Friday and Saturday saw 3 games being played in the 6th edition of IPL. 2 of those games were pretty close and were perfect advertisement for the game except that one of those games saw the bollywood crap jumping on every wicket falling.
Pune vs Hyderabad
Pune were favorites in this battle of the wooden spoon holders of previous season. Hyderabad were making their debut under new owners and new name (crux of the team was same as Dhakkan Defusers). And Pune had a new head coach, their best player was back in the team. But the fortunes did not change. Although they made a good start in limiting the Sunrisers to modest 126, their batting flopped.
Yuvraj excelled with bowl but failed with the ball. The nemesis with the ball were Dale Steyn, the best Test bowler in the world and India discard -- the last leggie to play for India in Tests -- Amit Mishra. Pune could muster only 104 runs and lost game by 22 runs.
No batsmen in the game crossed 50. Pune might need to rethink their strategy sooner to avoid the disappointing results of past 2 seasons. Hyderabad might have made a good start but they dont have established players in batting except Sangakara and to an extent Cameron White. How much confidence Tom Moody and Waqar Younis are able to pump in this franchisee, that remains to be seen.
Delhi Vs Rajasthan
This was a game Delhi should have won easily after David Warner showed why he is one of the most exciting batsmen around in all formats. But his run out followed by a brain freeze from Mahela Jayawardhene to send Irfan Pathan later, cost Delhi a game by 5 runs. They should have won the game easily given the way they paced their chase.
Kevin Cooper and Brad Hodge kept their nerve in the end and Rajasthan saw themselves home in a tight game. Last year they had lost the game by 1 run to the same opponents in the same venue but this year they turned the tables.
Umesh Yadav made a welcome return after the injury (2nd game though). And it was good to see him in wickets straight away. 4-24 ensured Rajasthan did not post a big score. They got to 165 thanks to their captain Dravid's solid 65 run knock.
Dravid said he had taken a 6-7 month break from cricket in the year of his retirement, but had returned to training and fitness in last 2 months. That effort paid off today. He is indeed a legend with an unique work ethic. Something that made him the legend that he is.
Sehwag was out for 2nd game in running and today he also found himself out of the contention of the Champions Trophy.
Mahela Jayawardhene continues to lose games in his captaincy. Not sure where his character has lost.
More on the 3rd game in next post.
