Gilchrist blasts Chargers into the final

CENTURION: Riding on skipper Adam Gilchrist’s brilliance, Deccan Chargers stunned league topper Delhi Daredevils by six wickets on Friday to enter the final of the IPL.

After Gilchrist (85, 35b, 10x4, 5x6) launched a breathtaking onslaught on the Daredevils attack, enterprising innings from Andrew Symonds (24) and T. Suman (24 not out) clinched it for Chargers in the first semifinal at the SuperSport Park. The Hyderabad team was chasing 154.
Blazing away

Man of the Match Gilchrist blazed away at the start. The punishing left-hander’s five successive boundaries off left-arm paceman Dirk Nannes in the opening over saw the Chargers seizing the initiative.

Nannes, a major factor in the Daredevils attack during the competition, was pulled, punched straight, slashed and driven between cover and mid-on by the intrepid Gilchrist.

Aashish Nehra brought the Delhi side some cheer when he castled an advancing Herschelle Gibbs for no score but Gilchrist continued to pound the bowling when the field restrictions were on.

After slamming Pradeep Sangwan, another left-arm paceman, for boundaries on either side of the wicket, he dumped the bowler over the mid-wicket fence. Gilchrist then turned his attention to Nehra. He creamed a no-ball past long-off and dismissed the free-hit over the sight-screen. Gilchrist’s 50, off a mere 17 deliveries, was the fastest in the IPL.

Soon, Virender Sehwag’s off-spin was taken to the cleaners by Gilchrist; he cleared long-on, long-off and the straight field. Daredevils was bleeding.

Then, Azhar Bilakiha (10) was prised out by a googly from impressive leggie Amit Mishra. And Gilchrist miscued an attempted on-side stroke in the 10th over to provide Mishra with another wicket. By this point, the Chargers captain had swung the match, irrevocably, in favour of his side.

Earlier, a fighting innings from Tillakaratne Dilshan took Delhi Daredevils to 153 for eight after Gilchrist had opted to field.

Before he was run-out in the final over, Dilshan had made 65 (51b, 7x4, 1x6) to keep Daredevils in the hunt after the side had been rocked early.
Superb first over

Paceman Ryan Harris was immaculate with his length and direction in the first over of the Daredevils’ innings.

He kept Gautam Gambhir scoreless with his first four deliveries before the left-hander slashed in frustration to be picked up at third man.

Off the last delivery of a dramatic opening over, David Warner, another left-hander, could not keep a cut down and was held by Gibbs at backward point.

Daredevils had lost two wickets without scoring a run.

Virender Sehwag and Dilshan put the innings on the road with some calculated risks; Dilshan hooked left-armer Rudra Pratap Singh over a leaping Harris at the fine-leg fence. He had earlier survived a run-out chance when bowler Harris failed to gather cleanly a widish throw from mid-on with the batsman well short.

Sehwag punched Harris straight and took runs off Pragyan Ojha’s left-arm spin with a stunning inside-out stroke over covers off the back-foot.

He, later, took a similar route against Ojha; this time off the front-foot. Gilchrist’s ploy to take the pace off the ball with a spinner in operation did not quite pay off.
Lucky break

Dilshan was busy at the other end. He created width to cut Andrew Symonds to the fence but was put down — he was on 30 then — off the same bowler by ‘keeper Gilchrist.

With their bat speed and keen eye, Sehwag and Dilshan created scoring opportunities on both sides of the wicket and Chargers had a tough time in pegging back the run-rate.

Daredevils was 83 for two after 10 overs.

Symonds consumed Sehwag (39, 31b, 5x4) soon after the strategic break when the batsman moved across to turn an off-break and missed; a vociferous leg-before shout was upheld by umpire Billy Doctrove.

Daredevils had lost its third wicket at 85 in the 11th over.
Stunning shot

The combative Dilshan reached a well-deserved half-century with a scorching cut off medium-pacer Harmeet Singh, who otherwise sent down a tidy spell.

Dilshan had a slice of luck on 58 when Gibbs grassed a skier at deep mid-wicket off Rohit Sharma, sending down off-spin.

The in-form A.B. de Villiers slog-swept Ojha over the fence and thwacked Rohit beyond the widish long-on ropes.

De Villiers (26, 21b, 2x6), attempting a pull off R.P. Singh, was held by Gilchrist off the top-edge.

SCOREBOARD

 Delhi Daredevils: G. Gambhir c R.P. Singh b Harris 0 (5b), D. Warner c Gibbs b Harris 0 (1b), V. Sehwag lbw b Symonds 39 (31b, 5x4), T. Dilshan (run out) 65 (51b, 7x4, 1x6), A.B. de Villiers c Gilchrist b R.P. Singh 26 (21b, 2x6), D. Karthik b Harris 9 (8b, 1x6), R. Bhatia c Venugopala Rao b R.P. Singh 4 (2b, 1x4), A. Mishra (run out) 0 (1b), P. Sangwan (not out) 0 (1b); Extras (b-5, w-4, nb-1) 10, Total (for eight wkts. in 20 overs): 153.

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-0, 3-85, 4-133, 5-145, 6-151, 7-153, 8-153.

Deccan Chargers bowling: Harris 4-1-27-3, R.P Singh 4-0-33-2, Ojha 3-0-27-0, Symonds 3-0-20-1, Harmeet 3-0-15-0, Rohit 3-0-26-0.

Deccan Chargers: A. Gilchrist c Nannes b Mishra 85 (35b, 10x4, 5x6), H. Gibbs b Nehra 0 (2b), A. Bilakhia st. Karthik b Mishra 10 (20b), T. Suman (not out) 24 (25b, 3x4), A. Symonds c Warner b Mishra 24 (15b, 2x4, 1x6), Rohit (not out) 5 (11b), Extras (w-4, nb-2): 6; Total (for four wkts. in 17.4 overs): 154.

Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-91, 3-102, 4-137.

Delhi Daredevils bowling: Nannes 3-0-38-0, Nehra 4-0-38-1, Sangwan 2.4-0-21-0, Dilshan 3-0-13-0, Sehwag 1-0-25-0, Mishra 4-0-19-3.


Source:http://www.hindu.com