IPL

IPL


INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE

IPL SPONSERS

1. DLF BUILDING INDIA

2. SONY MAX

3. PEPSI

4. KINGFISHER AIRLINES

5. CITIBANK

6. ITC-WELCOME GROUP

7. VODAFONE

8. HERO HONDA

MC GRATH HAPPY WITH IPL

Delhi Daredevils' star and former Australian paceman, Glenn McGrath has reportedly turned down a lucrative offer to play English county cricket with Surrey.

The 38-year-old Aussie has been in outstanding form in the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) despite being several months away from the game following his retirement at the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup.

Surrey's offer is believed to have been rather good but McGrath has been quoted as saying that there is no way he would be interested in playing county cricket or going back to the long form of the game.

The lanky speedster who has 10 wickets from 11 IPL matches with a best of 4/29 believes he has been bowling well in the IPL's Twenty20 competition and thinks he has surprised a few people with his performance. The New South Wales' veteran said he was looking forward to returning home to his wife and kids after a fairly long tournament.

The Daredevils are currently fifth in the IPL standings with three more league matches to play.

DLF DONATES 6 CRORES

Lalit Modi, Chairman & Commissioner, DLF Indian Premier League, today, announced that the eight franchisees and five sponsors of the League would come together to donate Rs. 6 crores towards the Rajasthan Chief Minister's Relief Fund, as aid towards the victims of the terror attacks in Jaipur on May 13th 2008. This contribution towards the Chief Minister's Relief Fund will go towards the rehabilitation of the affected families of the victims of the tragic Jaipur blasts.

This contribution has been made possible because of the partners of the DLF Indian Premier League and a cheque favouring the Rajasthan Chief Minister's Relief Fund would be handed over to Ms. Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Chief Minister of Rajasthan at the game tomorrow in Jaipur between the Rajasthan Royals and the Bangalore Royal Challengers.

The eight franchises of the League have all come together to donate Rs. 50 lakh each totaling Rs. 4 crores, while the five sponsors namely DLF Ltd, Vodafone, Citibank, Kingfisher and Hero Honda have all contributed Rs. 40 lakhs each totaling Rs. 2 crores.

As a mark of respect to the victims of the terror attacks, both the teams will wear black armbands during the game tomorrow in Jaipur.

DLF DONATES 6 CRORES

Lalit Modi, Chairman & Commissioner, DLF Indian Premier League, today, announced that the eight franchisees and five sponsors of the League would come together to donate Rs. 6 crores towards the Rajasthan Chief Minister's Relief Fund, as aid towards the victims of the terror attacks in Jaipur on May 13th 2008. This contribution towards the Chief Minister's Relief Fund will go towards the rehabilitation of the affected families of the victims of the tragic Jaipur blasts.

This contribution has been made possible because of the partners of the DLF Indian Premier League and a cheque favouring the Rajasthan Chief Minister's Relief Fund would be handed over to Ms. Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Chief Minister of Rajasthan at the game tomorrow in Jaipur between the Rajasthan Royals and the Bangalore Royal Challengers.

The eight franchises of the League have all come together to donate Rs. 50 lakh each totaling Rs. 4 crores, while the five sponsors namely DLF Ltd, Vodafone, Citibank, Kingfisher and Hero Honda have all contributed Rs. 40 lakhs each totaling Rs. 2 crores.

As a mark of respect to the victims of the terror attacks, both the teams will wear black armbands during the game tomorrow in Jaipur.

KING XI PUNJAB


Players
Yuvraj Singh
Gagandeep Singh
Karan Goel
Luke Pomersbach
Pankaj Dharmani
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Santakumaran Sreesanth
Sunny Sohal
VRV Singh
Ajitesh Argal
Irfan Pathan
Kumar Sangakkara
Mahela Jayawardene
Piyush Chawla
Rishi Dhawan
Shaun Marsh
Tanmay Srivastava
Wilkin Mota
Brett Lee
James Hopes
Kyle Mills
Nitin Saini
Ramesh Powar
Sahil Kukreja
Simon Katich
Uday Kaul
Tom Moody *(Coach)


ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE

Rahul Dravid
Balachandra Akhil
Dale Steyn
Jagadeesh Arunkumar
Misbah-ul-Haq
Ross Taylor
Sunil Joshi
Wasim Jaffer
Abdur Razzak
Bharat Chipli
Devraj Patil
KP Appanna
Nathan Bracken
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Vinay Kumar
Zaheer Khan
Anil Kumble
Cameron White
Jacques Kallis
Mark Boucher (wk)
Praveen Kumar
Shreevats Goswami (wk)
Virat Kohli
Venkatesh Prasad *(Coach)


CHENNAI SUPER KINGS



Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Arun Karthik
Lakshmipathy Balaji
Matthew Hayden
Napoleon Einstein
R Ashwin
Stephen Fleming
Suresh Raina
Abhinav Mukund
Jacob Oram
Makhaya Ntini
Michael Hussey
Palani Amarnath
Shadab Jakati
Subramaniam Badrinath
Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan
Albie Morkel
Joginder Sharma
Manpreet Gony
Muttiah Muralitharan
Parthiv Patel (wk)
Srikkanth Anirudha
Suresh Kumar
Viraj Vilas Kadbe
Kepler Wessels *(Coach)


DELHI DAREDEVILS

Virender Sehwag
Brett Geeves
Farveez Maharoof
Manoj Tiwary
Mohammad Asif
Shikhar Dhawan
Tillakaratne Dilshan
AB de Villiers
Daniel Vettori
Gautam Gambhir
Mayank Tehlan
Pradeep Sangwan
Shoaib Malik
Yo Mahesh
Amit Mishra
Dinesh Karthik
Glenn McGrath
Mithun Manhas
Rajat Bhatia
Tejashwi Yadav
Yogesh Nagar
Greg Shipperd *(Coach)


DECCAN CHARGERS


VVS Laxman
Arjun Yadav
D Kalyankrishna
Herschelle Gibbs
PM Sarvesh Kumar
RP Singh
Shahid Afridi
Adam Gilchrist (wk)
Chamara Silva
Dwaraka Ravi Teja
Nuwan Zoysa
Pragyan Ojha
Sanjay Bangar
Venugopal Rao
Andrew Symonds
Chaminda Vaas
Halhadar Das (wk)
Paidikalva Vijaykumar
Rohit Sharma
Scott Styris
Robin Singh *(Coach)


KNIGHT RIDERS

Sourav Ganguly (C)
Ashok Dinda
Cheteshwar Pujara
Debabrata Das
Laxmi Shukla
Rohan Banerjee
Saurasish Lahiri
Tatenda Taibu (wk)
Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha
Aakash Chopra
Brad Hodge
Chris Gayle
Iqbal Abdulla
Mohammad Hafeez
Ricky Ponting
Siddarth Kaul
Umar Gul
Ajit Agarkar
Brendon McCullum (wk)
David Hussey
Ishant Sharma
Murali Kartik
Salman Butt
Shoaib Akhtar
Yashpal Singh
John Buchanan *(Coach)


Rahul Dravid
Balachandra Akhil
Dale Steyn
Jagadeesh Arunkumar
Misbah-ul-Haq
Ross Taylor
Sunil Joshi
Wasim Jaffer
Abdur Razzak
Bharat Chipli
Devraj Patil
KP Appanna
Nathan Bracken
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Vinay Kumar
Zaheer Khan
Anil Kumble
Cameron White
Jacques Kallis
Mark Boucher (wk)
Praveen Kumar
Shreevats Goswami (wk)
Virat Kohli
Venkatesh Prasad *(Coach)



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Arun Karthik
Lakshmipathy Balaji
Matthew Hayden
Napoleon Einstein
R Ashwin
Stephen Fleming
Suresh Raina
Abhinav Mukund
Jacob Oram
Makhaya Ntini
Michael Hussey
Palani Amarnath
Shadab Jakati
Subramaniam Badrinath
Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan
Albie Morkel
Joginder Sharma
Manpreet Gony
Muttiah Muralitharan
Parthiv Patel (wk)
Srikkanth Anirudha
Suresh Kumar
Viraj Vilas Kadbe
Kepler Wessels *(Coach)



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Virender Sehwag
Brett Geeves
Farveez Maharoof
Manoj Tiwary
Mohammad Asif
Shikhar Dhawan
Tillakaratne Dilshan
AB de Villiers
Daniel Vettori
Gautam Gambhir
Mayank Tehlan
Pradeep Sangwan
Shoaib Malik
Yo Mahesh
Amit Mishra
Dinesh Karthik
Glenn McGrath
Mithun Manhas
Rajat Bhatia
Tejashwi Yadav
Yogesh Nagar
Greg Shipperd *(Coach)



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VVS Laxman
Arjun Yadav
D Kalyankrishna
Herschelle Gibbs
PM Sarvesh Kumar
RP Singh
Shahid Afridi
Adam Gilchrist (wk)
Chamara Silva
Dwaraka Ravi Teja
Nuwan Zoysa
Pragyan Ojha
Sanjay Bangar
Venugopal Rao
Andrew Symonds
Chaminda Vaas
Halhadar Das (wk)
Paidikalva Vijaykumar
Rohit Sharma
Scott Styris
Robin Singh *(Coach)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sourav Ganguly (C)
Ashok Dinda
Cheteshwar Pujara
Debabrata Das
Laxmi Shukla
Rohan Banerjee
Saurasish Lahiri
Tatenda Taibu (wk)
Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha
Aakash Chopra
Brad Hodge
Chris Gayle
Iqbal Abdulla
Mohammad Hafeez
Ricky Ponting
Siddarth Kaul
Umar Gul
Ajit Agarkar
Brendon McCullum (wk)
David Hussey
Ishant Sharma
Murali Kartik
Salman Butt
Shoaib Akhtar
Yashpal Singh
John Buchanan *(Coach)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sachin Tendulkar
Ankeet Chavan
Dhawal Kulkarni
Dwayne Bravo
Lasith Malinga
Manish Pandey
Rajesh Pawar
Sanath Jayasuriya
Siddharth Chitnis
Y Vijay Takawale (wk)
Abhishek Nayar
Ashish Nehra
Dilhara Fernando
Gaurav Dhiman
Loots Bosman
Musavir Khote
Robin Uthappa
Saurabh Tiwary
Swapnil Singh
Ajinkya Rahane
Ashwell Prince
Dominic Thornely
Harbhajan Singh
Luke Ronchi
Pinal Shah (wk)
Rohan Raje
Shaun Pollock
Vikrant Yeligati
Lalchand Rajput *(Coach)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shane Warne* (Coach)
Darren Lehmann
Graeme Smith
Kamran Akmal (wk)
Morne Morkel
Pankaj Singh
Shane Watson
Swapnil Asnodkar
Younus Khan
Aditya Angle
Dimitri Mascarenhas
Jaydev Shah
Mahesh Rawat
Munaf Patel
Parag More
Siddharth Trivedi
Sumit Khatri
Yusuf Pathan
Anup Revandkar
Dinesh Salunke
Justin Langer
Mohammad Kaif
Niraj Patel
Ravindra Jadeja
Sohail Tanvir
Taruwar Kohli


MUMBAI INDIANS



Sachin Tendulkar
Ankeet Chavan
Dhawal Kulkarni
Dwayne Bravo
Lasith Malinga
Manish Pandey
Rajesh Pawar
Sanath Jayasuriya
Siddharth Chitnis
Y Vijay Takawale (wk)
Abhishek Nayar
Ashish Nehra
Dilhara Fernando
Gaurav Dhiman
Loots Bosman
Musavir Khote
Robin Uthappa
Saurabh Tiwary
Swapnil Singh
Ajinkya Rahane
Ashwell Prince
Dominic Thornely
Harbhajan Singh
Luke Ronchi
Pinal Shah (wk)
Rohan Raje
Shaun Pollock
Vikrant Yeligati
Lalchand Rajput *(Coach)


RAJASTHAN ROYALS

Shane Warne* (Coach)
Darren Lehmann
Graeme Smith
Kamran Akmal (wk)
Morne Morkel
Pankaj Singh
Shane Watson
Swapnil Asnodkar
Younus Khan
Aditya Angle
Dimitri Mascarenhas
Jaydev Shah
Mahesh Rawat
Munaf Patel
Parag More
Siddharth Trivedi
Sumit Khatri
Yusuf Pathan
Anup Revandkar
Dinesh Salunke
Justin Langer
Mohammad Kaif
Niraj Patel
Ravindra Jadeja
Sohail Tanvir
Taruwar Kohli


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HUNGRY FOR VICTORY.....

The Mumbai Indians further fortified their position in the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) as they defeated the Deccan Chargers by 25 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on May 18. Coach Lalchand Rajput has every reason to be thrilled with his wards' performances and appreciated his team's resurgent form after their sixth consecutive victory in the Twenty20 competition.

Initially, the most expensive team of the IPL had a poor start in the tourney with four consecutive losses. As the League proceeded, the Mumbai team had a steady climb and now occupies the fourth spot on the points table.

While speaking to the media at the post-match press conference, Rajput said, "I have repeated quite a few times that the first two games were quite close matches. The verdict would have been either way too. The most notable thing about the team is that we have overcome the setbacks and we hope to continue performing in the same way."

He signified that his team has been sporting an apt mental approach and attitude, further specifying that they will not be smug about their success.

"We will not be complacent. We will take one match at a time," he stated.

When quizzed about the secret of their stupendous comeback in the League, a merry Rajput replied, "There is no secret. But what is important is that the team is very hungry for winning. You can see the energy level on the ground and the intensity with which they are playing. They are playing as a team."

Rajput did not seem to be relaxed even though his team has been winning matches on the trot.

"The journey is certainly not easy as there are quite some matches to go. As I said earlier, we are taking one match at a time. The verdict is never predictable in a game like cricket. We are certainly confident and not overconfident," he stated.

Mumbai Indians still have four games to play before the knock-out phase begins. They will face Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals and Bangalore Royal Challengers.

HUNGRY FOR VICTORY.....

The Mumbai Indians further fortified their position in the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) as they defeated the Deccan Chargers by 25 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on May 18. Coach Lalchand Rajput has every reason to be thrilled with his wards' performances and appreciated his team's resurgent form after their sixth consecutive victory in the Twenty20 competition.

Initially, the most expensive team of the IPL had a poor start in the tourney with four consecutive losses. As the League proceeded, the Mumbai team had a steady climb and now occupies the fourth spot on the points table.

While speaking to the media at the post-match press conference, Rajput said, "I have repeated quite a few times that the first two games were quite close matches. The verdict would have been either way too. The most notable thing about the team is that we have overcome the setbacks and we hope to continue performing in the same way."

He signified that his team has been sporting an apt mental approach and attitude, further specifying that they will not be smug about their success.

"We will not be complacent. We will take one match at a time," he stated.

When quizzed about the secret of their stupendous comeback in the League, a merry Rajput replied, "There is no secret. But what is important is that the team is very hungry for winning. You can see the energy level on the ground and the intensity with which they are playing. They are playing as a team."

Rajput did not seem to be relaxed even though his team has been winning matches on the trot.

"The journey is certainly not easy as there are quite some matches to go. As I said earlier, we are taking one match at a time. The verdict is never predictable in a game like cricket. We are certainly confident and not overconfident," he stated.

Mumbai Indians still have four games to play before the knock-out phase begins. They will face Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals and Bangalore Royal Challengers.

SACHINS PRESENCE

Youngster Abhishek Nayar of Mumbai Indians stated that he would be happy with his performances only if his team benefits from them. In the match against Deccan Chargers at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on May 18, Nayar was the top run-getter for his team as he hit 38 runs from 24 balls which included three boundaries and two sixes.

In the seven innings that the left-handed batsman has played so far for his side, he has contributed with 153 runs with a top score of 45.

Nayar has been one of the exciting new talents to emerge from the inaugural edition of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL).

About his performances in the Twenty20 tournament so far, Nayar expressed pleasure that he was able to chip in and help his team get ahead in the tournament.

"I think I am doing well currently. I am executing my batting according to the plan and I will try and continue to perform consistently. The team should benefit from my performances. Then I'll be happy," Nayar stated to media persons at a post-match conference.

Nayar paid rich tribute to his captain and India's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar.

"Sachin's presence in the dressing room is a big motivation for us. He keeps telling us to play our natural game. We follow the tips he gives us on how to bat at particular situations and obviously it pays off," he added.

Sharing the same space as Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock, Nayar was asked to choose one over the other but the youngster refused to compare both players.

"Well, I wouldn't compare (them). Both have been good in their own way. Both are legends, great cricketers and captains," he stated.

SACHINS PRESENCE

Youngster Abhishek Nayar of Mumbai Indians stated that he would be happy with his performances only if his team benefits from them. In the match against Deccan Chargers at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on May 18, Nayar was the top run-getter for his team as he hit 38 runs from 24 balls which included three boundaries and two sixes.

In the seven innings that the left-handed batsman has played so far for his side, he has contributed with 153 runs with a top score of 45.

Nayar has been one of the exciting new talents to emerge from the inaugural edition of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL).

About his performances in the Twenty20 tournament so far, Nayar expressed pleasure that he was able to chip in and help his team get ahead in the tournament.

"I think I am doing well currently. I am executing my batting according to the plan and I will try and continue to perform consistently. The team should benefit from my performances. Then I'll be happy," Nayar stated to media persons at a post-match conference.

Nayar paid rich tribute to his captain and India's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar.

"Sachin's presence in the dressing room is a big motivation for us. He keeps telling us to play our natural game. We follow the tips he gives us on how to bat at particular situations and obviously it pays off," he added.

Sharing the same space as Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock, Nayar was asked to choose one over the other but the youngster refused to compare both players.

"Well, I wouldn't compare (them). Both have been good in their own way. Both are legends, great cricketers and captains," he stated.

KOLKATTA DRESSING ROOM IS A LOT OF FUN

Siddarth Kaul is signed up as a fast bowler by the Kolkata Knight Riders. But with four quality pace bowlers in Ishant Sharma, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Ashok Dinda already making a mark in the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL), Kaul has had a long wait on the Kolkata bench.

In an exclusive interview, he recounts his experience at the IPL and about sharing the dressing room with his high-profile teammates.

Kaul is enjoying the experience of playing alongside the Knight Riders and adds that it is a dream come true to play alongside the illustrious names of world cricket, whom he only used to idolise on television.

On the inputs he has received from Ishant Sharma and Umar Gul, the seamer said, "They are a big help to me. They point out my weaknesses and show me how to work around them. It's really beneficial for me to play with such great players at such a young age."

He also maintains that he isn't concentrating on getting into the Indian national squad at the moment but is just looking forward for an opportunity to play a game in the IPL to prove his capabilities.

Kaul thinks that the India's newest pace sensation Ishant Sharma is someone who's "really cool". He also dismissed the belief that players are always serious saying, "There's a lot of fun in the dressing room. Of course on the ground the atmosphere is totally serious but when we get back into the dressing room then it's like a typical normal dressing room."

What he liked most about his team, however, was the fact that, "no one thinks the other is big or small, we are all treated equally."

The Kolkata Knight Riders prepare to square up against the Rajasthan Royals at their home turf, the Eden Gardens on May 20.

KOLKATTA DRESSING ROOM IS A LOT OF FUN

Siddarth Kaul is signed up as a fast bowler by the Kolkata Knight Riders. But with four quality pace bowlers in Ishant Sharma, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Ashok Dinda already making a mark in the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL), Kaul has had a long wait on the Kolkata bench.

In an exclusive interview, he recounts his experience at the IPL and about sharing the dressing room with his high-profile teammates.

Kaul is enjoying the experience of playing alongside the Knight Riders and adds that it is a dream come true to play alongside the illustrious names of world cricket, whom he only used to idolise on television.

On the inputs he has received from Ishant Sharma and Umar Gul, the seamer said, "They are a big help to me. They point out my weaknesses and show me how to work around them. It's really beneficial for me to play with such great players at such a young age."

He also maintains that he isn't concentrating on getting into the Indian national squad at the moment but is just looking forward for an opportunity to play a game in the IPL to prove his capabilities.

Kaul thinks that the India's newest pace sensation Ishant Sharma is someone who's "really cool". He also dismissed the belief that players are always serious saying, "There's a lot of fun in the dressing room. Of course on the ground the atmosphere is totally serious but when we get back into the dressing room then it's like a typical normal dressing room."

What he liked most about his team, however, was the fact that, "no one thinks the other is big or small, we are all treated equally."

The Kolkata Knight Riders prepare to square up against the Rajasthan Royals at their home turf, the Eden Gardens on May 20.

DARE DEVILS GET A DOZEN OF POINTS...

Scores & Schedule Standings Stats Teams Players News Videos Audio Photos Mobile
News Details
Daredevils get to a dozen points
20th May 2008


The Bangalore Royal Challengers took on the Delhi Daredevils at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in Match 43 of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday. Prior to this match, the Bangalore Royal Challengers had lost four successive matches, and that had effectively put to rest any chances they had of qualifying for the semi-finals. Statistical probabilities apart!

The Delhi Daredevils, on the other hand, were unlucky to lose their last rain-affected match against the Kings XI Punjab, and were lying at the fifth position, two points short of the number four team, Mumbai Indians, having played one extra match.

The city of Bangalore had experienced a few showers before the match began, but the match was deemed to start at the stipulated time. The pitch was supposed to be a dual-natured one, with some of the deliveries expected to keep low and not come onto the bat.

Virender Sehwag won the toss and elected to field first, for more reasons than one. The rain would have ensured a little dampness on the pitch and help the bowlers to begin with, before the pitch eased out. Rahul Dravid had a wry smile on his face at the toss talking about being a party pooper for some of the teams now, given that they had no chances to get to the semi-finals.

For Delhi, Amit Mishra was surprisingly left out of the team, in place of Yo Mahesh, where as Shoaib Malik's good catching in the previous match was ignored for AB de Villiers' solid batting. The Bangalore Royal Challengers, not to be left behind, made some of their own - Dale Steyn, Shreevats Goswami, B Akhil and Bharat Chipli making it to the playing XI.

One of the many problems that Rahul Dravid has faced in the tournament so far has been their opening partnership which had seen seven different partnerships thus far. Tonight, it was the turn of Bharat Chipli to partner Jacques Kallis and face the music. And music it was - at least from one end - as Glenn McGrath conceded only three runs off his first 2 overs, before getting Bharat Chipli in his third. This was after Chipli had been given not-out to what McGrath perceived to be a clear-as-crystal nick to the wicketkeeper. Pradeep Sangwan, member of the World Cup-winning Under-19 squad, went for 19 off his first over, and that constituted most of the score of 35/1 in five overs.

Kallis was looking in a reasonable touch, before he edged one off the bowling of Farveez Maharoof to the wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik who picked up an acrobatic catch. Rahul Dravid promoted himself to the number four position, but it was debutant Shreevats Goswami who stole the thunder, scoring 18 runs off Pradeep Sangwan's comeback over, making his analysis look pedestrian. Maharoof bowled a couple of McGrathesque overs, conceding only 5 off the two and picking up a wicket, as Bangalore reached 70/2 in ten overs.

It was the introduction of part-time off-spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan that got through the in-form Rahul Dravid's defences; the captain departing for just nine. However, at the other end, Shreevats Goswami kept nibbling away at the score, flicking and nudging his score up to a well-made 50 off 39 deliveries, making him the youngest to score a fifty in the IPL. With only five overs to go, and a light drizzle having freshened up the pitch, the batsmen found the going a little difficult. Shreevats finally got out trying to step up the scoring and Cameron White ran himself out going for a non-existent run as the Challengers limped to 105/5 in 16 overs. For some reason, Sehwag then decided to get Sangwan into the attack, and was immediately hit for 14 runs, his three overs costing him a whopping 51 runs.

If Maharoof bowled an excellent 18th over, conceding only 5 runs, McGrath went one better, getting rid of Praveen Kumar, and in turn giving away only 6! The much vaunted acceleration never came about till as late as the final over, which went for 24 runs off Rajat Bhatia. A tactical mistake by Sehwag to bowl Bhatia in the last over, instead of a more experienced bowler enabling Challengers to get to 154/7 in 20 overs. Both McGrath and Maharoof scalped two each, conceding a miserly 15 and 13 runs respectively.

A target of 155 was never going to be too stiff for the Delhi Daredevils unless the Royal Challengers picked up some early wickets. Instead, Gautam Gambhir showed us why he is the holder of the Orange Cap currently, in the company of his skipper Virender Sehwag as they both took Dale Steyn and Zaheer Khan to the cleaners. Delhi reached 45/0 in 4 overs! Dravid toyed around with the bowling and brought in Praveen Kumar, but he was only greeted with a boundary. And another boundary. And another one! Kallis gave away 11 in his first as well, as the Daredevils raced away to 71/0 in six overs.

Sehwag took another nineteen off Praveen Kumar before he perished in the same over (47 off 19 balls), and then Gambhir unnecessarily ran himself out for 39 - in turn getting himself to 500 runs in the tournament. The 100 came in the 9th over, as the Daredevils ended over number 10 at 105/2!

It was this fall of wickets and the introduction of Anil Kumble and B Akhil that pegged back the scoring, and this frustrated the Delhi batsmen into playing some attacking strokes, bringing about their downfall. Dilshan was stumped by Goswami off Kumble, de Villiers went, caught behind, and when Dinesh Karthik looped a catch to Cameron White at short extra cover, the Daredevils were in a spot of trouble. Delhi still needed 22 runs off the last four overs, with five wickets still standing, but any hopes of a close finish were conveniently dashed by Maharoof's hits for a six and a four.

In the end, Delhi won by five wickets with 10 deliveries to spare, but would have been a trifle upset at not having won it more emphatically. That would have improved their net run rate. With this win, both Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians are tied at 12 points apiece, with Mumbai having played two matches lesser. The Player of the Match award went to Shreevats Goswami for his solid 52, and excellent work behind the stumps.

HOT NEWS

NewsDaredevils get to a dozen points

20th May 2008.
Shreevats Goswami's efforts go in vain as Delhi Daredevils beat Bangalore Royal Challengers by 5 wickets in Match 43 of the DLF IPL.
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