An uncharacteristically patient 52 off 44 balls from Virender Sehwag helped the Delhi Daredevils go top off the table in Group A of the Champions League Twenty20 after a three-wicket win over Perth Scorchers in Cape Town on Sunday, says a report in Hindustan Times, adding that the Indian Premier League (IPL) side made heavy weather of chasing down the Scorchers' score of 121 for five.
“Loss of wickets at regular intervals didn't help Delhi's cause as they stuttered to a score of 123 for seven in 19.3 overs, thanks largely to Sehwag's gritty innings. The Daredevils (10 points) leapfrogged the Titans (8) to the top spot in the group, having played one game extra. New Zealand side Auckland Aces are a close third with six points,” says the report.
“After being put in to bat, the Scorchers lost former South African opener Herchelle Gibbs (6) early. Australian pair Shaun Marsh (39) and Simon Katich (34) forged a 73-run stand for the second wicket to put their team in the driving seat. However, Marsh's downfall started the slide for the Australian outfit as they failed to gain momentum in their innings. Katich too departed soon, which further slowed down Perth's run-rate. Even with wickets in hand the Scorchers failed to get their innings going. Pacers Morne Morkel (3-19) and Ajit Agarkar (2-14) bowled beautifully, helping restrict the opposition to the meagre score,” says the report.
Meanwhile The Hindu writes that the win took Delhi to 10 points from three matches and gave it a good chance of qualifying while the defeat meant the end of the road for Scorchers. “Sehwag (52, 44b, 4x4, 1x6) played a restrained innings and the shot which brought up his half-century was a lucky one as his upper cut slipped from Nathan Rimmington's hands to go for a six. However, Rimmington made amends in his next over, removing both Irfan Pathan (14) and Sehwag to reduce Delhi from a relatively comfortable 94 for four to 96 for six,” says the report, adding that Agarkar, who has bowled beautifully, then came to the party and hit a couple of boundaries under pressure and his unbeaten 11 proved to be priceless in the end.
“Needing eight off the final over, Agarkar hit a cover drive off Rimmington and then took a single for Negi took the strike. Needing three from four balls, young Negi blasted Rimmington through the mid-wicket for a four much to the delight of his dug-out. Earlier, a fine performance by Morkel, and Agarkar helped Delhi restrict Scorchers. While Morkel had the best figures of three for 19 in his four overs, Agarkar bowled splendidly in the middle overs getting two wickets and giving away only 14 runs in the process. Umesh Yadav didn't get any wicket but kept things tight,” says the report, adding that Herschelle Gibbs, who got a six with a pull shot off Irfan Pathan, played on when a Morkel delivery climbed up a bit more than the batsman expected.
