Mighty Daredevils ease past struggling Chargers

23 April 2008

The Delhi Daredevils registered a comprehensive 9-wicket victory against the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad here tonight. Virender Sehwag blasted an unbeaten 94 from 41 balls to make easy work of the 143-run target set by the VVS Laxman-led outfit. The Daredevils won the match with seven overs to spare.

Sehwag’s innings could have so easily been outlined as a paradigm Twenty20 innings due to the mode in which he paced his knock. The Nawab of Najafgarh was particularly watchful during the first half of his innings but slipped into his belligerent shoes once the target was nearer. He was ably supported by left-handed number three batsman Shikhar Dhawan who remained unbeaten on 25 when the visitors romped home to victory.

4… 6… 4… 6… 4… 6… was the story of the twelfth over of the second innings which was bowled by Andrew Symonds to Virender Sehwag. At end of the six overs, the Daredevils were precariously placed at 48-1 with the target almost 100 runs away. Exactly six overs later, the match was close to winding up.

The doldrums were quite evidently stirring in the air tonight with all the ‘loyalties talk’ going around. It was quite funny when Sehwag raised his bat after scoring a blistering half-century but did not receive the desired ovation from the crowd. He made a few gestures to the crowd – almost demanding a couple of cheers as a minimum! Later, at the post match presentation ceremony, Sehwag said “If it is my day, nobody can stop me”.

Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir (12) began with a flourish and even though the left-hander perished in the fourth over, runs came thick and fast with Sehwag on song. Sanjay Bangar bore the brunt of Sehwag's wrath in his second over, which cost the bowler 23 runs and included two sixes and as many boundaries.

Sehwag received a let-off on 13 when Pragyan Ojha dropped him off Chaminda Vaas in the deep and later Adam Gilchrist made a mess of an easy stumping opportunity off Ojha. The result – 5 runs after the delivery touched the helmet!

Earlier, Rohit Sharma’s aggressive knock of 66 runs helped Deccan Chargers overcome a top-order collapse and post an unassuming total of 142-8. The Mumbai-born batsman stayed put despite his team’s disastrous start and constant loss of wickets all through the innings. His explosive knock included six boundaries and four sixes before he was eventually caught by Glenn McGrath off medium pacer Rajat Bhatia.

The Deccan Chargers, who were hyped as the ‘team to watch out for’ during the start of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL), were in totters at 45-4 at the end of 10 overs and did exceedingly well to eventually register a total of 142. The Hyderabad-based franchise played in their first home match and captain VVS Laxman decided to bat first after winning the toss.

The Daredevils clearly had a potent pace attack in its ranks with the likes of McGrath, Asif and Maharoof bowling in good rhythm and bowling stingy spells. The fourth seamer, the young Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh conceded a satisfactory 35 runs from his four-over spell and backed up the good work done by the frontline quickies.

Rajat Bhatia (2-27) continued to impress with his dibbly dobbly medium pacers like he did during the team’s inaugural contest against the Rajasthan Royals. He took the pace off the ball and deceived the batsman, claiming the crucial wickets of Rohit Sharma and Shahid Afridi.

After the miserly McGrath conceded just one run in the first over, identical two-wicket bursts from Mohammad Asif and Farveez Maharoof tightened the noose around the hosts.

Adam Gilchrist (8) flicked Asif effortlessly for a conventional six before dragging a delivery onto his stumps and crisis compounded for the hosts who soon had skipper Laxman (2) back in the hut, courtesy Asif again.

Maharoof made matters worse for the hosts when he snapped a struggling Y Venugopal Rao (14) who failed to live up to the expectations of an opening batsman in a Twenty20 game. Million Dollar Man Andrew Symonds (12) was the next to go when a sharp outswinger from Maharoof kissed the outside edge of his bat with Dinesh Karthik grasping onto the big scalp.

With the team in dire straits, much was expected from Shahid Afridi (2) but the Pakistani swashbuckler scratched around for seven balls before Bhatia caught him plumb in front as the hosts lost their top half for just 60. Afridi attempted an untimely sweep shot but got rapped on the pads to end his IPL debut on a disappointing note – at least with the bat.

The wickets kept tumbling but a spirited Rohit Sharma went about doing his business going after Mahroof with a vengeance during the 18th over of the hosts’ innings. He cracked the Sri Lankan all-rounder for 26 runs, an over which went like 6,6,4,4,4,2 to ravage Maharoof’s figures who had conceded just 10 runs in his prior three-over spell.

It was a remarkable comeback by the hosts who scored 69 runs off the last five overs. Asif was the pick of the Delhi bowlers, claiming two for 19 in his four overs.

The Daredevils clearly looked a class apart tonight with their approach to the game with both bat and ball. They seem to have found an impressive combination with the arrival of South African prodigy AB de Villiers and in less than a week’s time, they are expected to get only stronger. The Deccan Chargers will have to go back to the drawing board and pump up some better performances in the games ahead.

The Daredevils will next host the Rajasthan Royals on Thursday while the Daredevils get a four-day break until Sunday when they travel to Mohali and face off against Yuvraj’s Kings XI Punjab.