The plan was to encourage the Delhi Daredevils’s bowlers by setting off crackers at the fall of each Victoria Bushrangers wicket. But the occasions were few and far between.
The plan was to encourage the Delhi Daredevils’s bowlers by setting off crackers at the fall of each Victoria Bushrangers wicket. But the occasions were few and far between, at least not enough to spark off major celebrations in the home side’s camp.
New ball bowlers Ashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes were unable to veer the opposition off track, which was of utmost importance when the Bushrangers were chasing an easy target of 99.
With opener Rob Quiney quick to pounce on anything pitched up or wide, the Victorian players were under little pressure and duly completed a seven-wicket win with 20 balls to spare in a group D match of the Champions League T20 at the Kotla here on Friday.
Quiney, who plays for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), struck an attractive 40 off 33 balls with four fours and three sixes. He shared in an important 55-run stand with Brad Hodge, a Kolkata Knight Riders player, who was content playing second fiddle with nine off 16.
It was a memorable day for Quiney, who had earlier in the day made an acrobatic save of a sure six by Amit Mishra, jumping backwards at the long on fence to put the ball back in play. Quiney and Hodge fell in quick succession, and even though David Hussey too could not do much, there was little the Delhi team could hope for.
It was a forgettable outing for Delhi Daredevils, especially considering that batting first on such a pitch can be turned into a big advantage with a couple of useful partnerships. A score of 98-8 was never going to be enough to defend, and their bowlers were left frustrated after failing to get an early breakthrough.
The top-heavy batting line-up failed to live up to the challenge of taking on a disciplined bowling attack on an unfriendly turf. Captain Gautam Gambhir was bowled early on to a delivery from new-ball bowler Shane Harwood that kept low and most of the wickets to follow were as much because of lack of application as the dubious bounce.
Virender Sehwag (21) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (18) shone in patches but their efforts were not enough to propel the team to a big score. Both fell to Clint McKay, who also removed Owais Shah to finish with three for 17 and pick the ‘man of the match’ award.
Sehwag got boundaries on the leg side with his trademark shots off the hips. Dilshan found the gap through the off side early in his innings and after some failed attempts at sweeping, slowed down before being castled.
Mithun Manhas, batting with a runner for most of his 25-run knock, went for an unnecessary cross shot even as the ball kept a trifle low to give Harwood his second wicket and his dismissal wiped out their chances as the Daredevils were reduced to 6-84 in the 17th over.
SCOREBOARDDelhi Daredevils: G Gambhir b Harwood 4, V Sehwag c & b McKay 21, T Dilshan b McKay 18, O Shah c Wade b McKay 0, D Karthik run out (White/McDonald) 6, M Manhas b Harwood 25, R Bhatia b McDonald 8, A Mishra not out 7, P Sangwan b McDonald 1; Extras: (B2, LB2, W4) 8
Total: (8 wickets; 20 overs) 98 (4.90 runs
per over)
Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-31, 3-41, 4-47, 5-76,
6-84, 7-96, 8-98
Bowling: S Harwood 4-0-20-2, P Siddle 4-0-21-0 (1W), C McKay 4-0-17-3 (1W), A McDonald 4-0-17-2, J Holland 3-0-10-0 (1w), D Hussey
1-0-9-0
Victoria Bushrangers: R Quiney b Mishra 40, B Hodge b Dilshan 9, C White not out 22, A Blizzard not out 15; Extras: (LB1, W5, NB1) 7
Total: (3 wickets; 16.4 overs) 100
Bowling: A Nehra 3-0-20-0 (3w), D Nannes 3-0-17-0 (1w), A Mishra 4-0-30-1, T Dilshan 4-0-14-1, R Bhatia 2.4-0-18-1.
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