Delhi keeps hopes alive, beat Bangalore by 5 wickets

Delhi Daredevils’ loss to Kings XI Punjab in a rain-hit encounter a few days ago had put the Virender Sehwag-led side in a difficult position. The Delhi boys needed to win all their next three matches to stay in the reckoning for a berth in the semi-final of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL).

And that is exactly what happened when Delhi Daredevils beat Bangalore Royal Challengers by 5 wickets on Monday at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore to ensure its first victory in the quest for a spot in the final four. A similar result was achieved the last time these two sides locked horns a few weeks earlier. On that occasion, hosts Delhi came out victorious by a slender margin of 10 runs.

Chasing a modest 155 set by the hosts, the Daredevils got off to a blitzkrieg of a start. Captain Virender Sehwag and his trusted ally, Gautam Gambhir put on 90 runs before the former lost his wicket in the seventh over. Sehwag had amassed 47 off 19 balls. Delhi’s hundred run-mark came at the fall of Gambhir’s wicket in just the ninth over. Sehwag was at his destructive best and in contrast, Gambhir played anchor scoring a slow but resilient 39, But soon enough both openers were back in the dugout.

A slight hiccough saw three Delhi wickets fall in quick succession. But Shikhar Dhawan (16) and Farveez Maharoof (13) took their side home with 10 balls to spare.

With a brilliant start, it was only a matter of scoring a run-a-ball and Delhi always seemed in control even thought they lost a few wickets in the middle.

Anil Kumble was the pick of the Bangalore bowlers picking up 2 wickets for 18 runs from his 4 overs,

Earlier in the day, Delhi had won the toss and elected to field. Bangalore already has lost a chance to qualify for the next round but playing for pride didn’t seem to make them look any more determined.

Glenn McGrath (2/15) and Farveez Maharoof (2/13) kept picking up wickets at regular intervals and never allowed the Bangalore batsmen to settle into a rhythm.

Jacques Kallis (25) got a start but failed to capitalize on it. Shreevats Goswami (52) and Misbah-Ul-Haq (47) looked good but wickets kept perishing around them. Goswami, a member of India’s victorious ICC Under-19 World Cup campaign this year, impressed one and all as he made his IPL debut.

There was no steady partnership to carry the Royal Challengers to a challenging score. Although some Delhi bowlers failed to curtail the run rate (Pradeep Sangwan went for as many as 17 runs per over), it was the fulcrum of McGrath, Maharoof and Yo Mahesh that always kept Bangalore under pressure.

On a rare occasion, the Player of the Match award went to Shreevats Goswami of the losing team and that was the only consolation of the night. Not being able to cope up with pressure has resulted in Bangalore’s ninth loss in eleven matches.

Delhi has two matches to go and will need to win both to stay alive and pip the Mumbai Indians to the fourth spot of that semi-final berth.

In the next match of the IPL, the Kolkata Knight Riders will take on the Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.