Photo Credit: BCCI
It was an early start for anyone in the United States waking up to watch the Daredevils take on Kings XI in Delhi yesterday in their 7th match of the season. For those that root for Delhi and did manage to watch or tune in Friday morning, they were rewarded with an excellent display of cricket from the home side.
Delhi won the toss and decided to bowl first, and bowl they did. Virender Sehwag was caught by Angelo Mathews on just the second ball of the match while his partner, Manan Vohra, was dismissed after just a single run. After JP Duminy bowled Shaun March for lbw, Kings XI were sitting at 10-3 and in serious trouble. On the very next ball Kings XI wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha was dismissed after three runs by Nathan Coulter-Nile leaving the Punjab side at 10-4. The Australian fast bowler, Nathan Coulter-Nile, cut through the middle of the batting order with relative ease. Axar Patel, Thisara Perera, and South African international David Miller all fell to the Australian pace man. Miller was able to put up a good fight, reminiscent of his effort in the late stages of the World Cup semi-final earlier this year, but was eventually sent packing after 42 runs and a strike rate of 102.4. Kings XI managed 118 runs in their 20 overs, a solid fightback after the early collapse.
With Agarwal and Iyer stepping to the crease to begin the inning for Delhi, it was obvious they were lifted by the bowling performance earlier in the day. The opening duo made it look easy as they knocked the Kings bowlers around for a combined 14 boundaries. Shreyas Iyer was eventually caight by Axar Patel after 54 runs off 40 balls during the 12th over. Mayank Agarwal remained at the crease and reached 52* while Saurabh Tiwary came on after Iyer was dismissed and put up 5*. Delhi sealed the win on a wide ball having needed only one run from 37 balls remaining and defeating Kings XI by 9 wickets.
This was exactly the performance that Delhi needed after last weekend’s meltdown against RCB. The Daredevils came out quickly grabbing four wickets in just three overs and never looked back. It was a performance that saw both the batting and bowling click, which has been a rarity this season. The Daredevils should be optimistic as they sprint to the end of the season, with four games between tomorrow and Saturday. The performance Friday was a huge boost and a well deserved win to the side to begin the second half of IPL8.
From Hyderabad to Hove 