Delhi Daredevils’ middle order came good finally to help the team register a nerve-wrecking five-wicket win against Mumbai Indians in their do-or-die game.
NEW DELHI: Delhi Daredevils’ middle order came good finally to help the team register a nerve-wrecking five-wicket win against Mumbai Indians in their do-or-die game here on Saturday.
With Mumbai putting up a total of 176 for eight, it did look that Delhi were in with a solid chance to notch up a win. But with captain Virender Sehwag back in the dugout in the very second over and then followed soon enough by Gautam Gambhir in the fifth, things appeared to be getting out of hand. After Shikhar Dhawan departed in the 11th and the score read 89 for three, it seemed that the match was as good as gone for Delhi given the fact that the team had relied heavily on its top three bats to bludgeon its way through the competition till now.
But Dinesh Karthik made sure the middle order stood its ground and his unbeaten 56 was instrumental in swinging the match his team’s way. His first-ball six off Andre Nel in the 19th over made the equation a very favourable 10 required from 10 deliveries. The last over asked for eight to win. Farveez Maharoof’s four off the fourth ball of Ashish Nehra’s test of nerves brought the team closer and another four on the next delivery sealed the issue. Mahroof was not out on 20.
Earlier, with two of the most belligerent strikers of yore opening for Mumbai Indians, those packed into Kotla’s stands could be forgiven for expecting mayhem. Sanath Jayasuriya was the original bang-bang opener of the shortest version of the game in his times — ODI cricket. And he seems to have transplanted the same apparent abandon in stroke-making into T20 over the last few games. Sachin Tendulkar had shown glimpses of the same in the last match with 65 flowing from his willow but still seems to be having trouble compressing his genius to meet the pressing demands of T20.
The Mumbai total of 176 for eight against Delhi Daredevils here on Saturday came about largely on account of the first wicket partnership of 70 between the two. The benefit of this tournament for emerging youngsters was apparent from the shout of joy that accompanied Yo Mahesh’s dismissal of Tendulkar in the sixth over. The confidence boost will augur well for Mahesh’s subsequent forays on the field. The confidence of the Mumbai batting, however, seems to have really evaporated. Jayasuriya held fort till the 14th over even as others failed to stand their ground. In the end a score of 176 against a team which has its top three batsmen running amok, did not appear to be too convincing.
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