Rahul Dravid of Rajasthan Royals plays a shot during their innings against Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match in New Delhi yesterday.
New Delhi: David Warner’s fiery 77 went in vain as Delhi Daredevils faltered in a close finish and suffered their second consecutive loss in the Indian Premier League (IPL), going down by five runs to Rajasthan Royals at the Ferozeshah Kotla here yesterday.
Warner had almost put the Daredevils on the threshold of a win while chasing 166. But the opening batsman fell in the penultimate over, run out while attempting a tight single, that left Delhi needing nine runs off the last over.
West Indian pacer Kevon Cooper, who picked up 3-30, bowled a fine last over, conceding just three runs and picked up two wickets to leave Daredevils stranded at 160/6 from 20 overs.
The real star was veteran Rahul Dravid, who played a fine captain’s knock of a 51-ball 65, studded with four fours and two sixes that propelled Royals to a competitive 165/7. Dravid was adjudged the man of the match.
It was a fine start to inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan Royals’ campaign in the sixth edition. The victory was sweeter for the Royals since they had lost both their matches against Daredevils last season.
While chasing, Daredevils were always on course. Warner and Unmukt Chand (23) gave a stable start with their 39-run stand and then Warner and skipper Mahela Jayawardene (19) added 43 runs for the second wicket.
It was a measured knock from Warner but full of aggression. On the eve of the match, Warner had stressed on the importance of one of the top-four getting a big knock. He backed his words with performance.
Warner struck nine fours and a six and single-handedly took Daredevils to sniffing distance of a win. Warner added 67 valuable runs for the third-wicket with Manprit Juneja (20) that almost got the match in Delhi’s grasp. The hosts needed just 22 runs off 18 balls but failed in the end.
It was a disciplined performance by the visitors and temperamental fast bowler S Sreesanth was impressive with his 1/18 from four overs.
In the second match in Chennai, Mumbai Indians defeated the formidable Chennai Super Kings in their own backyard for their first win in the Indian Premier League yesterday.
The visitors pulled off a stunning win after Chennai fell short of their 148 for six by nine runs. Kieron Pollard starred for Mumbai by smashing 57 off 38 balls and led their recovery from 83 for six in 12 overs.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni took his team’s fight to the last over with an exhilarating 51 off 26 balls. But his dismissal in the first ball of the 20th over resulted in Chennai’s loss in what was their first match of the tournament. It was a welcome result for Mumbai, who had lost a close contest against Royal Challengers Bangalore Thursday.
Chennai stumbled in the chase, losing half their side for 66. But with dangerous Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja in the middle, you could still not rule out the hosts getting the required 83 runs off 47 balls.
With Jadeja back in the hut on 16, the onus was once again on Dhoni to take the team home. The skipper hit an array of lusty blows to take the match down to the wire. Chennai needed 23 off the last 12 balls after Pollard bowled a 17-run over.
Mitchell Johnson came to bowl the 19th over and Dhoni did not spare him too.
He brought his fifty with a cracking six over deep mid wicket, cutting the target to six off the final over with two wickets in hand.
With Dhoni in full flow, it seemed the massive crowd in attendance for the opening IPL game here would get their money’s worth. All of that changed one when Pollard pulled off a stunning catch at the boundary to dismiss Dhoni.
Earlier, Mumbai Indians were off to a bad start after winning the toss, losing the ‘dream’ opening combination of Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting (6) for 17.
The master blaster was adjudged leg before wicket off pacer Dirk Nannes on the first ball he faced. Apparently, he was not happy with the umpire’s decision.IANS
