One felt sorry for Delhi Daredevils captain JP Duminy at the end of their second Indian Premier League fixture at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground in Delhi. The South African did everything possible to put some valuable points in his teams kitty, but was thwarted by inspired batting by the Rajasthan Royals, who came from behind and beat the Daredevils with three wickets to spare.
Delhi start well
Royals, who chose to chase on winning the toss, ran into Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer who put their bowlers to the sword with a great start. While Agarwal attacked with gusto, Iyer played classy shots to show why he is highly rated on the domestic circuit.
It took a clever ploy by Royals leg spinner Pravin Tambe to disrupt the thriving partnership. The 43-year old bowled from behind the bowling crease and caught Agarwal off his own bowling. Duminy had re-organised the batting order by promoting himself and Yuvraj Singh, and had included Angelo Mathews in place of Albie Morkel who was their lone ranger against the Chennai Super Kings in the previous match.
The Royals skipper Steve Smith did slow down the game by introducing spin, but superb cameos by Yuvraj Singh and Mathews lifted the Daredevils and took them to an slightly above-par score of 184 runs. One could not understand Smith’s strategy of under-bowling Tambe when the stocky Mumbaikar’s economy rate was a mere 6 runs per over.
Rajasthan stumble, then recover
Knowing they had a tough chase on their hands, the Royals openers Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson began in earnest, playing proper cricketing shots while maintaining a healthy run-rate. Spin once again came to the rescue of the Daredevils and the breakthroughs achieved by Amit Mishra and Imran Tahir put the Royals on the back-foot.
Tahir, in particular mixed his deliveries – the spinner, googly and the one that straightens – beautifully. They say watching a leg-spinner in full fight is a delight and the duo justified the saying by bowling with variations, guile and accuracy to keep the batsmen guessing. The collective demise of Rahane, Smith, Karun Nair and Stuart Binny, all to spin, put the Daredevils in control of the game.
Unfortunately, they ran into Deepak Hooda – this time as a batsman. The Baroda all-rounder fought fire with fire and slowly brought the Royals back into the game with clever batting. Batting in the company of Rahane and James Faulkner, Hooda kept his team well within striking distance of the opposition. A few shots that he played were a pleasure to watch and his balance and composure, under pressure was a revelation.
Flop fielding
A shoddy effort on the field also helped the Royals to breast the tape in this fixture. A fumble by Yuvraj while attempting a run out and a costly lapse by Manoj Tiwari who guided a routine catch over the boundary will be something that will be marked by Daredevils coach Gary Kirsten.
Though he played a decent cameo with the bat, Yuvraj looked out of sorts on the field and his body language showed that he does need a big boost of self-confidence. It just maybe that the talented southpaw is trying too hard to justify high price that his franchise paid to get him into their team. He should take a leaf out of M.S. Dhoni’s book; relax and enjoy himself while on the field of play.
While the Daredevils woes continue with a string of losses in the IPL (eleven straight defeats in two years), the Royals will be hoping that Shane Watson gets fit in time for their next game against Mumbai Indians at Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The Aussie all-rounder’s inclusion is bound to plug the gaps for the Royals in the batting and bowling departments.
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Delhi start well
Royals, who chose to chase on winning the toss, ran into Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer who put their bowlers to the sword with a great start. While Agarwal attacked with gusto, Iyer played classy shots to show why he is highly rated on the domestic circuit.
It took a clever ploy by Royals leg spinner Pravin Tambe to disrupt the thriving partnership. The 43-year old bowled from behind the bowling crease and caught Agarwal off his own bowling. Duminy had re-organised the batting order by promoting himself and Yuvraj Singh, and had included Angelo Mathews in place of Albie Morkel who was their lone ranger against the Chennai Super Kings in the previous match.
The Royals skipper Steve Smith did slow down the game by introducing spin, but superb cameos by Yuvraj Singh and Mathews lifted the Daredevils and took them to an slightly above-par score of 184 runs. One could not understand Smith’s strategy of under-bowling Tambe when the stocky Mumbaikar’s economy rate was a mere 6 runs per over.
Rajasthan stumble, then recover
Knowing they had a tough chase on their hands, the Royals openers Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson began in earnest, playing proper cricketing shots while maintaining a healthy run-rate. Spin once again came to the rescue of the Daredevils and the breakthroughs achieved by Amit Mishra and Imran Tahir put the Royals on the back-foot.
Tahir, in particular mixed his deliveries – the spinner, googly and the one that straightens – beautifully. They say watching a leg-spinner in full fight is a delight and the duo justified the saying by bowling with variations, guile and accuracy to keep the batsmen guessing. The collective demise of Rahane, Smith, Karun Nair and Stuart Binny, all to spin, put the Daredevils in control of the game.
Unfortunately, they ran into Deepak Hooda – this time as a batsman. The Baroda all-rounder fought fire with fire and slowly brought the Royals back into the game with clever batting. Batting in the company of Rahane and James Faulkner, Hooda kept his team well within striking distance of the opposition. A few shots that he played were a pleasure to watch and his balance and composure, under pressure was a revelation.
Flop fielding
A shoddy effort on the field also helped the Royals to breast the tape in this fixture. A fumble by Yuvraj while attempting a run out and a costly lapse by Manoj Tiwari who guided a routine catch over the boundary will be something that will be marked by Daredevils coach Gary Kirsten.
Though he played a decent cameo with the bat, Yuvraj looked out of sorts on the field and his body language showed that he does need a big boost of self-confidence. It just maybe that the talented southpaw is trying too hard to justify high price that his franchise paid to get him into their team. He should take a leaf out of M.S. Dhoni’s book; relax and enjoy himself while on the field of play.
While the Daredevils woes continue with a string of losses in the IPL (eleven straight defeats in two years), the Royals will be hoping that Shane Watson gets fit in time for their next game against Mumbai Indians at Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The Aussie all-rounder’s inclusion is bound to plug the gaps for the Royals in the batting and bowling departments.
