Showing posts with label IPL 5 NEWS. Show all posts
Vijay century overpowers Delhi
The questions everyone was asking after the toss were: why is the virtually unknown offspinner Sunny Gupta making his IPL debut in Delhi Daredevils' biggest game of the season and why was purple cap holder Morne Morkel dropped? The questions resonated through the game and will haunt the Daredevils management for long, as one of the biggest tactical goof-ups in IPL history meant another season of dominance at the league stage ended without a win in the playoffs.
M Vijay clubbed a century and Chennai Super Kings took their toll of the weakened Daredevils attack to run up the highest score of the tournament. The decision to leave out Morkel had been based partly on wanting to strengthen an already intimidating batting line-up but the target was too much to ask even of Daredevils' superstars.
Super Kings came into the competition boasting a batting unit littered with match-winners but they rarely clicked together in the league phase. In the playoffs, though, they have been a transformed side. Two days after mauling Mumbai Indians, their batsmen fired again leaving Daredevils bowlers utterly clueless. Gupta was taken for 47 in his three overs and Varun Aaron conceded 63 in his four, the most expensive figures in IPL history.
Much of the punishment came at the hands of Vijay, who hasn't had the best of tournaments. A poor run at the start of the season left him with the unwanted distinction of being the only retained Indian player to be dropped in 2012. Super Kings backed him after leaving him out for a few games, and he repaid the faith with a big-match innings that has put them in their third final in a row.
The hammering started in the first over, as Gupta's first two deliveries were driven to the long-off boundary by Vijay. Normally a player who favours the leg-side, his lofted drives through the off side were the highlight of the innings. Even with Michael Hussey sensibly pushing the ball around and letting Vijay go for the big hits, Super Kings motored to 68 in eight overs.
Hussey fell soon after but by the time Virender Sehwag came on to bowl in the 11th, Vijay was unstoppable. That over kickstarted another phase of heavy scoring: first a six to midwicket that was brilliantly caught by Ross Taylor who stepped on the rope as he landed, then a powerful cut behind backward point for four, followed by a boundary to long-on and a six over cow corner. After that second six, Vijay was at such ease that he was sharing a joke with non-striker Suresh Raina. Two overs of mayhem later, when Vijay safely guided a ball to third man, he was gesticulating in frustration for having taken only a single off the delivery.
Daredevils didn't help matters with their shoddy catching. Sehwag was awfully leaden-footed to a miscue from Raina to cover while David Warner, possibly their best fielder, grassed MS Dhoni at long-on. The bowling from Daredevils wasn't particularly poor - there weren't too many hit-me full tosses or gifted-away deliveries down the leg side - but was merely run-of-the-mill length stuff that was no worry to Super Kings' marauders. Morne Morkel's control was sorely missed.
Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo played mini-versions of their powerhouse efforts against Mumbai Indians while Vijay went on to his century, which he celebrated with gusto pointing to the back of his shirt and showing his relief to put an indifferent run firmly behind him.
Facing with a massive target, Daredevils had another surprise in store: for the first time this season, Sehwag didn't open. Mahela Jayawardene came out at the top of the order and, though he stuck around for a characteristically elegant half-century, the game was virtually done within the fourth over of the chase as both Sehwag and David Warner were dismissed.
Super Kings' batting may grab all the headlines, but their fielding has also been top-class this season, highlighted by Vijay's sharp catch to dismiss Warner and then the running take by Hussey to send back Sehwag.
Ross Taylor slogged a couple of sixes over midwicket but his over-reliance on that stroke cost him as he miscued a wide delivery to mid-on. Jayawardene was left with too much to do, and after he was bowled after missing a reverse-sweep, there was no one to stop Daredevils from sliding to the biggest defeat of the season. Article Source
M Vijay clubbed a century and Chennai Super Kings took their toll of the weakened Daredevils attack to run up the highest score of the tournament. The decision to leave out Morkel had been based partly on wanting to strengthen an already intimidating batting line-up but the target was too much to ask even of Daredevils' superstars.
Super Kings came into the competition boasting a batting unit littered with match-winners but they rarely clicked together in the league phase. In the playoffs, though, they have been a transformed side. Two days after mauling Mumbai Indians, their batsmen fired again leaving Daredevils bowlers utterly clueless. Gupta was taken for 47 in his three overs and Varun Aaron conceded 63 in his four, the most expensive figures in IPL history.
Much of the punishment came at the hands of Vijay, who hasn't had the best of tournaments. A poor run at the start of the season left him with the unwanted distinction of being the only retained Indian player to be dropped in 2012. Super Kings backed him after leaving him out for a few games, and he repaid the faith with a big-match innings that has put them in their third final in a row.
The hammering started in the first over, as Gupta's first two deliveries were driven to the long-off boundary by Vijay. Normally a player who favours the leg-side, his lofted drives through the off side were the highlight of the innings. Even with Michael Hussey sensibly pushing the ball around and letting Vijay go for the big hits, Super Kings motored to 68 in eight overs.
Hussey fell soon after but by the time Virender Sehwag came on to bowl in the 11th, Vijay was unstoppable. That over kickstarted another phase of heavy scoring: first a six to midwicket that was brilliantly caught by Ross Taylor who stepped on the rope as he landed, then a powerful cut behind backward point for four, followed by a boundary to long-on and a six over cow corner. After that second six, Vijay was at such ease that he was sharing a joke with non-striker Suresh Raina. Two overs of mayhem later, when Vijay safely guided a ball to third man, he was gesticulating in frustration for having taken only a single off the delivery.
Daredevils didn't help matters with their shoddy catching. Sehwag was awfully leaden-footed to a miscue from Raina to cover while David Warner, possibly their best fielder, grassed MS Dhoni at long-on. The bowling from Daredevils wasn't particularly poor - there weren't too many hit-me full tosses or gifted-away deliveries down the leg side - but was merely run-of-the-mill length stuff that was no worry to Super Kings' marauders. Morne Morkel's control was sorely missed.
Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo played mini-versions of their powerhouse efforts against Mumbai Indians while Vijay went on to his century, which he celebrated with gusto pointing to the back of his shirt and showing his relief to put an indifferent run firmly behind him.
Facing with a massive target, Daredevils had another surprise in store: for the first time this season, Sehwag didn't open. Mahela Jayawardene came out at the top of the order and, though he stuck around for a characteristically elegant half-century, the game was virtually done within the fourth over of the chase as both Sehwag and David Warner were dismissed.
Super Kings' batting may grab all the headlines, but their fielding has also been top-class this season, highlighted by Vijay's sharp catch to dismiss Warner and then the running take by Hussey to send back Sehwag.
Ross Taylor slogged a couple of sixes over midwicket but his over-reliance on that stroke cost him as he miscued a wide delivery to mid-on. Jayawardene was left with too much to do, and after he was bowled after missing a reverse-sweep, there was no one to stop Daredevils from sliding to the biggest defeat of the season. Article Source
IPL 5: Can Delhi overcome a resurgent Chennai?
One game each into the IPL 5 playoffs, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils have played contrasting games with contrasting results. Having snuck into the playoffs through the back door, Chennai brought their A game to the Eliminator where, inspired by a ballistic MS Dhoni, they crushed Mumbai Indians. Delhi, having topped the league stage, stormed into the playoffs and promptly played one of their worst games of the season against Kolkata Knight Riders. Given one more shot to make the finals – on the basis of being No. 1 in the league – they cannot afford to be remotely as shoddy as they were in the previous game when they face the defending champions in Chennai on Friday.
Delhi's strategy of keeping Ross Taylor back to No. 6 behind Venugopal Rao and Pawan Negi in the first Qualifier was befuddling, and whether they persist with the out-of-form New Zealand batsman remains to be seen. If they look past Taylor, the man to come in could be Roelof van der Merwe who also offers variety with his left-arm spin. But more importantly, Delhi need more from David Warner, Virender Sehwag and Mahela
Chennai's victory over Mumbai will have given them plenty of confidence. They are two-time IPL winners and know a thing or two about performing in the playoffs. Don't expect them to offer Delhi much.
In what is essentially a semi-final, the key battles in this contest are: Sehwag vs Ben Hilfenhaus; Suresh Raina v Morne Morkel; and Dhoni v Delhi's death bowlers. On a good batting track and in humid conditions that could make for a dewy night, the tussle that could end up being even bigger is at the toss.
Hilfenhaus has been a superb addition to Chennai's squad – he has 11 wickets from seven matches – and his duel with Sehwag could be engaging. In the previous encounter between these two teams, Hilfenhaus extracted Sehwag with a peach of a ball that the Delhi captain termed as "unplayable" en route to the Man-of-the-Match award. Sehwag has since managed scores of 4 and 8 and Delhi's fate hinges on runs off his bat. Sehwag is a nervous starter and Hilfenhaus will have to tempt him into false shots outside off stump.
For Chennai, Raina's indifferent form in IPL 5 – 341 runs with no fifties – has been masked by runs from Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo and Dhoni along with good work from the bowlers, but considering the left-hander is a big-match player Delhi will hope to get him early. Raina has produced match-winning turns in past IPL playoffs and considering he was bowled first ball on Wednesday he would be hungry to leave an impact. In that regard, Morkel – the leading wicket-taker this season – will need to test him with the short stuff. Raina has succumbed to short-pitched bowling several times in 2012 and this has to be a tactic Delhi rely on.
After his robust 20-ball 51 in the Eliminator, Dhoni has roared to life after a series of subdued innings. Like Raina a player for the big occasion, the brutality shown by Dhoni against Mumbai Indians does not bode well for Delhi, whose bowling at the late overs has been suspect, especially from Irfan Pathan and Varun Aaron.
Will Chennai trample Delhi and make their third consecutive IPL final? Can Delhi come back from a crushing loss and reach their maiden final? The answers lie ahead in what could be a fascinating - and somewhat historic, should Chennai lose - match.
Probable XIs:
Chennai Super Kings: 1 Murali Vijay, 2 Michael Hussey, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 S Badrinath, 5 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Albie Morkel, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Shadab Jakati, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus
Delhi Daredevils: 1 David Warner, 2 Virender Sehwag (capt), 3 Naman Ojha (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Ross Taylor, 6 Venugopal Rao, 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Pawan Negi/Shahbaz Nadeem, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Varun Aaron Article Source
Delhi's strategy of keeping Ross Taylor back to No. 6 behind Venugopal Rao and Pawan Negi in the first Qualifier was befuddling, and whether they persist with the out-of-form New Zealand batsman remains to be seen. If they look past Taylor, the man to come in could be Roelof van der Merwe who also offers variety with his left-arm spin. But more importantly, Delhi need more from David Warner, Virender Sehwag and Mahela
Chennai's victory over Mumbai will have given them plenty of confidence. They are two-time IPL winners and know a thing or two about performing in the playoffs. Don't expect them to offer Delhi much.
In what is essentially a semi-final, the key battles in this contest are: Sehwag vs Ben Hilfenhaus; Suresh Raina v Morne Morkel; and Dhoni v Delhi's death bowlers. On a good batting track and in humid conditions that could make for a dewy night, the tussle that could end up being even bigger is at the toss.
Hilfenhaus has been a superb addition to Chennai's squad – he has 11 wickets from seven matches – and his duel with Sehwag could be engaging. In the previous encounter between these two teams, Hilfenhaus extracted Sehwag with a peach of a ball that the Delhi captain termed as "unplayable" en route to the Man-of-the-Match award. Sehwag has since managed scores of 4 and 8 and Delhi's fate hinges on runs off his bat. Sehwag is a nervous starter and Hilfenhaus will have to tempt him into false shots outside off stump.
For Chennai, Raina's indifferent form in IPL 5 – 341 runs with no fifties – has been masked by runs from Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo and Dhoni along with good work from the bowlers, but considering the left-hander is a big-match player Delhi will hope to get him early. Raina has produced match-winning turns in past IPL playoffs and considering he was bowled first ball on Wednesday he would be hungry to leave an impact. In that regard, Morkel – the leading wicket-taker this season – will need to test him with the short stuff. Raina has succumbed to short-pitched bowling several times in 2012 and this has to be a tactic Delhi rely on.
After his robust 20-ball 51 in the Eliminator, Dhoni has roared to life after a series of subdued innings. Like Raina a player for the big occasion, the brutality shown by Dhoni against Mumbai Indians does not bode well for Delhi, whose bowling at the late overs has been suspect, especially from Irfan Pathan and Varun Aaron.
Will Chennai trample Delhi and make their third consecutive IPL final? Can Delhi come back from a crushing loss and reach their maiden final? The answers lie ahead in what could be a fascinating - and somewhat historic, should Chennai lose - match.
Probable XIs:
Chennai Super Kings: 1 Murali Vijay, 2 Michael Hussey, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 S Badrinath, 5 MS Dhoni (capt/wk), 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Albie Morkel, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Shadab Jakati, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus
Delhi Daredevils: 1 David Warner, 2 Virender Sehwag (capt), 3 Naman Ojha (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Ross Taylor, 6 Venugopal Rao, 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Pawan Negi/Shahbaz Nadeem, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Varun Aaron Article Source
