For most of Sunday (April 12), Delhi Daredevils did everything right in their Pepsi Indian Premier League match against Rajasthan Royals at the Feroz Shah Kotla. They put up a solid effort with the bat to get to 184 for 3 in 20 overs. Then, their bowlers, led by Imran Tahir (4 for 28) and Amit Mishra (2 for 32) had the match in control till the 12th over of the chase. But one man - Deepak Hooda - made all the difference with a blistering 25-ball 54 to take Rajasthan to a thrilling three-wicket, last-ball win as Delhi slipped to their 11th consecutive defeat.
When Hooda departed in the 19th over, holing out to Tahir, Rajasthan needed 19 off 11 balls. Chris Morris struck a six off the first ball he faced as the balance continued to shift. But Tahir castled James Faulkner and there seemed to be another twist to the tale.
Morris and Tim Southee, however, held their nerve and a last-ball boundary from the latter against Angelo Mathews sealed the game.
It was Mayank Agarwal who gave Delhi the impetus after they were asked to bat. A pull off Southee in the fifth ball of the innings set the tone and Southee was taken for 21 in his first two. Steven Smith chose to remove Morris after just one over, in which he had conceded five and brought Dhawal Kulkarni on. But Kulkarni was taken apart for four boundaries by Agarwal, who was clever and incisive, and Delhi had 44 on the board at the end of the fourth over.
However, the introduction of spin bore fruit immediately. Agarwal perished by the sword as he looked to cart Pravin Tambe over his head, only to pop the simplest of return catches to depart for 37 off 21.
JP Duminy had surprised a fair few with the baffling move to hold himself back till No. 7 in the one-run loss to Chennai Super Kings. But in an enterprising move, the Delhi captain promoted himself to No. 3.
The wicket had put the brakes on the scoring but Shreyas Iyer broke the shackles with a boundary and a six in the ninth over, off Faulkner. Shreyas struck some lusty blows thereafter and at 84 for 1 at the halfway stage, Delhi's innings was back on track.
Morris's re-introduction saw the end of Shreyas. He pulled the first ball over fine-leg for another six but another ambitious stroke five deliveries later resulted in a catch to mid-off and a promising innings ended on 40 off 30.
Yuvraj Singh (27 off 17) joined Duminy and the duo kept the scoreboard ticking as a quiet phase of play followed. When the teams broke for the second strategic timeout, the scorecard read 119 for 2 after 15, which meant Delhi had the liberty to go big in the final five.
Yuvraj signalled the intent immediately with a couple of powerful shots down the ground for six off Faulkner, who was taken for 17. But a wonderfully-judged catch from Karun Nair, who ran across from deep backward square-leg in the next over, brought Yuvraj's short burst to an end.
Faulkner was the target of almost every Delhi batsman. Mathews bludgeoned the first ball of the 18th over over long off. Faulkner would have had the last laugh but for Ajinkya Rahane spilling a chance at long-on. He ended with unflattering figures of 0 for 55 off four and Rajasthan paid for the reprieve as Mathews, then on 5, went on to make 27 not out off 14.
All the while, Duminy had struggled to accelerate. But the Delhi captain did a good job of holding one end up. Two sixes off the last over from Morris meant he made amends on that count as well and finished on an unbeaten 44 off 38, and gave Delhi a defendable total.
Rajasthan began the chase in quiet fashion before Rahane upped the ante with a combination of aggression and classical strokeplay. Soon enough, Rajasthan were striking at nearly nine an over before Mathews struck to give Delhi the breakthrough. Sanju Samson had looked far from assured during his short stay and gave a simple catch to Yuvraj at deep mid-wicket in an attempt to speed things up.
Amit Mishra then had the big fish when Smith failed to pick up a googly and holed out to long-on. Delhi kept the heat on as Mishra snapped Karun with another googly in his next over. The Karnataka batsman, not satisfied after having already collected two boundaries in the over, gave the bowler the charge only to completely miss the ball and Kedar Jadhav completed a straightforward stumping.
Rajasthan had a horrid time reading the googly and yet another one - this time from Tahir - saw the back of Stuart Binny, who was trapped in front.
The required rate had steadily crept up to nearly 12, and it was only in the 13th over, bowled by Mathews, that Hooda eased the nerves with a six and two fours.
Hooda had his share of luck as Delhi missed the chance to run him out before Manoj Tiwary dropped a catch and, to his horror, watched the ball sail over the boundary for a six. Rajasthan had made solid progress then, having collected 45 in three overs but Delhi bounced back with a timely strike when Tahir castled Rahane for 47.
Had Rajasthan taken the chance Hooda offered, it could have been a different tale. But Hooda made the most of it and his carnage proved too much in the end.
When Hooda departed in the 19th over, holing out to Tahir, Rajasthan needed 19 off 11 balls. Chris Morris struck a six off the first ball he faced as the balance continued to shift. But Tahir castled James Faulkner and there seemed to be another twist to the tale.
Morris and Tim Southee, however, held their nerve and a last-ball boundary from the latter against Angelo Mathews sealed the game.
It was Mayank Agarwal who gave Delhi the impetus after they were asked to bat. A pull off Southee in the fifth ball of the innings set the tone and Southee was taken for 21 in his first two. Steven Smith chose to remove Morris after just one over, in which he had conceded five and brought Dhawal Kulkarni on. But Kulkarni was taken apart for four boundaries by Agarwal, who was clever and incisive, and Delhi had 44 on the board at the end of the fourth over.
However, the introduction of spin bore fruit immediately. Agarwal perished by the sword as he looked to cart Pravin Tambe over his head, only to pop the simplest of return catches to depart for 37 off 21.
JP Duminy had surprised a fair few with the baffling move to hold himself back till No. 7 in the one-run loss to Chennai Super Kings. But in an enterprising move, the Delhi captain promoted himself to No. 3.
The wicket had put the brakes on the scoring but Shreyas Iyer broke the shackles with a boundary and a six in the ninth over, off Faulkner. Shreyas struck some lusty blows thereafter and at 84 for 1 at the halfway stage, Delhi's innings was back on track.
Morris's re-introduction saw the end of Shreyas. He pulled the first ball over fine-leg for another six but another ambitious stroke five deliveries later resulted in a catch to mid-off and a promising innings ended on 40 off 30.
Yuvraj Singh (27 off 17) joined Duminy and the duo kept the scoreboard ticking as a quiet phase of play followed. When the teams broke for the second strategic timeout, the scorecard read 119 for 2 after 15, which meant Delhi had the liberty to go big in the final five.
Yuvraj signalled the intent immediately with a couple of powerful shots down the ground for six off Faulkner, who was taken for 17. But a wonderfully-judged catch from Karun Nair, who ran across from deep backward square-leg in the next over, brought Yuvraj's short burst to an end.
Faulkner was the target of almost every Delhi batsman. Mathews bludgeoned the first ball of the 18th over over long off. Faulkner would have had the last laugh but for Ajinkya Rahane spilling a chance at long-on. He ended with unflattering figures of 0 for 55 off four and Rajasthan paid for the reprieve as Mathews, then on 5, went on to make 27 not out off 14.
All the while, Duminy had struggled to accelerate. But the Delhi captain did a good job of holding one end up. Two sixes off the last over from Morris meant he made amends on that count as well and finished on an unbeaten 44 off 38, and gave Delhi a defendable total.
Rajasthan began the chase in quiet fashion before Rahane upped the ante with a combination of aggression and classical strokeplay. Soon enough, Rajasthan were striking at nearly nine an over before Mathews struck to give Delhi the breakthrough. Sanju Samson had looked far from assured during his short stay and gave a simple catch to Yuvraj at deep mid-wicket in an attempt to speed things up.
Amit Mishra then had the big fish when Smith failed to pick up a googly and holed out to long-on. Delhi kept the heat on as Mishra snapped Karun with another googly in his next over. The Karnataka batsman, not satisfied after having already collected two boundaries in the over, gave the bowler the charge only to completely miss the ball and Kedar Jadhav completed a straightforward stumping.
Rajasthan had a horrid time reading the googly and yet another one - this time from Tahir - saw the back of Stuart Binny, who was trapped in front.
The required rate had steadily crept up to nearly 12, and it was only in the 13th over, bowled by Mathews, that Hooda eased the nerves with a six and two fours.
Hooda had his share of luck as Delhi missed the chance to run him out before Manoj Tiwary dropped a catch and, to his horror, watched the ball sail over the boundary for a six. Rajasthan had made solid progress then, having collected 45 in three overs but Delhi bounced back with a timely strike when Tahir castled Rahane for 47.
Had Rajasthan taken the chance Hooda offered, it could have been a different tale. But Hooda made the most of it and his carnage proved too much in the end.
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