhoni was out in the 18th over trying to hit a six over long off. He was caught by Shoaib Malik off Mohammad Asif for 32 off 27 balls with 2 fours and a six. Raina was run out in the next over. The ball was near the stumps when he called for a single from non-strikers end, but Sangwan was quick to hit the stumps. In the same over, Morkel hit two sixes to take the score to 158 for 5.

In the last over bowled by Bhatia, Chennai lost Morkel caught by Shewag at short third man. The last ball was a six by Badrinath, the only ball he faced.

Chennai ended their innings with 169 for 6, not a big total for Chepauk wicket. Shewag was rightly chosen for the man of the match--the destructor.

Match 20
Venue: Chennai
Date: May 2, 2008
Teams: Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils
Captains: Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virendra Shewag
Toss: Kings XI Punjab and decided to field
Result: Delhi Daredevils won by 8 wickets with 6 balls to spare
Man of the Match: Virendra Shewag off Delhi Daredevils (India)
Points: Delhi Daredevils-2; Chennai Super Kings-0
Score:
Chennai Super Kings 169 for 6 in 20 overs (PA Patel 21, SP Fleming 13, S Vidyut 54, MS Dhoni 32, JA Morkel 28, SK Raina 3, S Badrinath 11 not out, Joginder Sharma 0 not out, Extras—7 (wide 5, nb 2), GD McGrath 4-0-21-1, Mohammad Asif 4-0-34-1, VY Mahesh 4-0-31-1, P Sangwan 4-0-40-0, Shoaib Malik 1-0-11-0, V Sehwag 2-0-21-1, R Bhatia 1-0-11-1) lost to Delhi Daredevils 172 for 2 in 19 overs (G Gambhir 50, V Sehwag 71, AB de Villiers 26 not out, S Dhawan 19 not out, Extras—6 (b 1, lb 1, wide 2, nb 2), M Ntini 4-0-29-0, M Gony 4-0-39-1, JA Morkel 4-0-40-0, Joginder Sharma 3-0-35-1, M Muralitharan 4-0-27-0)

Match 17: Delhi Daredevils beat Bangalore Royal Challengers!

In a close finish, Delhi beat Bangalore by 10 runs. This is the 3rd consecutive loss to Bangalore. They are now in badly need of a vicotry after their loss to Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. They have only one win in the table against Mumbai Indians.

Put into bat, Delhi started the innings well. They are one of the sides with a very good opening pair. Both the players are regular openers and they have opened for India.

Gambhir and Shewag added 53 for the first wicket before Shewag was out for 24. He normally starts well but is not capitalizing on it and converting it to a big score.

Gambhir hit 3 continuous fours of Zaheer Khan in the 2nd over and that provided lot of confidence to Delhi. He hit two more fours of Steyn in the next over. Shewag blasted Zaheer Khan a six and two fours in the firt three deliveries of the 4th over. Last ball of the fifth over was the break through over for Bangalore in the form of run out. Playing to point and started well, Shewag also responded, but direct hit by Ross found him well short of his crease, not even referred to TV umpire.

Gambhir was playing his usual T20 innings with more than run-a-ball-innings. Dhawan who joined Gambhir scored a useful 50. When your top order scores, you need not worry. He hit 3 huge sixes--2 off Kallis and one of Sunil Joshi. The 13th over bowled by Joshi costed 19 runs with Dhawan scoring a six and Gambhir contributing with a six and a four.

End of 14 overs, Delhi was almost scoring 10 runs per over. They were 138 for 1. Kallis provided the break through, though he went for a six and four. Dravid took a stunning catch at mid wicket, but the usual celebrations were not there

At the end of 15 overs, Delhi were 151 for 2, going strong with just above 10 runs per over. Shoaib didn't stay long, as well as Dinesh Karthik. Kallis uprooted and in fact broke the stumps of Karthik. That is when it dipped a little bit at 178 for 4 in 18 overs.

Gambhir was out in the 19th over for 84. He crossed his 50 of 36 balls with 7 fours. He was caught by Praveen Kumar off Zaheer Khan. His 84 came off 54 balls with 11 fours and a six. At the end of 20th over, Delhi reached 191 for 5, giving a touch chance to Bangalore.

Bangalore never looked like winning this game from the start. McGrath dismissed Praveen Kumar caught at mid wicket in the first over the innings.

Taylor and Jaffer batted well and their job is to make the scoreboard moving without losing the wicket. Taylor hit two hours in the 2nd over and a six of McGrath in the 3rd over and then anotehr 6 in the fourth over bowled by Mohammad Asif. Jaffer hit another six in the same over. That gave confidence to Bangalore, but didn's last long.

McGrath gave two break throughs in his 3rd over which was the 5th of the innings. He went for a 4 in the first ball, but he dismissed Taylor in the 2nd. He was caught by Dhawan while trying to swing over mid wicket. In the last ball, Jaffer mistimed the pull shot of a short ball deliery and was caught by Mahesh at mid-on. Two wickets in one over put Bangalore in the back seat.

Kallis and Dravid have to stay in the crease till the next 10 overs. They did not score even one bounday in two overs. At the end of the 10th over, Bangalore were 83 for 3, requiring 109 in the next 10.

The next four overs Bangalore scored more than 10 runs an over--14, 10, 11, 12, adding 47 reducing the target to 62 off 36 balls.

Good bowling change by Shewag when he brought in Vettori, who conceeded 4 runs in the 15th over. That put pressure on the batsman and McGrath did the rest. He picked Kallis in his last over by giving 6 runs. The next over by Mahesh was a good one for Delhi as he gave away only 4 runs.

With 48 off 18 balls, the task was becoming tougher and tougher. Though two international stars are in the middle, they were not able to have one or two good overs. 18th over added 13 to the board with 2 fours by Kallis.

With 35 requiring in 12 balls, Kallis got out in the last ball bowled by Vettori for 54 off 44 balls with 6 fours and a six. He gave away just 5 runs to make the target 30 in 6 balls.

Captain Shewag picked the ball for Delhi and he went for a six of the first ball. It was an easy catch, but it went through the hands of Bhatia at long on. It toched the fingers but it fell on the boundary rope for a six. 24 off 5, but only singles were scored in the next two balls to make the target 22 off 3.

Boucher scored a six and a four in the next two deliveries, but it was a too late. Last ball required 12 and Boucher scored a single giving victory to Delhi Daredevils.

McGrath was declared man of the match for his wonderful spell of 4-0-29-4, especially picking 2 wickets in the first over.

Match 17
Venue: Delhi
Date: April 30, 2008
Teams: Delhi Daredevils v. Bangalore Royal Challengers
Captains: Virendra Shewag and Rahul Dravid
Toss: Bangalore Royal Challengers and decided to field
Result: Delhi Daredevils won by 10 runs
Man of the Match: Glenn McGrath of Delhi Daredevils (Australia)
Points: Delhi Daredevils-2; Bangalore Royal Challengers-0
Score:
Delhi Daredevils 191 for 5 in 20 overs (G Gambhir 86, V Sehwag 24, S Dhawan 50, Shoaib Malik 6, KD Karthik 2, MK Tiwary 11 not out, R Bhatia 8, Extras 4--lb 2, wide 1, nb 1, DW Steyn 4-0-29-1, Z Khan 4-0-42-1, P Kumar 4-0-24-0, R Vinay Kumar 2-0-25-0, JH Kallis 4-0-39-2, V Kohli 1-0-11-0, SB Joshi 1-0-19-0) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 181 for 5 in 20 overs (P Kumar 6, W Jaffer 10, LRPL Taylor 29, JH Kallis 54, R Dravid 38, MV Boucher 31 not out, V Kohli 1 not out, Extras 12--b 1, lb 10, nb 1, GD McGrath 4-0-29-4, Mohammad Asif 4-0-42-0, VY Mahesh 4-0-28-0, DL Vettori 4-0-19-1, R Bhatia 1-0-14-0, Shoaib Malik 1-0-8-0, V Sehwag 2-0-30-0)

Match 7: Shewag and Delhi Bowling Demolish Deccan Chargers!

For the second time, the Deccan Chargers have failed to prove their credibility in the 20-20 and IPL. The team lead by Laxman once again failed to win their match and has faced two consecutive defeats.

Winning the toss, but taking a bad decision to bat first, Laxman did not had anything go in favor of him except the last few overs of his teams batting. Including his form, everything has been questioned on the teams performance. He has scored just 2 runs in two games with the a duck in the first game.

The swing the pitch offered in addition to the natural ability of McGrath put Hyderabad Deccan Chargers in the back foot. No one was able to make big hits as they were not timing the ball. At the end of the 10th over, Deccan Chargers were 45 for 4 with all the leading batsman back in the pavilion--Gilchrist (8), Venugopal Rao (14), Laxman (2) and Andrew Symonds (12).

It was the young Rohit Sharma who took charge of the innings, but at the later part of the overs. He was playing singles to ensure that they score at least run a ball so that they can cross 100.

The over from Maharoof proved to be vital and provided a hope for Deccan Chargers. Rohit hit 26 runs of Maharoof's final over and the 18th over of the innings. That took the score from 90 for 7 in 17 overs to 116 for 6 in 18. Rohit was out in the next over, but the remaining batsman were slogging and scored 26 runs in the last two overs to give Deccan a decent total of 142 for 8. Rohit scored 66 off 36 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes.

Delhi, looking for their 2nd win, reached home with another 2 points comfortably in just 13.1 overs. Skipper Virendra Shewag smashed Deccan bowling all over the ground. Though he was lucky not to be given out in the 1st over, he scored a firing 94 not out off 41 balls with 10 fours and 6 sixes. He dominated the complete innings with huge hits over the ground.

The 12th over of the innings bowled by Symonds had seen highest run conceding over in the game. Shewag scored 30 runs in that over with alternates of forus and sixes--four, six, four, six, four, six.

Shewag as declared man of the match, the first Indian to get the award in the tournament.

In the 4th ball of the 12th over, the ball hit the helmet and Deccan Chargers were penalized for that. It was a bonus of 5 runs to Delhi.

Match 7
Venue: Hyderabad
Date: April 22, 2008
Teams: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers v. Delhi Daredevils
Captains: VVS Laxman and Virendra Shewag
Toss: Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and decided to bat
Result: Delhi Daredevils won by 9 wickets with 42 balls remaining
Man of the Match: Virendra Shewag of Delhi Daredevils (India)
Points: Delhi Daredevils-2; Hyderabad Deccan Chargers-0
Score:
Hyderabad Deccan Chargers 142 for 8 in 20 overs (AC Gilchrist 8, Y Venugopal Rao 14, VVS Laxman 2, A Symonds 12, RG Sharma 66, Shahid Afridi 2, SB Bangar 8, AS Yadav 12, WPUJC Vaas 12 not out, RP Singh 1 not out, Extras 5--lb 3, wide 1, nb 1, GD McGrath 4-1-22-0, Mohammad Asif 4-0-19-2, MF Maharoof 4-0-36-2, VY Mahesh 4-0-35-1, R Bhatia 4-0-27-2) lost to Delhi Daredevils 143 for 1 in 13 overs (G Gambhir 12, V Sehwag 94 not out, S Dhawan 25 not out, Extras 12--wide 7, penalty 5, WPUJC Vaas 3-0-22-0, RP Singh 3-0-27-1, SB Bangar 2-0-30-0, Shahid Afridi 2-0-17-0, A Symonds 2-0-35-0, PP Ojha 1-0-7-0)

Match 3: Delhi Daredevils Registers Win!

Delhi Daredevils lead by Virendra Shewag registered a 9 wicket win over Rajasthan Royals lead by Shane Warne. It was an easy target for Delhi Daredevils and they did not fail in meeting the target.

Except for winning the toss, nothing went right for coach and skipper of Rajasthan Royals Shane Warne. Wickets fell at regular intervals and the team was not able to bounce back. Struggling at 47 for 4 in the 8th over, they were never able to come back, though one or two good overs would have helped them. Jadeja was the highest scorer with 29 off 23 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. Salunkhe scored a quick fire 26 off 20 balls, which helped Rajasthan to put a decent total.

McGrath, who opened the bowling for Delhi, was as usual at his best. Maharoof was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 11 in 4 overs. Bhatia also bowled well and finished with 2 for 17 in his quota of four overs.

Though bowling was good, it was poor running and calling between the wickets that put Rajasthan really on the back foot. Yousuf Pathan and Shane Watson were both run out for 10 and 21 respectively.

Chasing an easy target, Delhi lost skipper Shewag for 12, bowled by Watson. His 12 had 3 fours in 3 balls and he was out on the 4th ball. He was out on the 4th ball of the 2nd over and by then, Delhi reached 20.

Gambhir and Dhawan played well and hitting in the air and driving for few fours. They both reached 50 and lead Delhi to gain 2 points. Gambhir reached his 50 in 37 balls with 7 fours and a six. Dhawan reached his 50 in 41 balls with 8 fours.

Maharoof of Delhi Daredevils was adjudged man of the match for his wonderful bowling.

Match 3
Venue: Delhi
Date: April 19, 2008
Teams: Delhi Daredevils v. Rajasthan Royals
Captains: Virendra Shewag and Shane Warne
Toss: Rajasthan Royals and decided to bat
Result: Delhi Daredevils won by 9 wickets with 29 balls remaining
Man of the Match: MF Maharoof of Delhi Daredevils (Sri Lanka)
Points: Delhi Daredevils-2; Rajasthan Royals-0
Score:
Rajasthan Royals 129 for 8 in 20 overs (Kohli 7, YK Pathan 10, SR Watson 21, M Kaif 9, DS Lehmann 1, RA Jadeja 29, M Rawat 2, D Salunkhe 26 not out, SK Warne 14, SK Trivedi 3 not out, Extras 7--b 1, lb 3, wide 3, GD McGrath 4-1-21-1, B Geeves 4-0-41-0, MF Maharoof 4-0-11-2, R Bhatia 4-0-17-2, DL Vettori 4-0-35-1) lost to Delhi Daredevils 132 for 1 in 15.1 overs (Gambhir 58 not out, Shewag 12, S Dhawan 52 not out, Extras 10--wide 10, JMM Patel 3-0-25-0, SR Watson 4-0-31-1, SK Trivedi 3-0-32-0, SK Warne 2-0-16-0, YK Pathan 2.1-0-17-0, D Salunkhe 1-0-11-0)