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The apparent imbalance in the Delhi Daredevils' line-up is sure to haunt the team periodically as the Indian Premier League-IV progresses.
The damage caused by the inadequacy of bowling resources cannot always be undone by the team's batting. Tuesday was one such day.
Once Deccan Chargers sensed its chances, it kept the hold on Daredevils' throat and walked away in style, having completed a 16-run triumph before a partisan crowd at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground.
Even as the host was left to tend to its raw nerve following its second successive defeat in two home games, Chargers celebrated its second triumph in five games.
Chargers in charge
Chasing 169 for victory, Daredevils slipped to 38 for three in the sixth over and left the Chargers in charge. Harmeet Singh's twin blows, including the scalp of a dangerous-looking Virender Sehwag, effectively pushed Daredevils on to the back-foot. Thereafter, the host always struggled to catch up with the mounting run rate.
Opener David Warner and a confident Y. Venugopala Rao, the two most reliable batsmen for Daredevils in the season so far, held out hope of a turnaround during their 52-run stand before the superiority of Chargers' bowling made the decisive difference.
Venugopala's dismissal, to a well-timed jump-and-pluck effort by Daniel Christian at long-off, was the beginning of the end for Daredevils. Nine runs later, Warner followed suit, soon after his half-century, failing in his bid to give part-timer Shikhar Dhawan the stick.
Among the rest, the over-priced but under-performing Irfan Pathan did precious little. James Hopes and Yogesh Nagar provided the flicker, with a few big hits, before the spark was expectedly and effectively doused.
Good decision
It was a good decision to bat by Kumar Sangakkara, even though Sehwag too had favoured a chase. Chargers, at one stage looking good for a total in excess of 180, managed a fighting 168 for four, built mainly around the 92-run second-wicket stand involving Man-of-the-Match Sunny Sohal and Sangakkara.
Sohal joined the band of lesser lights to shine brightly in this edition. This flashy Punjab stroke-player, as is his wont, did not let go of any scoring opportunity. Notably, Sohal exceeded expectations during his association with Sangakkara, though both players had an equal number of big hits before being caught brilliantly by Aaron Finch, running backwards.
Unlike the classy Sri Lankan, Sohal got a high number of boundaries in the third man region. He showed a penchant for the late-cut but did not always execute it well. What counted was that he got the runs.
Sangakkara, lucky to get two successive boundaries off Yogesh Nagar after misfields by Morne Morkel, was class personified during his stellar knock. Unlucky to miss a half-century, Sangakkara drove and cut in great style and once again proved that beauty and grace can adorn your game even in the shortest form of the game.
Cameroon White did his bit in the later part of the innings with a brisk unbeaten 31. Though the eventual tally did not appear very intimidating, Chargers' better bowling resources ensured that it proved enough on this day.
Tame attack
Lacking teeth and tenacity, the Delhi bowlers did nothing much to help their reputation. To make matters worse, some ordinary fielding affected their chances too. Upfront, Ashok Dinda went for 13 runs in the opening over and helped the visiting team get off to the confident start it had wanted. A lacklustre Pathan appeared to be saving himself to last the competition instead of going flat out in two bursts.
Morne Morkel and James Hopes, too, were far from impressive. Spinners Shahbaaz Nadeem and Yogesh Nagar, looking miserable, were taken for 37 runs in four overs.
Indeed, Sehwag's body language only confirmed his belief that the team's progress in the competition rested solely on the batting.
Scoreboard
Deccan Chargers: S. Sohal c Finch b Nadeem 62 (41b, 1x6, 8x4), S. Dhawan b Pathan 8 (5b, 2x4), K. Sangakkara c Finch b Dinda 49 (35b, 1x6), C. White (not out) 31 (25b, 1x6, 2x4), D. Christian b Hopes 8 (11b), B. Chipli (not out) 5 (3b); Extras (b-1, lb-2, w-2): 5; Total (for four wkts. in 20 overs): 168.
Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-106, 3-129, 4-156.
Delhi Daredevils bowling: Dinda 4-0-33-1, Pathan 4-0-28-1, Morkel 4-0-31-0, Hopes 4-0-36-1, Nadeem 3-0-24-1, Nagar 1-0-13-0.
Delhi Daredevils: D. Warner c Teja b Dhawan 51 (48b, 1x6, 5x4), V. Sehwag c Christian b Harmeet 12 (7b, 3x4), N. Ojha lbw b Christian 2 (4b), A. Finch c Sangakkara b Harmeet 0 (1b), Y. Venugopala Rao c Christian b Mishra 21 (23b, 3x4), Irfan c Chipli b Ojha 5 (9b, 1x4), J. Hopes (not out) 17 (14b, 1x4), Y. Nagar b Christian 23 (11b, 2x6, 1x4), M. Morkel (not out) 8 (3b, 1x6); Extras (b-6, lb-1, w-6): 13; Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs): 152.
Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-33, 3-38, 4-90, 5-99, 6-112, 7-144.
Deccan Chargers bowling: Steyn 4-0-24-0, Christian 4-0-38-2, Harmeet 4-0-27-2, Ojha 3-0-21-1, Mishra 4-0-28-1, Dhawan 1-0-7-1.
Man-of-the-Match: Sunny Sohal.
The damage caused by the inadequacy of bowling resources cannot always be undone by the team's batting. Tuesday was one such day.
Once Deccan Chargers sensed its chances, it kept the hold on Daredevils' throat and walked away in style, having completed a 16-run triumph before a partisan crowd at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground.
Even as the host was left to tend to its raw nerve following its second successive defeat in two home games, Chargers celebrated its second triumph in five games.
Chargers in charge
Chasing 169 for victory, Daredevils slipped to 38 for three in the sixth over and left the Chargers in charge. Harmeet Singh's twin blows, including the scalp of a dangerous-looking Virender Sehwag, effectively pushed Daredevils on to the back-foot. Thereafter, the host always struggled to catch up with the mounting run rate.
Opener David Warner and a confident Y. Venugopala Rao, the two most reliable batsmen for Daredevils in the season so far, held out hope of a turnaround during their 52-run stand before the superiority of Chargers' bowling made the decisive difference.
Venugopala's dismissal, to a well-timed jump-and-pluck effort by Daniel Christian at long-off, was the beginning of the end for Daredevils. Nine runs later, Warner followed suit, soon after his half-century, failing in his bid to give part-timer Shikhar Dhawan the stick.
Among the rest, the over-priced but under-performing Irfan Pathan did precious little. James Hopes and Yogesh Nagar provided the flicker, with a few big hits, before the spark was expectedly and effectively doused.
Good decision
It was a good decision to bat by Kumar Sangakkara, even though Sehwag too had favoured a chase. Chargers, at one stage looking good for a total in excess of 180, managed a fighting 168 for four, built mainly around the 92-run second-wicket stand involving Man-of-the-Match Sunny Sohal and Sangakkara.
Sohal joined the band of lesser lights to shine brightly in this edition. This flashy Punjab stroke-player, as is his wont, did not let go of any scoring opportunity. Notably, Sohal exceeded expectations during his association with Sangakkara, though both players had an equal number of big hits before being caught brilliantly by Aaron Finch, running backwards.
Unlike the classy Sri Lankan, Sohal got a high number of boundaries in the third man region. He showed a penchant for the late-cut but did not always execute it well. What counted was that he got the runs.
Sangakkara, lucky to get two successive boundaries off Yogesh Nagar after misfields by Morne Morkel, was class personified during his stellar knock. Unlucky to miss a half-century, Sangakkara drove and cut in great style and once again proved that beauty and grace can adorn your game even in the shortest form of the game.
Cameroon White did his bit in the later part of the innings with a brisk unbeaten 31. Though the eventual tally did not appear very intimidating, Chargers' better bowling resources ensured that it proved enough on this day.
Tame attack
Lacking teeth and tenacity, the Delhi bowlers did nothing much to help their reputation. To make matters worse, some ordinary fielding affected their chances too. Upfront, Ashok Dinda went for 13 runs in the opening over and helped the visiting team get off to the confident start it had wanted. A lacklustre Pathan appeared to be saving himself to last the competition instead of going flat out in two bursts.
Morne Morkel and James Hopes, too, were far from impressive. Spinners Shahbaaz Nadeem and Yogesh Nagar, looking miserable, were taken for 37 runs in four overs.
Indeed, Sehwag's body language only confirmed his belief that the team's progress in the competition rested solely on the batting.
Scoreboard
Deccan Chargers: S. Sohal c Finch b Nadeem 62 (41b, 1x6, 8x4), S. Dhawan b Pathan 8 (5b, 2x4), K. Sangakkara c Finch b Dinda 49 (35b, 1x6), C. White (not out) 31 (25b, 1x6, 2x4), D. Christian b Hopes 8 (11b), B. Chipli (not out) 5 (3b); Extras (b-1, lb-2, w-2): 5; Total (for four wkts. in 20 overs): 168.
Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-106, 3-129, 4-156.
Delhi Daredevils bowling: Dinda 4-0-33-1, Pathan 4-0-28-1, Morkel 4-0-31-0, Hopes 4-0-36-1, Nadeem 3-0-24-1, Nagar 1-0-13-0.
Delhi Daredevils: D. Warner c Teja b Dhawan 51 (48b, 1x6, 5x4), V. Sehwag c Christian b Harmeet 12 (7b, 3x4), N. Ojha lbw b Christian 2 (4b), A. Finch c Sangakkara b Harmeet 0 (1b), Y. Venugopala Rao c Christian b Mishra 21 (23b, 3x4), Irfan c Chipli b Ojha 5 (9b, 1x4), J. Hopes (not out) 17 (14b, 1x4), Y. Nagar b Christian 23 (11b, 2x6, 1x4), M. Morkel (not out) 8 (3b, 1x6); Extras (b-6, lb-1, w-6): 13; Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs): 152.
Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-33, 3-38, 4-90, 5-99, 6-112, 7-144.
Deccan Chargers bowling: Steyn 4-0-24-0, Christian 4-0-38-2, Harmeet 4-0-27-2, Ojha 3-0-21-1, Mishra 4-0-28-1, Dhawan 1-0-7-1.
Man-of-the-Match: Sunny Sohal.