Mumbai Indians v/s Delhi Daredevils

Big-city clash may miss biggest star Match facts Sunday, May 4 2008 Start time 16.00 (local), 10.30 (GMT) The Big Picture The age-old Ranji rivalry gets a twist: Mumbai, so dominant in recent domestic cricket, are bottom of the IPL table, and the most expensive franchise are clearly struggling. Delhi, the current Ranji champions, are on top and looking a good bet to go all the way. Mumbai are faced with twin headaches: protecting themselves from a rampaging assault by Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, the IPL's most explosive opening pair and among the top run-getters in the event, and overpowering the nagging accuracy of Glenn McGrath and Mohammad Asif and their backup team of Yo Mahesh, Rajat Bhatia and Farveez Maharoof, who combine to make Delhi the most fearsome bowling attack. Mumbai's cause isn't helped by the fact that Sachin Tendulkar is unlikely to play. But they must bank on carrying forward the confidence and teamwork they displayed at Eden Gardens in their last match, where they had their maiden victory. Sanath Jayasuriya and Shaun Pollock once again, will hold the key in what promises to be a contest of aggression against bowling intellect. Watch out for ... ... Sehwag v Pollock and Jayasuriya v McGrath + Asif + Yo Mahesh is on the menu for Sunday late afternoon. Sehwag has already got a 34-ball century at the ground in a corporate Twenty20 event, so he will look forward to repeating the feat. Team news Despite Tendulkar playing a practice game on Friday the team management is still sweating over his fitness. Pollock said on Saturday that Mumbai might stick to the combination that won in Kolkata, indicating Tendulkar's unavailability. The one change, perhaps, could be allrounder Musavir Khote replacing Manish Pandey, who got a duck. Mumbai (probable) 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Sanath Jayasuriya, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Dwayne Bravo, 5 Shaun Pollock, 6 Abhishek Nayar, 7 Pinal Shah (wk), 8 Musavir Khote, 9 Dilhara Fernando, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Dhawal Kulkarni. McGrath was seen holding an ice pack to his right shoulder after completing his spell mid-way into the Chennai game on Friday. Considering Delhi are top of the points tally, they might even give him a break and offer fellow Australian Brett Geeves his second game. Delhi (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Shikhar Dhawan, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Dinesh Karthik, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Yo Mahesh, 9 Glenn McGrath, 10 Pradeep Sangwan, 11 Mohammad Asif. IPL form Mumbai Indians: LLLLW Delhi Daredevils WWLWW Stats and trivia Gambhir was the second-highest run-getter in the ICC World Twenty20 with 227 runs in seven matches. Pradeep Sangwan was the leading wicket-taker for Delhi in his debut Ranji season, with 33 wickets Loots Bosman was the first to score a century in South Africa's Pro20 competition Quotes "No strategy works if one batsman or one bowler gets going." Sehwag, the Delhi Daredevils captain "We will take the confidence of the last game into this game and hopefully we will put them under some pressure. They (Daredevils) obviously have some top players and their top order has performed well." Shaun Pollock, Mumbai Indians captain.

Delhi go top after eight-wicket win

Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils Toss Chennai Super Kings, who chose to bat first Result Delhi Daredevils won by 8 wickets (with 6 balls remaining) Player of the match V Sehwag (Delhi Daredevils) A clinical Delhi Daredevils recorded an eight-wicket win to bump their opponents, Chennai Super Kings, off the No. 1 spot and end Mahendra Singh Dhoni's 100% record at the IPL. The match was effectively decided by a century stand inside 12 overs between Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir after Chennai's innings floundered in the absence of their Australian batting stars. Unlike Chennai's top order, which relied on wild and often mistimed shots to get boundaries, Gambhir and Sehwag scored in masterful fashion. In their partnerships, even in Tests, the two sometimes look like they have a private bet running on who can score faster. Today Sehwag won it hands down as he raced to his fifty off 24 balls. With net run-rate deciding league positions, Sehwag wasted no time in teeing off the chase at the venue of his recent triple-century. He slashed Makhaya Ntini for a six off the fourth ball of the innings and followed it up the next over with two more off Manpreet Gony. Joginder Sharma was taken for 19 runs in his first over as Sehwag hit a six and two fours. He fell, when 55 were needed off 52 balls, trying to replicate his first six. Gambhir may have looked subdued in comparison to Sehwag but he was in a mood to attack as well. He drove and pulled with the confidence that Chennai's batsmen lacked. The two openers offered few chances and never seemed to be in doubt of how to pierce the field. Chennai clearly missed the power and experience of Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey, who'd scored nearly a third of the team's runs in the tournament before this game. Barring S Vidyut's half-century, no other innings was memorable. In fact Vidyut's innings was full of unintentional shots - one, in the 10th over, was a pull edged off Asif that sailed over the keeper for four - and it was largely memorable because it was his debut. Credit must go to Delhi's bowlers, though, who bounced back impressively after the initial assault and prevented Chennai from posting a more challenging total. If not for Albie Morkel's late charge, Chennai would have struggled to get a par score. Between overs 12 and 16, Delhi conceded only 31 runs as Mohammad Asif, Glenn McGrath and Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh bowled fuller and cut out Dhoni's attempts to step out of the crease and attack. Yo Mahesh, who had conceded two free-hits before bowling Stephen Fleming in his first over, conceded only one run in his final over. Virender Sehwag shuffled his bowlers about - giving Asif only one over in his opening spell - and with all his fast bowlers having finished their quotas, he tossed the ball to Rajat Bhatia for the final over. Bhatia, who hadn't bowled in the innings so far, impressed as he conceded only 11. Delhi have not been greatly affected by the exodus of international players - they have lost only Daniel Vettori - and, with a third of the league done, they will fancy their chances of staying at the top of the points table.

Gambhir, McGrath star in Delhi win

Bangalore Royal Challengers v/s Delhi Daredevils Toss Bangalore Royal Challengers, who chose to field first Result Delhi Daredevils won by 10 runs Player of the match GD McGrath (Delhi Daredevils) Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan laid out the carpet and Glenn McGrath, returning the best figures in the IPL's brief history, walked over it as the Delhi Daredevils got themselves back on track after a blip in their last game. It wasn't a comfortable win, as the Bangalore Royal Challengers kept them to 191 for 5 when 205 seemed an easy total and later when Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid threatened to chase it down, but another choke from the visiting side - who for the third game running left Misbah-ul-Haq on the bench - put Delhi at second in the points table. The Feroz Shah Kotla track wasn't known for any major assistance to seam or swing and Dravid's decision to field on a sluggish surface with variable bounce ultimately turned out to be a mistake. After a quiet first over, Gambhir waded into the Bangalore attack in stunning fashion. First he took Zaheer Khan for three fours, a delectable square cut tucked between two shots off the pads, and then hit Dale Steyn for a couple more. Virender Sehwag hit a few lusty shots before he was run out for a 12-ball 24, but Gambhir applied himself excellently. Scoring wasn't easy given the low bounce but shuffling and waiting for the ball to come onto him - there were certain shots that had to be checked as the ball stopped on him - he slashed boundaries backward of point and pulled through the infield. With Dhawan very solid at one end, and consciously playing the ball along the ground, Gambhir backed his judgment of the track to slash boundaries backward of square both sides. Bangalore pulled back the scoring for a couple overs but Sunil Joshi, replacing Anil Kumble, had a torrid first over that went for 19 as both batsmen picked up sixes. Dhawan, upright and packing his drvies with power, scored at a very healthy clip. A massive slog off Kallis took him to 49, and he looked set to press on after his fifty but a stunning catch from Dravid at midwicket cut him short. Steyn and Kallis rattled the stumps to check Delhi's middle order and, having lost strike for a brief while, Gambhir slogged Zaheer to midwicket for 86 from 54 balls. Delhi were on target for over 200 but those strikes left them short. They may have been a tad disappointed by not going further but with McGrath leading a tidy pace they backed themselves. The maestro, bowling as metronimically as he did in his pomp, needed five deliveries to remove Praveen Kumar, flicking to midwicket, but his double-wicket third over was massive: Ross Taylor's gung-ho approached ended in a top-edge to deep midwicket and Wasim Jaffer did the same to mid-on. From 48 for 3 after five overs Dravid and Kallis, with near 20,000 Test runs between them, added 87 in 10.3 overs. Yo Mahesh and Rajat Bhatia went for 26 in two overs through classy, low-risk shots before pumped sixes lowered the asking rate further. Kallis went past his previous IPL best, mostly with shuffled flicks, and Bangalore needed 58 with seven wickets and 30 balls remaining. That's when Sehwag tossed the ball back to McGrath. Three balls later Dravid was walking back for 38, his slog into the starry night setting into Sehwag's palms at mid-on. McGrath finished with 4 for 29, a special and memorable effort. Kallis thumped himself past fifty but a fourth miserly over from another one-day international master, Daniel Vettori, effectively killed all hopes. Vettori allowed just five singles and cleaned up Kallis with a quick arm ball off the sixth. That left Bangalore with 30 to win from six balls and it proved too much for Mark Boucher, who still hit two sixes and a four. Eleven out of 16 matches have been won by sides chasing but Bangalore failed to master two crafty bowlers when it mattered most. Delhi, despite the departure of Vettori, remain one of the better sides in the tournament.

Delhi Daredevils v Bangalore Royal Challengers-Preview

Match facts Wednesday April 30, 2008 Start time 20.00 (local), 14.30 (GMT) The Big Picture Both teams are coming off defeats in their previous games, which makes Wednesday's encounter at the Feroz Shah Kotla all the more interesting. Bangalore Royal Challengers missed a golden opportunity to score a win in front of their home crowd on Monday, choking in the face of some disciplined bowling by the Chennai Super Kings. That defeat, their third in four games, leaves them at the bottom of the points table but they are a much better team than their form suggests. Delhi, on the other hand, came apart against an inspired Kings XI Punjab in Mohali, where their middle order was tested for the first time and Mohammad Asif and Glenn McGrath were unusually subdued. Back on home ground, Delhi should start as favourites. Watch out for ... ... Virender Sehwag taking on Dale Steyn. Sehwag took him apart during the first Test against South Africa in Chennai recently, where his early onslaught set the tone for his record-breaking 319. Ross Taylor, if he plays, facing Daniel Vettori should also make for an interesting battle of New Zealanders, as both would like to sign off their IPL campaigns in style. Team news Vettori plays his final game of the IPL before heading to England and his selection seems a certainty. He could replace Farveez Maharoof, who had a rare bad day in Mohali, leaking 31 off three overs. Delhi would also welcome AB de Villiers' arrival from South Africa and his inclusion could see Shoaib Malik making way. Delhi Daredevils (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag (capt), 3 Shikhar Dhawan, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Manoj Tiwary, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Vijaykumar Yomahesh, 10 Mohammad Asif, 11 Glenn McGrath. Bangalore will check on the fitness of Anil Kumble, who missed the previous game. Misbah-ul-Haq, a reputed Twenty20 player, would be raring to get a game and could come in place of Jacques Kallis, whose appeared uncharacteristically flat in all four games. B Akhil pulled up with an injury against Chennai which leaves the slot open for another seamer, or a spinner in KP Appanna. Bangalore Royal Challengers (probable) 1 Wasim Jaffer, 2 Rahul Dravid (capt), 3 Ross Taylor 4 Bharath Chipli, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Virat Kohli, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 KP Appanna. Stats and trivia The biggest margin of victory in terms of wickets is nine, and Delhi have figured in two of them. Clearly, they are a dangerous side when set a target. Misbah-ul-Haq is the second highest run-getter in Twenty20 internationals with 338 runs. Daniel Vettori has an impressive economy rate of 5.50 in Twenty20 internationals. Quotes "This is a long tournament and I think the defeat actually helped us identify certain grey areas and address those issues." Rajat Bhatia, the Delhi allrounder, thinks the defeat against Punjab could be a blessing in disguise. "We are lagging behind in the tournament and every match from now on is important for us. At this stage, we just cannot afford to make a mistake." Rahul Dravid, the Bangalore captain, demands improvement

Indian Premier League Teams

I P L Teams : Bangalore Royal Challengers (Bangalore) Chennai Super Kings (Chennai) Delhi DareDevils (Delhi) Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad) Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur) Kolkata Knight Riders (Kolkata) Kings XI Punjab (Mohali) Mumbai Indians (Mumbai)

Delhi Daredevils

Delhi Daredevils Owner: GMR Holdings Franchise fee: $84 million Most expensive player: Virender Sehwag - $833,750 Captain: Virender Sehwag Coach: Greg Shipperd Players: Virender Sehwag Gautam Gambhir Shoaib Malik AB de Villiers Dinesh Karthik Glenn McGrath Mohammad Asif Tillakaratne Dilshan Pradeep Sangwan Daniel Vettori Brett Geeves Farveez Maharoof Rajat Bhatia Shikhar Dhawan Tejashwi Yadav Yo Mahesh Mithun Manhas Amit Mishra Yogesh Nagar Manoj Tiwary Mayank Tehlan