Having been asked to bat by Steve Smith, Delhi was off to a solid start, thanks to the new-look opening pair of Shreyas Iyer and Mayank Agarwal. When Iyer fell for a well-made 40 off 30 balls in the 11th over with the scorecard reading 93 for 2, in walked Yuvraj Singh to thunderous applause from the fans at Feroz Shah Kotla, proof of how the Delhi crowd had been deprived of a marquee Indian star to root for over the past few seasons.
Yuvraj duly obliged with some vintage hitting, creaming Faulkner for two sixes in an over. He then top-edged a pull off Chris Morris, which was spectacularly caught by Karun Nair, who covered a lot of grass, dived full length and just about managed to prevent the ball from slipping through his fingers. Yuvraj was out for 27 when he was looking set for a big finish.
Like JP Duminy would have said, fine margins in cricket.
So near, and yet…
Chasing a challenging total of 185, Rajasthan Royals needed 78 runs off 31 balls. Deepak Hooda, facing Yuvraj, cut a short ball to point and took off for a single. The ball went straight to Angelo Matthews who, in a flash, released a near-perfect throw to the bowler’s end where Yuvraj fluffed the chance. He failed to collect the ball cleanly with Hooda still yards away from the crease. A big chance, gone a-begging.
The salt on the wound came immediately, first in the form of a Rahane six the very next ball, and then two massive sixes by Hooda himself off Unadkat in the next over.
Yuvraj went for 11 from his only over. Hooda went on to make a match-winning 54 from just 25 balls. Delhi Daredevils lost their eleventh IPL game in a row, equalling the now-defunct Pune Warriors’ record for ignominy.
Finer margins in cricket.
JP Duminy and Gary Kirsten, the head coach, must be wondering what on earth they must do to get on the right side of these margins. As it stands, it is yet another heart-breaking defeat in the last ball of a match for the Delhi Daredevils.
Lessons learnt from the defeat to CSK
Delhi went into this game with three changes to the side that lost to the Super Kings in the first match, suggesting that the think-tank was still trying to find the right composition. Out went the hero of the last match, Albie Morkel, replaced by Angelo Mathews. Though this raised some eyebrows, the only reason Morkel played in the first match was the –quite ridiculous – emabargo on Sri Lankan players playing in Chennai. Jaidev Unadkat and Manoj Tiwary came in for Dom Joseph and CM Gautham.
Duminy came in at No. 3 this time and batted through the 20 overs, making 44 runs, 12 of which came in the last over of the innings with two huge sixes. Mathews stuck some mighty blows too for a quick-fire 27 as Delhi posted a total that was sure to challenge the batting strength of the Royals.
It was then Amit Mishra and Imran Tahir’s turn to shine, as they combined to grab six wickets, four of them from beautifully delivered googlies. Mishra got the prized wicket of Steve Smith, while Tahir accounted for the dangerous trio of Rahane, Hooda and Faulkner.
Quick bowlers hurt Delhi
But what hurt Delhi the most were the runs leaked by their quick bowlers, who were not supporting the leg-spin duo. With 100 required from the last 8 overs, Mathews conceded 18 runs. With 70 required from 36, Unadkat’s over went for 15. And with 36 required from 18, Coulter-Nile conceded 17. Duminy’s field placements left a lot to be desired as well, as edges kept flying to the third-man and fine-leg boundaries.
In the end, with 12 required from the last over, Tim Southee did what Albie Morkel couldn’t in Delhi’s last game, as he cracked a cover drive from Mathews’s half volley for a boundary from the last ball, leaving the home fans and the Daredevils distraught. All Duminy could manage was a wry smile.
Once again, there are positives to take for Delhi from the defeat. But as Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of Green Bay Packers in the NFL, once said: “Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”
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Yuvraj duly obliged with some vintage hitting, creaming Faulkner for two sixes in an over. He then top-edged a pull off Chris Morris, which was spectacularly caught by Karun Nair, who covered a lot of grass, dived full length and just about managed to prevent the ball from slipping through his fingers. Yuvraj was out for 27 when he was looking set for a big finish.
Like JP Duminy would have said, fine margins in cricket.
So near, and yet…
Chasing a challenging total of 185, Rajasthan Royals needed 78 runs off 31 balls. Deepak Hooda, facing Yuvraj, cut a short ball to point and took off for a single. The ball went straight to Angelo Matthews who, in a flash, released a near-perfect throw to the bowler’s end where Yuvraj fluffed the chance. He failed to collect the ball cleanly with Hooda still yards away from the crease. A big chance, gone a-begging.
The salt on the wound came immediately, first in the form of a Rahane six the very next ball, and then two massive sixes by Hooda himself off Unadkat in the next over.
Yuvraj went for 11 from his only over. Hooda went on to make a match-winning 54 from just 25 balls. Delhi Daredevils lost their eleventh IPL game in a row, equalling the now-defunct Pune Warriors’ record for ignominy.
Finer margins in cricket.
JP Duminy and Gary Kirsten, the head coach, must be wondering what on earth they must do to get on the right side of these margins. As it stands, it is yet another heart-breaking defeat in the last ball of a match for the Delhi Daredevils.
Lessons learnt from the defeat to CSK
Delhi went into this game with three changes to the side that lost to the Super Kings in the first match, suggesting that the think-tank was still trying to find the right composition. Out went the hero of the last match, Albie Morkel, replaced by Angelo Mathews. Though this raised some eyebrows, the only reason Morkel played in the first match was the –quite ridiculous – emabargo on Sri Lankan players playing in Chennai. Jaidev Unadkat and Manoj Tiwary came in for Dom Joseph and CM Gautham.
Duminy came in at No. 3 this time and batted through the 20 overs, making 44 runs, 12 of which came in the last over of the innings with two huge sixes. Mathews stuck some mighty blows too for a quick-fire 27 as Delhi posted a total that was sure to challenge the batting strength of the Royals.
It was then Amit Mishra and Imran Tahir’s turn to shine, as they combined to grab six wickets, four of them from beautifully delivered googlies. Mishra got the prized wicket of Steve Smith, while Tahir accounted for the dangerous trio of Rahane, Hooda and Faulkner.
Quick bowlers hurt Delhi
But what hurt Delhi the most were the runs leaked by their quick bowlers, who were not supporting the leg-spin duo. With 100 required from the last 8 overs, Mathews conceded 18 runs. With 70 required from 36, Unadkat’s over went for 15. And with 36 required from 18, Coulter-Nile conceded 17. Duminy’s field placements left a lot to be desired as well, as edges kept flying to the third-man and fine-leg boundaries.
In the end, with 12 required from the last over, Tim Southee did what Albie Morkel couldn’t in Delhi’s last game, as he cracked a cover drive from Mathews’s half volley for a boundary from the last ball, leaving the home fans and the Daredevils distraught. All Duminy could manage was a wry smile.
Once again, there are positives to take for Delhi from the defeat. But as Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of Green Bay Packers in the NFL, once said: “Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”
