Delhi Daredevils Win

Delhi Daredevils 191/5 in 20 ov beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 181/5 in 20 ov by 10 runs


It was A cracker of a match Yesterday although Dravid would be happier if he came off with a much needed win.Rahul Dravid played a good innings and along with Jaques Kallis took the Bangalore Royal challengers within shouting distance of a win..However The Pigeon was at his lethal best by picking up Four Wickets in Four Overs..Well Pigeon could still be playing International Cricket and be a headache for the Top Batsmen Today.Rahul Dravid must be thinking as to how to win a match as things are really getting out of hands.Vijay Mallya is second to none and hates losing and this could be Testing time for Vijay Mallya ..

However With Virender Sehwag right up there in terms of captaincy should be smiling as with every match a winning combination is being worked out which could spell trouble for the Other Teams..


The Bangalore Royal Challengers lost their fourth match of the IPL to the Delhi Daredevils by ten runs after a blistering innings from Gautam Gambhir and a four-wicket spell from Glenn McGrath. McGrath became the first man to pick up four wickets in the IPL while Gambhir continued his fine form for Delhi.

The match started with the toss and Bangalore captain Rahul Dravid called correctly and decided to field first. Dale Steyn started proceedings with the new ball with a tight opening over. But as is the trend with most T20 matches, the odd quiet over is duly compensated with the big-run over almost immediately. It was Zaheer Khan who suffered at the hands of the impressive Gautam Gambhir, who hit him for three successive fours when the bowler strayed on the pads too often.

His partner Virender Sehwag soon joined the party, once again going after Zaheer Khan depositing a short ball way into the stands over midwicket. Sehwag also hammered the next two deliveries for boundaries and Delhi were off to a flying start at 45 for no loss in 4 overs.

A brilliant piece of fielding from Ross Taylor at point, running in and hitting the stumps direct signaled the end of captain Sehwag for a quick fire 24 in 12 balls. Shikar Dhawan was the new man at the crease and the scoring was kept in check for a while. The singles were mixed with the odd boundary and the score moved on without too many risks being taken.

Left arm spinner Sunil Joshi came into the attack to bowl what was his only over of the innings. Gambhir and Dhawan hit him for one six each and the score got a move on at 138 for 1 in 14 overs.

The big hits continued from the bats of Gambhir and Dhawan, with the latter compiling a well made fifty before falling to a brilliant catch by Dravid diving low to his right. Gambhir continued his good form and he was unlucky to reach his century finally falling for 86. The Delhi Daredevils finished at 191 for 5, a tough ask for the Bangalore outfit.

The Royal Challengers needed a flying start to give them the confidence to chase a big total. But this was not to be as Praveen Kumar, a surprise pick for the openers slot, fell to McGrath in the very first over. The Uttar Pradesh all-rounder tried to flick the ball over midwicket but spooned a simple catch to Dhawan in the circle.

Much depended on Kiwi Ross Taylor, who was the best batsman on view in the Bangalore team so far in the IPL. He started with a flat six over long leg off the bowling off McGrath. Taylor made his liking for the midwicket area known to the opposition, aiming at that area off almost every delivery. McGrath got his man in the next over when Taylor slogged a slower ball into the safe hands of Dhawan at the square leg boundary. Jaffer followed suit soon, falling in the same over to McGrath.

Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid came to the crease and the two played themselves in without going for the big hits. With the asking rate climbing to over 10 runs an over, the risks were bound to be taken. Dravid and Kallis both tried to go after the bowling but they only managed to find the fielders. The frustration grew as the asking rate grew further, with only one over of significance bowled by Rajat Bhatia going for 14 runs.

Spinner Daniel Vettori was very economical, strangling the batsmen and not giving them any room to play their shots. The pressure created by him showed with Dravid being dismissed by McGrath in the 16th over off a leading edge to cover. At the time of DravidÂ's dismissal, the Royal Challengers needed 52 runs form 24 balls and this was a bit too much to ask from Kallis and the other batsmen to follow.

Kallis fell after being tied down by Daniel Vettori and a last over of 19 runs reduced the margin of defeat for Bangalore, but they will have to come up with miraculous performances to lift themselves from the bottom of the league.