The IPL 2008 - First Semifinal - Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals
June 1st 2008 06:14
The first semifinal of the IPL was a total damp squib. For all the presence of political bigwigs like Sharad Pawar and Laloo Prasad Yadav, there was not the spiced battle that we expected from two of the top 4 teams in the league.
Amendment - there were indications of a spiced battle until Delhi took guard. Then it all went haywire and all semblance of a contest between the two teams was abandoned about halfway through the second innings.
It was a sorry capitulation by the Delhi Daredevils of whom much was expected. They promised so much, but finally the lack of a true middle order cost them their place in the league. In the earlier matches, they made do with their openers' brilliance and consistency. However, a total of 193 does not leave too much room for the openers to work themselves in. The openers perished and as it turned out, they took the team down with them.
However, for cricket lovers, there were many things to be enjoyed in today's match. Shane Warne had a brilliant match. Even though he was out for a first ball duck, he had the reins of the match in his hand and made the match turn whichever way he wanted with a twist here or a wring there.
The amount of work that has gone into his planning and individual detail was reflected in the way he got Shane Watson to open the bowling against Sehwag and Gambhir while keeping Munaf in check for the second spell. And Watson it was who consumed Sehwag with a well directed short ball, while young Taruvar Kohli grabbed a stunner to net Watson another personal victory.
It was not as if Watson had asserted his dominance over the Delhi duo in past matchups. Far from that. On an earlier occasion, the Delhi openers have beaten Watson to a pulp enoute to their 9 wicket victory. However, as Warne demonstrated, this game is all about confidence. He thrust Watson in, gave him the responsibility and the trust required. And Watson had it in him to come up trumps.
Once this period was over, the Royals were squarely on top. Unremitting fielding efforts and innovative field placements (2 slips whenever called for) were seen throughout the last innings of the game. And to add to all this, Shane Warne's brilliant mixture and arsenal of weapons was on show in this match. The fizz and spin that this retired genius can bring to a cricket pitch has to be seen to be believed. The leg spinner from the other team, Amit Mishra, knew very little about the balls he faced from Warne.
At the end, Rajasthan Royals simply annihilated the Delhi Daredevils - so much so that it left the Delhi team looking sheepish and even overmatched. While Delhi will need to try and develop some real middle order batting, the Royals will look at tomorrow's match with interest to see who they are going to meet next at the summit clash.
Amendment - there were indications of a spiced battle until Delhi took guard. Then it all went haywire and all semblance of a contest between the two teams was abandoned about halfway through the second innings.
It was a sorry capitulation by the Delhi Daredevils of whom much was expected. They promised so much, but finally the lack of a true middle order cost them their place in the league. In the earlier matches, they made do with their openers' brilliance and consistency. However, a total of 193 does not leave too much room for the openers to work themselves in. The openers perished and as it turned out, they took the team down with them.
However, for cricket lovers, there were many things to be enjoyed in today's match. Shane Warne had a brilliant match. Even though he was out for a first ball duck, he had the reins of the match in his hand and made the match turn whichever way he wanted with a twist here or a wring there.
The amount of work that has gone into his planning and individual detail was reflected in the way he got Shane Watson to open the bowling against Sehwag and Gambhir while keeping Munaf in check for the second spell. And Watson it was who consumed Sehwag with a well directed short ball, while young Taruvar Kohli grabbed a stunner to net Watson another personal victory.
It was not as if Watson had asserted his dominance over the Delhi duo in past matchups. Far from that. On an earlier occasion, the Delhi openers have beaten Watson to a pulp enoute to their 9 wicket victory. However, as Warne demonstrated, this game is all about confidence. He thrust Watson in, gave him the responsibility and the trust required. And Watson had it in him to come up trumps.
Once this period was over, the Royals were squarely on top. Unremitting fielding efforts and innovative field placements (2 slips whenever called for) were seen throughout the last innings of the game. And to add to all this, Shane Warne's brilliant mixture and arsenal of weapons was on show in this match. The fizz and spin that this retired genius can bring to a cricket pitch has to be seen to be believed. The leg spinner from the other team, Amit Mishra, knew very little about the balls he faced from Warne.
At the end, Rajasthan Royals simply annihilated the Delhi Daredevils - so much so that it left the Delhi team looking sheepish and even overmatched. While Delhi will need to try and develop some real middle order batting, the Royals will look at tomorrow's match with interest to see who they are going to meet next at the summit clash.
| 48 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Subscribe to this blog
