Delhi Daredevils defeated Deccan Chargers to top the points table in the ongoing Indian Premier League. Delhi entered the match as clear favorites and would have fancied their chances against a team who is yet to win a match in this season. Deccan on the other hand was desperate to get their first points and that showed in the way some of the players played.
Delhi would have hoped for an easy game, but it was never to be so as Deccan pulled out an inspiring performance with the ball and at one time they it was looking that the team from Hyderabad will finally turn the tides in their favor. But, all that changed because of one tremendous innings and some pathetic fielding from Chargers.
Let’s have a look at some hits and flops from both sides.
Deccan Chargers
Hits:
Shikhar Dhawan: He may not be the most menacing batsman going around, but he is very effective at the top of the order. Dhawan knew the conditions in Kotla very well as all his life he has played in this ground and it exhibited in his batting. He started the innings well and scored a fluent 44 which included five boundaries and one six.
Parthiv Patel: He was making a comeback into the side and he did play like a man on mission. He started timing the ball perfectly the moment he came out to bat. He penetrated the gap beautifully and scored at a strike rate of above 160. His innings of 45 included five boundaries and one six.
Dale Steyn: The premier fast bowler bowled beautifully upfront for the Chargers. He got the all important wicket of Virender Sehwag and would have got the centurion Pietersen if not for a drop catch by Chipli. He was lethal at to the top and bowled well in his second spell as well.
Flops:
International Batsmen: All the three top international batsmen for the Deccan Chargers flopped in the match and that was the biggest disappointment of the evening. Sangakkara could only manage one run before playing a horrendous shot. Last match’s hero JP Duminy gave a simple catch to the opposition captain and could only manage four runs before playing that dreadful shot. Dale Christian was looking to play till the end, but he to felt on an ugly shot and his wicket proved costly for the visiting team as they could have done wonders if they would have another 20 runs in their bank.
Amit Mishra: A lot was expected from him and he disappointed the most. He conceded 26 runs of the two overs that he bowled. He looked helpless against Pietersen and proved out to be a perfect hitting material for the Englishman.
Fielding: Chargers fielding was pathetic to say the least. They dropped Pietersen thrice, the first chance coming when he hasn’t even reached 10. There were a number of occasion when fielders failed to gather the ball properly and conceded extra runs. Deccan can say that they have lost two of their previous matches because of poor fielding.
Delhi Daredevils:
Hits:
Kevin Pietersen: It was his innings that won Delhi the match against the Chargers. He scored 103 runs out of the 162 runs that Delhi scored. It is true that he got dropped thrice but he still has to bat and bat responsibly. Pietersen’s innings included six boundaries and nine massive sixes. His has been one of the most dominating innings of this season as he single-handedly took Delhi to the top of the points table.
Shahbaz Nadeem: This young left-arm spinner is proving out to be a revelation for the Delhi Daredevils. He once again bowled superbly and the way he changes his pace and the variation that he has is a treat to watch. Nadeem took three wickets and conceded only 16 runs in his spell.
Flops:
Batting: If you take out Pietersen’s innings than Delhi would have lost out by a huge margin. Players such as a stature of Virender Sehwag, Ross Taylor and Mahela Jayawardene failed together putting a lot of pressure on KP.
By Indian Sports News
