AB de Villiers won the battle of the master blasters against Matthew Hayden on Thursday to give Delhi Daredevils a nine-run win over Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League thriller.

South African De Villiers rode his luck to finish unbeaten on 105 as Delhi made 189-5 in their 20 overs and Australian Hayden hit 57 as he triggered a heroic run chase that ended at 180-9 after a late collapse at Kingsmead.

Victory maintained the 100 percent record of Delhi while Chennai suffered their second loss in three matches in a tournament. “I kept it simple, hit the ball and enjoyed myself. I really had to work hard for my first 50 as my timing was a bit off, but the runs flowed from then on,” De Villiers said after the first ton of the 59-match tournament.

Delhi team-mate Paul Collingwood of England branded the De Villiers innings “perfect” and recently retired Test batsman Hayden called it a “magnificent, patient and methodical” stand.

Daredevils lost their openers inside the first two overs and needed a hero.Enter De Villiers to gradually subdue his opponents and hit six sixes and five fours in a 54-ball masterclass. He did have a moment of luck after reaching 50 when compatriot Albie Morkel was guilty of sloppy fielding at the boundary to drop a simple opportunity of sending De Villiers packing.

Hayden made a quickfire 57 in a reply that was on track until former England skipper Andrew Flintoff was caught by substitute David Warner to leave Chennai on 156-5 and two last-over run-outs settled the outcome.

Tags: Ab De Villiers, Albie Morkel, Andrew Flintoff, Chennai Super kings, Chennai Super Kings Vs Delhi Daredevils, Daredevils, Delhi Daredevils, Dhoni, Gambir, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, Mathew Hayden, Paul Collingwood, Sehwag, Super Kings

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Yet another interesting match in the Indian Premium League season two, between the Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings has just begun in Durban.

Daredevils won toss and chose to bat first. The openers Gambir (0) and Sehwag (6) walked back to the pavilion in the initial overs leaving the Delhi devils in a critical position. The scenario was changed completely by the Sri Lankan Dilshan who made the fastest 50 with just 24 balls. Raina’s catch with Morkel’s bowling brought Dilshan’s performance to a halt when he was 50. The openers wickets were taken by L.Balaji and Manpreet Gony.

The latest score update is 90-3 in 10 overs.

Tags: Albie Morkel, Chennai Super kings, Chennai Super Kings Vs Delhi Daredevils, Delhi Daredevils, Dhoni, Dilshan, Gambir, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL Scores, IPL South Africa, IPL Updates, L Balaji, Manpreet Gony, Sehwag, Sri Lanka, Suresh Raina

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After bouncing back from their opening match defeat, last year’s runners-up Chennai Super Kings will look to maintain their winning momentum as they take on Delhi Daredevils in their Indian Premier League match here on Thursday.

Chennai Super Kings had a shaky start when they lost to Mumbai Indians in the IPL opener but Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men bounced back in the next match beating the Bangalore Royal Challengers by 92 runs.

With orange cap wearer Australian Matthew Hayden in great touch even after his retirement, CSK have no less a batting firepower than the formidable looking batting line-up of the Daredevils and cracker of a match is on the cards on Thursday.

Hayden, the current leading scorer, smashed the second fastest fifty in IPL en route to his 35-ball 65 and in company with Parthiv Patel plundered 106 runs for the opening wicket against Bangalore.

Chennai have some fine all-rounders in England’s Andrew Flintoff and South African Albie Morkel and with left-hander Suresh Raina also finding his form with a valuable 28 against Bangalore, there doesn’t seem to be any major chink in their batting resources.

Delhi Daredevils have also some in-form batsmen in their ranks with skipper Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir showing no problems in scoring easy runs. Delhi is also having some quality players like big hitter David Warner and old warhorse Glenn McGrath, who are still to make an appearance in the second edition of the Twenty20 extravaganza.

Among pacers, the Daredevils will depend on exuberance of Indian youngsters Pradeep Sangwan, Yo Mahesh and Australian Dirk Nannes, while Super Kings will have the task entrusted on Manpreet Gony, Laxmipathi Balaji and all-rounders Flintoff and Morkel.

And with spinners dominating the game so far, tomorrow’s match would also be a clash between New Zealander Daniel Vettori and Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan, both scalping three wickets in their last matches.

Tags: Albie Morkel, Chennai Super kings, Chennai Super Kings Vs Delhi Daredevils, Daniel Vettori, Delhi Daredevils, Dhoni, Flintoff, Gambir, IPL 2, IPL 2009, IPL 2009 News, IPL South Africa, L Balaji, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Mathew Hayden, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sehwag, Suresh Raina

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Delhi Daredevils with their victory over Kings XI Punjab became the second team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to register a 10-wicket win.

Daredevils on Sunday also became the first team to post a 10-wicket win in the second edition of the IPL.

The following are the others stats of the match between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab:

• Vettori (3-15) recorded his best bowling figures in the IPL, surpassing the 1/19 against Bangalore on April 30, 2008.
• Vettori has been adjudged the Man of the Match for the first time in the IPL.
• Delhi Daredevils’ victory on Sunday is their first in three IPL games against Kings XI Punjab.
• With their ten-wicket victory, Delhi Daredevils have won eight out of 15 IPL matches contested.
• Gambhir’s aggregate of 549 runs in the IPL is exceeded only by Shaun Marsh (616).
• Karan Goel (38 off 21 balls) posted his highest innings in the IPL, surpassing the 26 off 21 balls against Rajasthan at Jaipur on April 21, 2008.
• Ravi Bopara and Karan Goel were associated in a 67-run stand for the first wicket – Kings XI’s best for the first wicket against Delhi. The stand is the best for Kings XI for any wicket against Delhi.
• Kings XI (102 sixes) became the first team to register 100 sixes in the IPL.

Tags: Daniel Vettori, Delhi Daredevils, Gambir, Gautam Gambir, IPL 2, IPL 2009 News, IPL South Africa, Karan Goel, Kings XI Punjab, Man Of the Match, Rajasthan Royals, Ravi Bopara, Sehwag, Shaun Marsh, sixes

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Virender Sehwag blasted 38 from just 16 deliveries to help the Delhi Daredevils ease to a 10 wicket Duckworth-Lewis victory over the Kings XI Punjab in a rain-affected Indian Premier League clash in Cape Town.

Daniel Vettori (3/15) sent down a miserly spell of bowling earlier to help reduce Punjab to 104 for seven – with Karan Goel (38) and Ravi Bopara (22) the main contributors – in their innings, which was initially reduced to 12 overs.

In response, Gautam Gambhir and Sehwag made a flying start reaching 24 in just 1.5 overs, before the game was reduced even further with a total of 54 needed from six overs.

And needing 30 from 25 balls after the resumption, the pair showed no mercy and helped their side overhaul Punjab’s revised total with more than an over to spare, Sehwag the destroyer with his innings including three sixes and four fours.

Earlier, the game was reduced to just 12 overs aside on account of the sporadic drizzle around Newlands and after winning the toss, Sehwag asked the opposition to bat first and the innings was that of two tales.

First, Goel and Bopara helped their side to a racing start in which they put on 67 in just six overs before the former was out, caught by Vettori at mid-off – Yo Mahesh the bowler.

Bopara went first ball after the break when he was trapped leg before wicket by Vettori’s first delivery, followed by the wicket of Kumar Sangakkara (eight) when he top-edged the same bowler to Dirk Nannes running back from short fine-leg.

Yuvraj Singh (16), Piyush Chawla – both run-out – and Mahela Jayawardene (6) all went in the final over from the New Zealand captain, in which the 100 also finally came up.

Aavishkar Salvi then bowled a miserly final over conceding just six runs at the cost of the wicket of Irfan Pathan (6) as Punjab set their opponents 105.

Tags: Aavishkar Salvi, Cape Town, Daniel Vettori, Delhi Daredevils, Delhi daredevils Vs Kings XI Punjab, Gambir, Gautam Gambir, IPL 2, IPL 2009 News, IPL South Africa, Ipl T20, Kings XI Punjab, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, New Zealand, Piyush Chawla, Ravi Bopara, Sehwag, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj, Yuvraj Singh

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Here is the latest update regarding the toss of the third IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab. The match was delayed due to rain and after the toss, rains have started pouring again delaying the match further more. The overs have been reduced to 14 and its still not sure when the match is expected to resume. Also another disappointing information is that the next match between Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders is also happening in the same Cape Town at 8.00 pm IST.

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The toss for the third match of the second edition of the Indian Premier League between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab was delayed by 30 minutes due to rain at Newlands in Cape Town on Sunday.

The match is about to start after the toss with Delhi Daredevils winning the toss and opting to field first.

The game is eagerly awaited as the hottest opening pair in the game – Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir – joins into IPL Season Two action as Team Delhi begins their campaign against Yuvraj Singh’s Kings XI Punjab.

Tags: bollywood, Cape Town, Delhi Daredevils, Delhi daredevils Vs Kings XI Punjab, Gambir, Gautam Gambir, Glen McGrath, IPL 2, IPL 2009 News, IPL South Africa, Ipl T20, Kings XI Punjab, McGrath, Preity Zinta, Sehwag, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj, Yuvraj Singh

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It’s tempting to say that every T20 match is a clash among equals. Both Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab had lost in semifinals last year.

Each losing match hurts, but losing in the semifinals probably hurts more because you are not counted among the elites who make the finals despite being better than the masses. That way, these teams would have this extra urge to go one step further this year.

Even in the unpredictable scheme of things, the Daredevils possess something that set them apart. In Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir they have two openers who have tormented every attack they have faced in the last year in every form of the game.

Having said that and taken note of the fact that the Kings XI attack looks a little weak with Brett Lee injured out, every team facing the Daredevils would like to believe that it’s a one-ball game for batsmen. Irrespective of the destruction one may cause, one good ball, bad shot, good catch or a run out can quickly change things.

Then again, the Daredevils are not all about openers. There is meat in the middle in the form of De Villiers and Paul Collingwood apart from Australian opener David Warner who may have to come in after the openers. How they choose the four foreigners is to be seen though and their bowling looks slightly thin apart from Glenn McGrath.

The Kings XI too have a strong batting line-up with Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Yuvraj Singh being the prominent ones. Their biggest concern should be the absence of Shaun Marsh and the lack of big Indian names in batting. It’s likely that three of their four foreigners will be batsmen, which may leave the attack a little weakened.

After assessing the pros and cons, the Daredevils appear to be holding a slender edge nonetheless. Then again, since it is T20 where nothing is certain until it has happened, we maintain that the match starts on an even keel.

Tags: bollywood, Brett Lee, Daredevils, David Warner, De Villers, Delhi Daredevils, Delhi daredevils Vs Kings XI Punjab, Gambir, Gautam Gambir, Glen McGrath, IPL 2, IPL 2009 News, IPL 2010 - IPL 3, IPL South Africa, Ipl T20, Kings XI Punjab, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Paul Collingwood, Preity Zinta, Sehwag, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj, Yuvraj Singh

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Just after Virender Sehwag said that he would like to play as a middle order batsman again, former Indian Test stars have their suggestions and opinions and have given an unanimous thumbs down to his idea.

Former players Sandeep Patil, Nayan Mongia and Ajit Wadekar strongly believe that Sehwag should continue to open the batting as his solid starts along with Gautam Gambhir was helping the team win more matches than never before.

Sandeep Patil, who himself was an attacking middle order batsman during early 80s and was a member of the 1983 World Cup winning team, said the Indian team’s new-found overseas success was mainly due to the solid starts given by the two Delhi openers Sehwag and Gambhir and secondly due to the lion-hearted bowling by the Indian seamers, particularly Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma.

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Despite his success as an opener, Virender Sehwag has said he still belongs to the middle order and would love to bat there if he got the chance. Sehwag said he had asked the team management to push him down the order when he felt he was out of form but had been told he would contribute better as an opener.

“I was a middle-order batsman who was asked to open and luckily for me, things went really well,” Sehwag told. “In fact, till date, as an opener I am just doing a job given to me by the team management. Given a choice, I would happily slide down and play in the middle-order because that’s where I belong. But right now, I have a job entrusted to me and I love the responsibility, so no regrets at all.”

In eight Tests in which he batted between No. 4 and No. 7, Sehwag averaged 41.55, with one century and two half-centuries. As an opener he averages 51.21 from 64 Tests.

Sehwag also said he and his opening partner Gautam Gambhir motivated themselves by placing bets on who would score faster. “I believe that a sense of competition always helps achieve your best and so we indulge in these little games. I really teased him when I outscored him in the one-day series and he told me he would get back at me. After the Test series, he’s teasing me about how many more runs he scored than me.”

Sehwag felt he was going through the best phase of his career as his performances had translated into wins for the team. “There are several factors surrounding these statistics — the dressing-room atmosphere, the team-mates, coach, captain — it’s everything you could dream of.” Sehwag has scored a triple-hundred, a double-hundred and five half-centuries in the 15 Tests since Gary Kirsten took over as coach in March 2008. India did not lose any of the matches in which he scored fifty or more.

Tags: Gambir, Gary Kirsten, Gautam Gambir, Sehwag, Virender Sehwag

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