 Kings XI Punjab beat Delhi Daredevils on D/L method
18th May 2008 10:04 IST
Agencies
Earlier, Virender Sehwag slammed an unbeaten half century as Delhi Daredevils finished on 118/4 in 11 overs.
Sehwag's brief violent knock included two fours and five sixes, while Gautam Gambhir chipped in with a 28-ball 40.
Electing bat after winning the toss, Sehwag thrived on the largess of opposite number Yuvraj who missed a skier when the batsman was on six.
The gleeful Delhi captain made most of the life before heavens opened up to cut short his batting pyrotechnics.
After a drizzle-delayed start, Ferozeshah Kotla's near-capacity crowd expected that it would rain fours and sixes as Sehwag and Gambhir walked in to open the innings.
Instead, the crowd twice had their heart in the mouth as both the batsmen got a life each in the dramatic third over from S Sreesanth.
Sreesanth, the slap-gate protagonist, had been tormenting Sehwag all along and he finally managed to induce a skier from the swashbuckler, then on six, only to see Yuvraj, of all people, spill it at mid-off.
Two balls later, Gambhir's slash flew to VRV Singh at third man but the fielder was in two minds whether to go for the catch or stop the boundary and he ended up doing neither.
Given his volatile temper, Sreesanth did well to retain his smile at the end of the over even though it seemed sarcastic and the visitors looked in horror as sloppy fielding spread like a rash.
Sehwag responded by milking 22 off VRV's first over, following up back-to-back sixes with a four, even though Gambhir lost his furniture to IPL debutant Ramesh Powar after a breezy 40, having featured in a 75-run opening stand.
Sehwag was in no mood to relent as he went after the spin twins of Powar and Piyush Chawla, hitting them over the ropes with characteristic nonchalance.
Neither Sreesanth's probing line, nor Chawla's guile could stop Sehwag - it eventually required a heavenly intervention to halt the Delhi skipper's progress.
By the time play resumed, it was truncated to an 11-overs-a-side affair and Dhawan (8), perished trying to up the ante, as did Tillakaratne Dilshan (8) and Maharoof (0). |
