~~~CRICKET AROUND THE WORLD!~~~: 05/15/08

Delhi Daredevils v Deccan Chargers, IPL, Delhi

Magical Mishra bowls Delhi to victory

May 15, 2008

Delhi Daredevils 194 for 4 (Gambhir 79, Dhawan 68) beat Deccan Chargers 182 for 9 (Rohit 35, Rao 34, Mishra 5-17) by 12 runs
Scorecard and ball-by ball details
How they were out

The Deccan Chargers made a spirited effort at chasing a formidable 195, but none of their batsmen managed to go on to make a significant contribution. Cameos from Rohit Sharma and Venugopal Rao almost gave Delhi Daredevils a scare, but Amit Mishra wrecked any hopes of a Deccan victory with splendid figures of 4-0-17-5. After dismissing the dangerous duo of Shahid Afridi and Herschelle Gibbs in his first over, Mishra was entrusted the 20th over - in which Deccan needed 15 - and he took a hat-trick off the first three deliveries to seal a 12-run win for Delhi, ending a four-match losing streak.

Full report to follow

20 overs Delhi Daredevils 194 for 4 (Gambhir 79, Dhawan 68) v Deccan Chargers

Gautam Gambhir became the first batsman to go past 400 runs in the IPL during his 79 (file photo) © Getty Images

Coming off a four-match losing streak, Delhi needed some thrust at the top of the order to arrest the slide. At the end of 20 overs, they managed their highest score in the IPL and their top-heavy batting clicked at the right moment, thanks to attacking half-centuries by Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan.

Their start, after being put in, wasn't very auspicious as Virender Sehwag slashed hard at P Vijaykumar and sent the ball rocketing down RP Singh's throat at third man to register his second successive duck.

Gambhir, the tournament's leading scorer, and Dhawan saw off a quiet first three overs, during which they scored 14 runs. For their part, Deccan's commitment in the field was a refreshing change from a shoddy display against the Kolkata Knight Riders, as Shahid Afridi, Herschelle Gibbs and Rohit Sharma sent out positive vibes in the inner ring.

However, the innings suddenly gained momentum in the fourth over bowled by RP. Gambhir adjusted brilliantly to a short delivery aimed at his face and slapped him over backward square leg, then stepped down and pulled the next over deep midwicket and followed it up with a slice past backward point to take 20 off the over.

The run-rate never went below seven from then on even as Adam Gilchrist brought about bowling changes. Dhawan came into his own once the support seamers - Sarvesh Kumar and Scott Styris - operated, punishing anything full on the pads and finding the gaps. The spinners were not spared either. After reverse-sweeping Venugopal Rao for four, he smashed Shahid Afridi out of the attack with successive fours, smashing the first over his head and the next over extra cover to bring up his fifty.

Gambhir too carted Afridi for a huge six over deep midwicket shortly after reaching his half-century and in the process went past the 400-run mark in the tournament. Pragyan Ojha, the left-arm spinner who was kept out till the 15th over, struck with his second ball, firing one down the legside after seeing Gambhir give him the charge.

Farveez Maharoof earned a promotion as a pinch-hitter and immediately biffed two sixes - the first over RP's head and the second over deep midwicket. More than the audacity of the strokes, what was most dampening for Deccan was the fact that he was let off by Rohit at long-on, who missed a straightforward chance. He was eventually caught by the same fielder at point, off a mis-hit. Lusty blows by Tillakaratne Dilshan took Delhi close to the 200-mark. Delhi would be happy with this hefty total, and Deccan wouldn't have an easy task against Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif.

Twenty20 match

Indian Premier League - 37th match
Delhi Daredevils v Deccan Chargers

2007/08 season

Played at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, on 15 May 2008 - day/night (20-over match)

Result Delhi Daredevils won by 12 runs


Delhi Daredevils innings (20 overs maximum)			R	B	4s	6s	SR
	G Gambhir	st Gilchrist b Ojha	79	48	7	3	164.58
	V Sehwag	c Singh b Vijaykumar	0	2	0	0	0.00
	S Dhawan	not out	68	52	8	0	130.76
	MF Maharoof	c Sharma b Ojha	19	11	0	2	172.72
	TM Dilshan	run out (Gilchrist)	16	6	2	1	266.66
	MK Tiwary	not out	4	1	1	0	400.00
	Extras	(lb 3, w 5)	8

	Total	(4 wickets; 20 overs)	194	(9.70 runs per over)

Did not bat

KD Karthik, A Mishra, R Bhatia, GD McGrath, Mohammad Asif

Fall of wickets1-7 (Sehwag, 0.6 ov), 2-140 (Gambhir, 15.1 ov), 3-166 (Maharoof, 17.4 ov), 4-190 (Dilshan, 19.5 ov)


Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
DP Vijaykumar	4	0	24	1	6.00
RP Singh	4	0	50	0	12.50	(1w)
PM Sarvesh Kumar	3	0	24	0	8.00	(1w)
SB Styris	4	0	33	0	8.25	(1w)
Y Venugopal Rao	2	0	23	0	11.50	(1w)
Shahid Afridi	1	0	18	0	18.00
PP Ojha	2	0	19	2	9.50	(1w)


Deccan Chargers innings (target: 195 runs from 20 overs)			R	B	4s	6s	SR
	AC Gilchrist	c Dilshan b McGrath	14	9	3	0	155.55
	Shahid Afridi	c sub (AB de Villiers) b Mishra	33	14	3	2	235.71
	HH Gibbs	b Mishra	22	22	1	2	100.00
	RG Sharma	b Maharoof	35	18	3	2	194.44
	SB Styris	c sub (AB de Villiers) b Maharoof	29	28	2	0	103.57
	Y Venugopal Rao	c sub (Shoaib Malik) b McGrath	34	18	3	2	188.88
	DB Ravi Teja	c sub (Shoaib Malik) b Mishra	9	5	0	1	180.00
	RP Singh	st Karthik b Mishra	1	2	0	0	50.00
	PP Ojha	c Dilshan b Mishra	0	1	0	0	0.00
	DP Vijaykumar	not out	1	1	0	0	100.00
	PM Sarvesh Kumar	not out	1	2	0	0	50.00
	Extras	(lb 1, w 2)	3

	Total	(9 wickets; 20 overs)	182	(9.10 runs per over)