#IPL8: #DDvRR

Delhi Daredevils after giving tough fight to Chennai Super Kings in their first match were up against Rajasthan Royals. Going into this match Daredevils needed to sort their team. They needed to bring their key players like Duminy and Yuvraj up in the batting order. Unfortunately Zaheer and Shami were not 100% fit so they didn't have much options in their bowling. On the other hand Rajasthan looks pretty good under Steve Smith's captaincy. They won their first game against Kings XI Punjab so they were pretty confident coming into this match. Both the teams were playing their second match against each other.

Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field first at Delhi. Delhi Daredevils made quite a few changes coming into this match. They dropped Albie Morkel, CM Gautam and Dominic Joseph. They brought in Angelo Mathews, Manoj Tiwary and Jaydev Unadkat. Kedar Jhadav was given the wicket keeper's gloves which was pretty good decision. After bringing changes in the team now it was time to change batting line up as well. Delhi Daredevils did that too as Shreyas Iyer came in the middle to open the innings with Mayank Agarwal this time around. Southee opened the bowling for Rajasthan Royals. Delhi Daredevils were off to a decent start as they got 13 runs from first two overs. After two overs Mayank Agarwal was on to his own. From 13/0 in 2 overs he took Delhi to 44/0 in 4 overs. He is famous for giving quick starts and he exactly gave that to Delhi. He was not able to convert that start into big one. Hence he got out in the next over. He made 37 off 21. It was a good cameo from him.

Duminy came in at no. 3 which was a good decision you need to play your key players upfront. I was expecting Manoj Tiwary at that number but none the less captain backed himself to bat at that position to lead from the front. After the wicket of Mayank Agarwal both Duminy and Shreyas Iyer started nudging the ball around and spent some time in the middle. Delhi Daredevils were 58/1 after 8 overs. Shreyas Iyer started expressing himself on the field. He hit a six and a four to Faulkner and Tambe in next two overs. He even dispatched Morris for a six in 11th over but he got out in the same over. Delhi Daredevils were 93/2 after 11 overs. Yuvraj was the next man in. It was great to see him back at no. 4. Delhi was back on track. It was a great decision to make him bat at that position. If you want to get best out of Yuvraj then you have to bat him at no. 4. Yuvraj took some 10 deliveries to get in. He scored only 10 runs of those 10 deliveries but then he came into his zone and became Yuvraj the Maharaj. He dispatched Faulkner for two huge sixes in the 16th over. His bat swing suggested that he was at his best. He took Delhi Daredevils' total to 136 with those two big sixes. In 17th over he tried to hit another one to Morris but Karun Nair took a brilliant catch to send him back to the pavilion. It was a great cameo from Yuvraj Singh. He gave the glimpses of what is going to come our way in upcoming matches.

Mathews came in after Yuvraj and he was onto his task straight away. He hit Faulkner for two fours and a six in 18th over. Daredevils were 158/3 after 18. While all the DD batsmen were making most of the small boundaries at Feroz Shah Kotla Duminy was playing run a ball innings. He came to the party in the last over. He hit Morris two big ones in that over and DD finished at 184. It was a great batting effort by Delhi Daredevils but it was a par score at Feroz Shah Kotla. Delhi needed to bowl out of their skins to defend that total. Rahane and Samson began the innings for Rajasthan. Royals were off to a steady start they scored only 23 runs in first 3 overs. Delhi got their first breakthrough in the 5th over as Mathews picked up Samson for 11. Royals were 37/1 after 5. Duminy brought his spinners on from the 7th over and it worked for him. Mishra picked up Steve Smith in the 7th over itself. Nair joined Rahane in the middle after the wicket of Steve Smith but he too got out in the 10th over. Rajasthan Royals were 74/3 after the completion of 10 overs.

Binny was the next man to the crease but his stay at the crease was very short. He got out on 1 off 2 balls. Next man in was Deepak Hooda. He played U-19 world cup with Sanju Samson and he showed what he is capable of in the first match against Kings XI Punjab. Seeing his team in trouble he was onto his job in a flash. He hit Mathews for two 4s and a 6 in 13th over. Royals reached to 104 at loss of 4 wicket after 13 overs. Yuvraj came on to bowl 14th over and he missed a run out chance of Hooda in that over. Hooda made most of that opportunity as he hit Unadkat two sixes in the next over. Tahir got the wicket of Rahane in the 16th over but he too was hit for a six by Hooda. After 17 overs Royals were 149/5. Rajasthan needed 36 runs off 3 overs to win the match and Coulter-Nile came into the attack. He gave away 17 runs in his last over while Dumimy went for him thinking that he will break that partnership. Tahir was asked to bowl the 19th over. It was a gamble but it worked for Duminy. Tahir picked up two cruicial wickets of Hooda & Faulkner and gave away only 7 runs in that over. Rajasthan needed 12 runs off the last over. Pinch hitters Southee and Morris were in the middle for them while Mathews was bowling the last over for Delhi Daredevils.

Mathews gave away only four runs of first three balls he bowled. Morris hit a 4 on the fourth ball but he only managed to take a single on the fifth of the over. 3 runs needed off the last ball. I felt the nerves through out that over. Mathews bowled the last ball and Southee hit him for a four. Rajasthan Royals won the match by 3 wickets. What a finish that was! Hats off to Morris and Southee who kept their nerves calm till last ball of the match. Delhi Daredevils lost another tight match. They fought till the last ball but were not able to come out as winners. They certainly are the dark horses of this season. Good thing for Delhi Daredevils is that they have sorted their batting line up and it looks damn good now. Only worry for them is the injuries of Zaheer and Shami. If they become fit then they will become the team to beat in this tournament. Delhi Daredevils' next encounter is with Kings XI Punjab. Let's hope for the best.

#IPL8: #DDvKXIP