Delhi Daredevils halt Deccan chargers

CENTURION: Have the bowlers finally learnt the trick of bowling well in Twenty20? That’s the question doing the rounds here and one that popped up yet again after another low-scoring encounter between Team Delhi and Team Hyderabad at Centurion on Thursday.
Delhi defeated Hyderabad by chasing down a target of 148 in 18.4 overs with Tillakaratne Dilshan 52 (46 balls, 4x4, 3x6) once again doing the rescue act and coming up with an unbeaten half-century. However, it was still a game dominated by the bowlers if not for a couple of performances with the bat that mattered.
The last few matches of the tournament have essentially been low-scoring ones. In fact, except for Hyderabad beating Chennai earlier this week and Mumbai Indians thrashing Knight Riders, the previous six matches haven’t seen a total of more than 150 being scored in the first innings.
Even then, teams batting second have more often than not struggled even with these targets. On Thursday, when Delhi restricted Hyderabad to a mere 148 and then managed to reach the target with just eight balls to spare, it was another reminder of how batsmen haven’t been finding it easy here despite the wickets on offer being flat belters.
Both teams used a minimum of six bowlers and except for a weak-link or two from either side, the economy rate hardly crossed seven per over.
When Team Delhi won the toss and elected to field, it was an apt reminder of how confident they could be with their attack given the kind of form Hyderabad have been enjoying.
They proved their decision to be a correct one when Dirk Nannes plotted the dismissal of Herschelle Gibbs by tying him down until frustration got the better of the opener. That was soon after Adam Gilchrist had lost his wicket while trying to get his team off to another quick start.
Other than Dwayne Smith, the rest of the top-order fell to a superbly mixed and matched effort by Delhi. Nannes bowled his first two overs and was rested for a spell later and while he remained the bowler of the day, Ashish Nehra and Pradeep Sangwan also did well to keep up the good work. With Daniel Vettori adding his left-arm flavour as icing on the cake, there wasn’t much that Hyderabad could do.


Source:http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com