Delhi DareDevils Sweeps Chennai Super Kings

Gautam Gambhir cracked an unbeaten 57 as Delhi Daredevils spanked Chennai Super Kings by six wickets in a low-scoring IPL match to virtually seal a semifinal berth on Thursday.

Captain Gambhir led a remarkable recovery with a resolute batting display with Mithun Manhas (25 not out) after his side made a messy start in the run chase of 113 by losing their top three batsmen for just six runs in the second over.

The duo shared 75 runs from 70 balls for the unfinished fifth wicket as Delhi romped home with eight balls to spare and snap their three-match losing streak at M A Chidambaram Stadium.

Gambhir, who fought dehydration by applying water on his head and body on few occasions, struck five fours in his 56-ball innings, his second IPL 3 half century, and hit the winning runs, a two, as Delhi reached 113 for four in 18.4 overs on a pitch which offered turn to slow bowlers .

Earlier, Chennai Super Kings could make just 112 for nine after electing to bat with left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra taking three wickets for 26 to lead a superb bowling display by Delhi Daredevils.

With the win today, their seventh in 13 matches, Delhi are virtually in the semifinals with 14 points. They play Deccan Chargers at home in their last league match on April 18

Despite the loss, Chennai are still not out of semifinal race with 12 points from 13 matches though the paltry total after batting first took down their net run rate to plus 0.270.

Pacer Dough Bollinger was the most successful bowler with two wickets for 24 runs in his four overs while Ravichandran Ashwin and Shadab Jakati got a wicket apiece.

Delhi made a disastrous start in their run chase, losing their top three wickets for just six in the second over and looked like throwing away the match before Gambhir and Manhas rescued them.

On a track which offered turn to slow bowlers, Chennai opened bowling with a spinner and Ravichandran Ashwin did not disappoint his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni by removing dangerous David Warner in his third ball for a duck.

Warner tried to play a cut shot but failed to negotiate the turn Ashwin extracted and the ball spooned to cover for Murali Vijay to take a diving catch.

Virender Sehwag (4) played his characteristic style and fell the same way as he has been doing for a while in IPL III, out cheaply for four after playing a big shot early on as the thick edge off Doug Bollinger's first ball was easy picking for Matthew Hayden at slip.

Three balls later, Tillakaratne Dilshan (1), who returned to playing eleven after being dropped due to poor form, did not last long as he tried an expansive shot off Bollinger only to see inside-edging the delivery and his furniture being disturbed.

Gambhir and wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik started the repair work by sharing 32 runs from as many balls for the fourth wicket before the latter was out for a 16-ball 13 in the seventh over.

Karthik top-edged a pull shot off Jakati for S Badrinath to take a well-judged catch at midwicket to reduce Delhi to 38 for four.

The early wickets saw run rate plummeting and Delhi were 56 for four at the halfway mark. After Karthik's dismissal Gambhir and Manhas did not have a four for five overs as they ran mostly for singles.

The duo opened up from the 16th over onwards and struck some lusty blows off Ashwin, Suresh Raina and Bollinger to ease past the target of 113 with eight balls to spare.

Manhas gave able support to Gambhir and his 32-ball 25 contained two fours.

Earlier, left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra took three wickets for 26 to lead a superb bowling display by Delhi Daredevils as they restrict Chennai Super Kings to a paltry 112 for nine.

Needing to win the match for a semifinal berth, Chennai failed to apply themselves against a disciplined Delhi bowlers as their top six batsmen were back at the hut by the halfway mark for just 55 runs after electing to bat.

S Badrinath top-scored with a 29-ball 30 while Murali Vijay (17), Suresh Raina (15) and Michael Hussey (15) got the starts but failed to convert them to big scores as Chennai slumped to their lowest IPL III total.

For Delhi, Nehra took important wickets of openers Vijay and Matthew Hayden and that of Badrinath in his four overs. Sehwag chipped in with a superb two for 18 from his four overs while Dilshan, Amit Mishra and Dirk Nannes got one each.

Delhi Dare Devil wins over Banglore

Stand in Delhi skipper Dinesh Karthik could not contain his glee after his side defeated Bangalore on Thursday.

Gautam Gambhir’s return from Sri Lanka after a successful ayurvedic treatmemt was an icing on the cake for a team that was in desperate need of a win.

"I am very, very happy," Karthik said after the game. "We worked very hard for the win."

"The wicket we knew would turn as it did, since it was a bit dry and a score of 180 would always be challenging.

David Warner has been a great asset. He has done well for Australia and he is doing well for us. It is a blessing to have him, since he takes the pressure off Virender Sehwag."

"We fielded extremely well and the run outs were a  great boost. We really needed to bounce back with a win and that is what we did."

Bangalore skipper Anil Kumble was naturally a little downcast but given that his side is in a great position, he wasn't overly bothered with the loss.

"Naturally, we would have loved to win, but full credit to Delhi, they played really well," the veteran said.
"After the kind of start Delhi got off to, I think we did really well to pull them back.

"We began our batting well but a couple of run outs and some poor shot selection cost us," he added.

Asked if fielding first after winning the toss was the right decision, Kumble said: "It was always going to be a slow track, but our batsmen are in good form and we were expecting to win. It just didn't work out that way."

Hayden's knock boost Chennai's morale

Mathew hayden has won the match single handedly for chennai against the delhi dare devils.The very long worry of hayden's form was on its peak and he gave a fitting reply to all his critics

Hayden’s 43-ball blitz, with his long handle Mongoose bat at his age of 38, left a packed Feroze Shah Kotla awestruck on Friday evening. The innings not only helped Chennai beat Delhi comprehensively, the yellow shirts will not only be favourites against Kings XI but could rise on top of the league table.

Hayden was a revelation. His 24-ball 50 was a record but it was his excellent cricketing shots that changed the complexion of the game. The Aussie was classy during his partnership with stand-in skipper Suresh Raina. The duo produced 50 of only 23 balls for the third wicket. Hayden also proved that there was no devil in the Kotla wicket.

A five-wicket victory against Delhi and their stupendous win over the Kolkata Knight Riders have given Chennai the momentum from which they could only get better with their morale high. By contrast, the morale of Punjab XI is at its lowest and even Tom Moody can’t find ways to lift his professional stars.

Punjab captain Kumar Sangakkara has been in poor form. As skipper, he has done precious little to lift his team. The form of Yuvraj Singh has also been a concern. Among the overseas skippers in the League, only Adam Gilchrist has been successful. At the Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday, Punjab will start as underdogs as Chennai will surely ride their home support.

Chennai’s batting strategies have worked well so far. The top three contributing 150 has been the key and the home team will look for an encore against beleaguered Punjab.

Chennai skipped nets on Saturday but the Kings XI will train under lights. Skipper MS Dhoni is likely to sit out Sunday’s game to rest his injured elbow.