Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians - Match 55 - SuperSport Park, Centurion

It was the final league match between for the Mumbai Indians and the Daredevils and the need for victory varied for both the teams. While Delhi wanted to win this match to prove their supremacy and go into the semis with some sort of momentum, Mumbai needed this win as a morale booster after crashing out of the tournament. Mumbai who were put in to bat by Delhi didn't have the greatest of starts loosing the wickets of Jayasuriya(0), JP Duminy(9) and Ashraful(2) early in the innings. However Sachin(47 from 38 balls) and Rahane(56 from 41 balls) played brilliantly and helped Mumbai to a total of 165 in their quota of 20 overs. On the bowling front Dirk Nannes bagged 3 wickets for 27 runs and Sangwan picked up a couple of wickets for the Daredevils.
Needing 166 for victory, Delhi started their chase solidly with Gautam Gambhir contributing 47 from 38 balls. Shewag announced his return to form with a brilliant half century from just 27 balls. Shewag belted the hapless Mumbai bowling for 5 fours and 2 big sixers. With just 22 runs for victory from around 6 overs Delhi had a slight hiccup loosing the wickets of Shewag, Dilshan(24 from 14 balls), R Bhatia(2) and de Villers(6) to Harbhajan in a span of 14 balls. But a cameo from Mishra who hit 13 runs of just 4 balls took Delhi to brilliant 4 wicket win with 21 balls to spare.

Toss
Delhi Daredevils won the toss and chose to field.

Brief Scores
Mumbai Indians - 165/8 in 20 overs(A Rahane - 56, S Tendulkar - 46, D Nannes - 3/27, P Sangwan - 2/28)
Delhi Daredevils - 166/6 in 17.3 overs(V Shewag - 50, G Gambhir - 47, H Singh - 4/17, D Kulkarni - 1/36)

Result
Delhi Daredevils won the match by 4 wickets.

Royal Banglore Challengers Vs Delhi Daredevils - Match 52 - New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

It was a do or die match for Royal Banglore Challengers against the tournament leaders Delhi Daredevils. A win here would mean that Royals can keep their semi-finals dream alive, but on the other hand a defeat would make leave them to the mercy of other teams and a must win situation against Deccan Chargers the next match. Delhi who decided to bat first, had another bad start loosing both Shewag and Manhas for "DUCK". The early wickets meant that Delhi could not attack in the first 6 overs and with Dilshan being rested for this match, the Delhi line up looked vulnerable. G Gambhir(27 from 19 balls) and De Villers(28 from 29 balls) could not capitalize on the starts they got. Whenever Delhi looked to accelerate, they lost wickets and hence their run rate never looked ominous. D Karthik's form in this second half of the tournament is an encouraging sign for Delhi. Karthik made 31 from 29 balls. He looked to take singles and doubles and when the time came for him to get his big shots in the last two overs, he lost his wicket to Kumar. In the end Delhi managed a score of 134 loosing 3 wickets. P Kumar picked up two wickets and Kumble got a couple of wickets. But the best bowler for the Banglore was J Kallis. Kallis bowled his four overs conceding just 17 runs and also picked up the important wicket of Gambhir.

The loss of Robin Uthappa early in their chase did not impact the Challengers run chase. Kallis and Rahul were involved in a brilliant partnership and with the run rate not a demanding one, they took time to settle and played risk free cricket. Dravid fell to Nagar after making 38 from 34 balls. Ross Taylor blasted off by hitting 3 sixers and a four, making 25 from just 12 balls, before he succumbed Nagar. With 34 needed from 5 overs Kallis who remained unbeaten on 58 and Boucher ensured a Royal Challenger victory without any further damage.

Toss
Delhi Daredevils won the toss and chose to bat first.

Brief Scores
Delhi Daredevils - 134/7 in 20 overs(D Karthik - 31, AB De villiers - 28, P Kumar - 3/30, A Kumble - 2/24)
Banglore Royal Challengers - 135/3 in 19 overs(J Kallis - 58*, R Dravid - 38*, Y Nagar - 2/20, A Nehra - 1/21)

Result
Banglore Royal Challengers won by 7 wickets

Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals - Match 50 - OUTsurance Oval, Bloemfontein

Delhi added another victory to their kitty by beating Rajasthan Royals in the match 50 of the DLF IPL 2. Choosing to bat first, Delhi lost their openers early, a sight which has become common for the Daredevils and it was once again left to the duo of DeVilliers and Dilshan to bring Delhi back and track and help Delhi to a respectable total. DeVilliers made a brilliant unbeaten 79 from 55 balls while Dilshan contributed 33 from 41 balls. The partnership of Dilshan and DeVillers was a risk free partnership which depended more on ones and twos rather than the boundaries. Once Dilshan got out, Karthik and DeVilliers went into full throttle and helped Delhi post a total of 150 on the board. Karthik contributed 23 from 11 balls.

Rajasthan made a complete mess of their chase when they lost 3 wickets for just 24 runs at the end of the powerplay. Nehra bowled brilliantly conceding just 8 runs from his 3 overs and also picking up the wicket of Quiney. Only J Botha(37 from 31 balls) and R Jadeja(24 from 18 balls) looked to score some runs. Once the wickets of Botha and Jadeja fell it was curtains for Royals. Munaf Patel made an entertaining 23from 10 balls at the end of Rajasthan innings, but it came a little too late as Rajasthan conceded a 14 run victory to Delhi Daredevils.

Toss
Delhi Daredevils won the toss and choose to bat.

Brief scores
Delhi Daredevils - 150/3 in 20 overs(AB deVillers - 79*, T Dilshan - 33, M Patel - 2/39, J Botha - 1/23)
Rajasthan Royals - 136/9 in 20 overs(J Botha - 37, R Jadeja - 24, A Mishra - 3/33, A Salvi - 2/19)

Result
Delhi Daredevils won by 14 runs.

Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils - Match 46 - OUTsurance Oval, Bloemfontein

A brialliant spell from Bret Lee reduced the dangerous Delhi batting line up to ashes and paved way for a crucial Punjab victory. Delhi batsmen who were put into bat first by Yuvi, didn't live up to their reputation as wickets after wickets kept tumbling. Punab bowlers led by Bret Lee maintained a tight leash over the Delhi run rate. M Manhas(26 of 25 balls) and D Karthik(32 of 29 balls) were the only batsmen who could negotiate the punjab bowling and helped Delhi breach the three figure mark. Even Sreesanth who till now leaked loads of runs took 2 wickets at an economy of 5 runs per over, an achievement of sorts considering the fact that till last match his average econoy was more then 10 per over. Bret Lee finished with a brilliant spell of 3/15.
Punjab chased down the target quite easily even though they lost some early wickets. Kumara Sangakara who remained unbeaten on 43 from 47 balls and I Pathan(21* from 11 balls) guided Punjab to a comfortable victory.

Toss
Kings XI Punjab won the toss and chose to field.

Brief Scores
Delhi Daredevils - 120/9 in 20 overs(D karthik - 32, M Manhas - 26, B Lee - 3/15, S Sreesanth - 2/20)
Kings XI Punjab - 123/4 in 19.1 overs(K Sangakara - 43*, I Pathan - 21*, Mahroof - 2/29, A Nehra - 1/6)

Result
Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets.

Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians - Match 35 - Buffalo Park, East London

Delhi Daredevils beat Mumbai Indians convincingly by 7 wickets, thanks to some tight bowling by the Delhi seamers. With Jayasuriya out of the match Mumbai Indians decided to bat first banking on some solid partnership at the top of the innings, but their new openers in Luke Ronchi and JP Duminy didn't bother scoring a run. A careless act cost Sachin his wicket in the form of run out and the Delhi bowling never allowed Mumbai the much required momentum. D Bravo who made 38 runs from 30 balls was the only batsman worth mentioning as Mumbai were bowled out for 116 at the end of their 2o overs.

Chasing a small target of 117, Delhi batsman were on target forging good partnerships. The openers added 42 runs before both Gambhir and Warner were dismissed in quick interval. But a 50+ partnership between deVilliers and Dilshan with deVillers scoring an unbeaten 50 helped Mumbai reach their target with 7 balls to go.

Toss

Mumbai Indians won the toss and chose to bat

Brief Scores

Mumbai Indians - 116 all out in 20 overs(D Bravo - 35, A Nayar - 18, R Bhatia - 3/15, A Nehra - 2/27)

Delhi Daredevils - 118/3 in 18.5 overs(AB deVilliers - 50*, D Warner - 21, H Singh - 1/21, L Malinga - 1/30)

Result

Delhi Daredevils won by 7 wickets

Chennai Super Kings Vs Delhi Daredevils - Match 26 - New Wanderes Stadium, Johannesburg - Bulletin

Little known Shadab Jakati spun Chennai Super Kings to a memorable victory on a batsman friendly Wanderers pitch. On a pitch which was predicted to produce the first 200+ innings score, Gauti won the toss and decided to field first,and Dhoni was banking on the Hayden - Raina factor to post a competitive score on board. Hayden did start off the Chennai innings with a zing scoring 30 of just 19 balls, but the wickets of Vijay and Hayden in quick succession bought together Badrinath and Raina. These two played brilliantly after the strategic time out and got the run rate near nine runs per over, before Raina was caught in the deep after making 32 of 21 balls. S Badrinath's blinder of an innings came to an end when he lost his sticks trying to improvise on Bhatia's bowling. Once the wicket of Badri was lost, Chennai kept loosing wickets regularly. Morkel and Dhoni, the most dreaded power hitters in the line up failed to live up to their reputation and Chennai lost all the wickets for 163 runs. On the bowling front, the left arm seamers Ashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes grabbed three wickets each giving away 27 runs.

With the likes of in-form deVillers and Dilshan, Delhi started off their chase on the batsmen friendly Wanders pitch as favourites. It needed some special effort and a few once in a life - time performance from Chennai to score some points in this game. Chennai got exactly what they prayed for, when Raina took a blinder of a catch to dismiss dangerous looking Gambhir and the next ball Sudeep Tyagi got one to nip back a bit and the in - form deVillers had his woodwork disturbed. Jakati was introduced into the attack and he bowled a brilliant delivery which got rid of Dilshan and reduced Delhi to 53/3. David Warner and Dinesh Karthik came to Delhi's rescue and with their brilliant counter - attack left Dhoni hoping for just another miracle. The miracle came when Warner tried to get down the track and score a maximum of Jakati, but the ball spun, beat him and Dhoni completed a neat stumping. David Warner was out for 51 and Chennai heaved a sigh of relief as the dreaded partnership was broken. Manhas tried to hoik Murali over the ropes only to find hear the sound of his sticks getting disturbed. Karthik fell after scoring a brilliant 42 of 31 balls and with this wicket Delhi had lost their chase. Delhi managed to score just 10 runs of the final over in which they required 28, thereby handing over a 18 run, much needed victory to Chennai. This win propels Chennai to the fourth place in the points table and throws the tournament wide open.

Toss:
Delhi Daredevils won the toss and elected to field

Teams:
Chennai Super Kings
M Vijay, M Hayden, S Raina, M S Dhoni, A Morkel, S Badrinath, S Jakati, J Oram, L Balaji, M Muralitharan, S Tyagi
Delhi Daredvils
G Gambhir, V Shewag, T Dilshan, AB de Villiers, M Manhas, D Karthik, D Nannes, D Vettori, A Nehra, A Mishra, P Sangwan

Brief Scores:
Chennai Super Kings - 163 all out in 20 overs(S Badrianth - 45, S Raina - 31, A Nehra - 3/27, D Nannes - 3/27)
Delhi Daredevils - 145/8 in 20 overs(D Karthik - 52, D Warner - 51, S Jakati - 4/24, S Tyagi - 2/18)

Result:
Chennai Super Kings won the match by 18 runs.

Deccan Chargers Vs Delhi Daredevils - Match 21 - SuperSport Park,Centurion - Bulletin

A brilliant partnership between Tilkaratne Dilshan and Dinesh Karthik helped Delhi win against the so far undefeated Deccan Chargers. Chasing a moderate total of 149 for victory Delhi had a moderate start with openers adding 30 runs for the first wicket, before RP Singh and SM Shoaib took three quick wickets which reduced Delhi to 49/3. But for the first time in this season Delhi WicketKeeper Dinesh Karthik showed some solidity and along with consistent Dilshan, took Delhi close to victory. Dilshan scored 52 off 46 balls and Karthik contributed 41 making use of just 30 deliveries.

Earlier in the match, Deccan started off poorly after being put in by the Delhi Skipper. Deccan first lost the dangerous Gilchrist for 8 followed by the in - form Gibbs who was out without troubling the scorers. The middle order chipped in with useful contributions, but most of the middle order got out after settling in. A blazing 48 from 28 balls from Dwayne Smith helped Deccan reach a reasonable score of 148. Dirk Nannes took two wickets, that of openers, and finsihed a brilliant spell with the figures of 2/16.

Toss:
Delhi Daredevils won the toss and elected to field

Teams:
Deccan Chargers
A Gilchrist, H Gibbs, A Bilakhia, R Sharma, D Smith, YV Rao, T Suman, P Ojha, RP SIngh, SM Shoaib, F Edwards
Delhi Daredvils
G Gambhir, V Shewag, T Dilshan, AB de Villiers, M Manhas, D Karthik, D Nannes, D Vettori, A Nehra, A Mishra, P Sangwan

Brief Scores:
Deccan Chargers - 149/9 in 20 overs(D Smith - 48, T Suman - 23, D Nannes - 2/16, A Nehra - 2/30)
Delhi Daredevils - 150/4 in 18.4 overs(T Dilshan - 52*, D Karthik - 41, SM Shoain - 2/20, RP Singh - 1/20)

Result:
Delhi Daredevils won by 6 wickets

Rajasthan Royals Vs Delhi Daredevils - Match 18 - SuperSport Park,Centurion - Bulletin

Yusuf Pathan and Greame Smith fetched Rajasthan a brilliant victory from a stage where winning seemed very unlikely. Having to chase a small total of 144, Rajasthan never really looked in hunt loosing early wickets. At the end of 11th over the scoreboard read 64/5, with Smith holding the innings and running out of partners. Amit Mishra bowled brilliantly for Delhi and Delhi were well on their way to emulate Deccan's four on four. Rajasthan it seems should never loose hope as long as Yusuf Pathan is on the crease. The hard hitting right hander made a mockery of the Delhi bowling attack scoring an unbeaten 62 off just 30 balls, which included three 4's and six massive sixers. With Smith showing his solidity in the other end, Rajasthan romped home in just 18.3 overs with a Pathan boundary.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Daredevils's openers once again failed to get going and AB deVillers proved to be a valuable asset scoring another half century to help Delhi reach a score of 143. Vettori showed some skill with the bat and his partnership of 56 runs with deVillers proved vital and was the only partnership worth mentioning for Delhi.Mithun Manhas's late blast of 23 provided a much needed boost to the Delhi total in the final overs. Mascarenhas, Munaf Patel and Shane Warne picked two wickets each for Rajasthan, with Munaf's 2/14 being the best figures.

Toss:
Delhi Daredevils won the toss and elected to Bat.


Teams:
Rajasthan Royals
G Smith, P Valthaty, S Asnodkar, R Quiney, Y Pathan, D Mascarenhas, R Jadeja, S Warne,
M Rawat, M Patel, Kamran Khan

Delhi Daredevils
G Gambhir, V Shewag, T Dilshan, AB de Villiers, M Tiwary, D Karthik, D Nannes, D Vettori,
A Nehra, A Salvi, P Sangwan


Brief Scores:
Delhi Daredevils - 143/7 in 20 overs(AB de Villiers - 50, D Vettori - 29, M Patel - 2/14,
D Mascarenhas - 2/28)
Rajasthan Royals - 147/5 in 18.3 overs(Y Pathan - 62*, G Smith - 44*, A Mishra - 3/34,
A Nehra - 1/23)


Result:
Rajasthan Royals won by 5 wickets

Delhi Daredevils Vs Royal Banglore Challengers - Match 14 - St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth - Bulletin

Delhi were on a roll winning as they made it 3 out of 3 after beating Royal Challengers quite comprehensively by six wickets. Electing to bat first Royal Challengers started off disastrously loosing the openers with just ten runs on the board. The middle did well to rescue the Royal Challengers given the fact that Dravid "The Wall" will not be playing the rest of the tournament as he is on his paternity leave.There were two 50+ partnerships, the first between the skipper, Pieterson(37 off 25 balls) and Ross Taylor(31 off 34 balls) and the next one between V Kohli(22 off 24 balls) and M Boucher(36 off 28 balls). These valuable middle order partnerships helped Royal Challengers reach a respectable total of 149. On the bowling front for Daredevils, all the bowlers chipped in wickets with Amit Mishra being the best of lot with the figures of 1/19.

Chasing a moderate total of 150, Delhi lost Shewag early second time in a row. There is no doubt that Shewag needs to play his natural game, but a bit of sensibility to his batting will add a lot of value to the Delhi team and in the international front to the Indian team. Gautam Gambhir fell after making a sedate 16. With the scoreboard reading 42/2 in the sixth over the match was evenly poised, But Dilshan and deVilliers added another 42 to the score before deVilliers was out for 21. Dinesh Karthik disappointed yet again failing to make any impact apart from a six off Kallis, he was caught at cover by Kallis of Akhil after scoring 12 runs. Dilshan's brilliant innings of 67 from 47 balls and Manhas's cameo of 23 from 13 balls made sure that Delhi reach their target with 4 balls to spare. For Banglore Pankaj Singh took two wickets and was impressive. With four defeats in a row, Royal Challengers must start believing in themselves and more importantly start winning to stay alive in this tournament, else it will be a repeat of their last year's performance or even worse

Toss:
Banglore Royal Challengers won the toss and elected to bat

Teams
Delhi Daredevils
G Gambhir, V Shewag, T Dilshan, AB de Villiers, M Manhas, D Karthik, D Nannes, D Vettori, Y Mahesh, A Mishra, P Sangwan
Banglore Royal Challengers
J Kallis, R Uthappa, K Pieterson, R Taylor, M Boucher, V Kohli, Pankaj Singh, B Akhil, KP Appanna, Vinay Kumar, A Kumble

Brief Scores
Banglore Royal Challengers - 149/7 in 20 overs(K Pieterson - 37, M Boucher - 36, A Nehra - 2/34, A Mishra - 1/19)
Delhi Daredevils - 150/4 in 19.2 overs(T Dilshan - 67*, M Manhas - 23*, Pankaj Singh 2/31,
B Akhil - 1/8)

Result
Delhi Daredevils won by 6 wickets.

Chennai Super Kings Vs Delhi Daredevils - Match 9 - Kingsmead, Durban - Bulletin

Chennai Super Kings brilliantly managed to clinch defeat from the jaws of victory in a thriller against Delhi Daredevils. Chasing 190 to win from 20 overs Chennai started off brilliantly with Hayden once again regaining the orange cap with his 27 ball 57. With Raina going great guns at the other end after the dismissal of Hayden in the eight over, Chennai were well poised, needing 83 runs from the last ten overs at a rate of 8.3 per over, during the strategy break. But Chennai lost wickets at regular intervals and lost the plot in the final overs. Albie Morkel who the team depended on heavily couldn't send a ball over the boundary in the final few overs. Flintoff hasn't justified his heavy price tag by once again falling to perform. The likes of Dhoni and Badrinath failing to reach double figure scores and Pradeep Sangwan's brilliant spell getting the wicket of top 3 Chennai batsman contributed cumulatively to Chennai's defeat.

Earlier in the day Delhi started off disastrously loosing both their openers with just 8 runs on the board. The fall of these two wickets brought together AB de villiers and Tilakaratne Dilshan whose aggressive play powered Delhi to a score of 189. de Villiers was unbeaten on 105, the first century in this edition of IPL. de Villiers's century came off just 54 balls and was studded with 5 fours and 6 sixers. de Villiers was well supported by Dilshan who scored a brilliant half century of just 27 balls. Lakshmipathy Balaji with the figures of 3/19 in 4 overs was the star bowler for Chennai Super Kings. With two losses in three games, its time for Chennai to tighten their screws and try to win in order to stay in contention for the semis.

Toss:
Delhi Daredevils won the toss and elected to Bat

Teams:
Chennai Super Kings
P Patel, M Hayden, S Raina, A Flintoff, M S Dhoni, A Morkel, S Badrinath, J Sharma, L Balaji, M Muralitharan, M Gony
Delhi Daredevils
G Gambhir, V Shewag, T Dilshan, AB de Villiers, M Tiwary, D Karthik, D Nannes, D Vettori, A Nehra, A Salvi, P Sangwan

Brief Scores:
Delhi Daredevils - 189/5 in 20 overs(AB de Villiers - 105*, T Dilshan - 50, L Balaju - 3/19, A Morkel - 1/41)
Chennai Super Kings - 180/9 in 20 overs (M Hayden - 57, Suresh Raina - 41, P Sangwan - 3/28, D Vettori - 2/29)

Result:
Delhi Daredevils won by 9 runs

Delhi Daredevils Vs Kings XI Punjab - Match 3 - Newlands, Cape Town

It was Match 3 of IPL 2 played between teams led by two explosive batsman. It was a challenge between Delhi Daredevils led by the Nawab of Najafgarh, Virender Shewag and Kings XI Punjab led by Sher - E - Punjab, Yuvaraj Singh. Shewag won the toss and sent in Kings Punjab in a match reduced to 12 overs, in a rain-curtailed match. Kings Punjab started explosively with the openers K Goel and Ravi Bopara finding the fence at regular intervals, The openers powered Punjab to 56 runs by the 6th over before Goel mistimed a shot and was caught by Vettori at mid-off. Bopara was out leg before wicket the next ball falling victim to straighter one of Vettori. With the run rate at around 10 per over, Kings Punjab needed to just build on the platform set by openers without loosing wickets, but Vettori applied breaks by getting the wickets of lankans Sangakara and Jayawardane. Yuvaraj responded slow to a single and was run out, just when it seemed like he was getting into his groove. Chawla and Pathan were out without scoring much and Kings Punjab ended with a 104 at the end of 12 overs.

Shewag and Gambhir opened the Delhi Innings with a fire adding 24 runs of 1.5 overs before rain interrupted the play again. The target was revised to 54 off 6 overs and Delhi finished the game off in style with Shewag getting the winning runs off a six with 1.1 overs to spare. Vettori was adjudged the Man of the Match for his spell of 3/15.

Toss:
Delhi Daredevils won the toss and elected to field

Teams:
Kings XI Punjab
R Bopara, K Goel, Yuvaraj Singh, K Sangakara, M Jayawardane, P Chawla, I Pathan, T Kohli, VS Malik, VRV Singh, YA Abdullah
Delhi Daredevils
G Gambhir, V Shewag, T Dilshan, AB de Villiers, M Tiwary, D Karthik, D Nannes, D Vettori, Y Mahesh, A Salvi, P Sangwan

Brief Scores:
Kings XI Punjab - 104/7 in 12 overs(K Goel - 38, R Bopara - 22, D Vettori - 3/15, A Salvi - 1/17)
Delhi Daredevils - 58/0 in 4.5 overs(V Shewag - 38*, G Gambhir - 15*)

Result:
Delhi Daredevils won by 10 wickets with 7 balls to spare(D/L method)