Story ProgressBack to home
Daredevils thump Challengers by 6 wickets
Riding on a superb knock by Tillakratne Dilshan (67*), Delhi Daredevils defeated Royal Challengers by 6 wickets in their IPL match at Port Elizabeth.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: April 26, 2009 02:04 PM IST
Read Time: 3 min
Port Elizabeth:
Tillakaratne Dilshan struck a match-winning unbeaten 67 to help Daredevils beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets and register their third consecutive victory in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
After the early dismissal their openers Dilshan's 47-ball knock, studded with five boundaries and two sixes, kept the Daredevils in the hunt.
Earlier, skipper Kevin Pietersen (37) and Mark Boucher (36) helped Royal Challengers Bangalore post a modest 149 for seven after opting to bat.
With this victory the Daredevils remain unbeaten in the tournament with three victories from as many matches while Royal Challengers are lying at the bottom with just one win out of five games.
Chasing a modest 150 for victory, the Daredevils once again lost skipper Virender Sehwag (7) early after he mistimed a pull off Pankaj Singh (2/31) in the second over to give an easy catch to Pietersen at mid-on.
But a determined Dilshan started from where he left against Chennai Super Kings and first hit R Vinay Kumay for a four in the third over and then struck a cheeky six over the keeper's head off Pankaj in the next over.
Dilshan, however, got a reprieve on 18 when Pankaj grounded a difficult chance off his own bowling in the sixth over, but made amends a ball later by having Gambhir (16) caught behind.
After the early burst, both Dilshan and last match centurion AB de Villiers (21 off 34) found going tough against the spin duo of Anil Kumble and young KP Appanna.
The duo kept the scoreboard ticking with ones and twos. Appanna broke the 42-run stand between the two, cleaning up De Velliers' stumps with a gem of a delivery that turned viciously.
Needing 61 off 36 deliveries, next man in Dinesh Karthik (12) began with a six off Kallis but perished in the next over.
Dilshan, however, was in no mood to give up as he hit Kallis for a huge six over the mid-wicket and then some sloppy fielding at deep gave Mithun Manhas two easy boundaries to take 19 runs of the 17th over.
The Royal Challengers lost the grip of the match in the last four overs, thanks to some poor fielding.
Needing 15 of the last two overs, Pietersen called back his best bowler Pankaj but the move had hardly any affect on Dilshan as he hit the pacer for a boundary in the very first ball and then mixed it up with ones and twos to pick up 12 of the penultimate over.
The Daredevils registered the victory with four balls to spare with Manhas hitting the winning run.
Earlier, opting to bat first, the Royal Challengers got off to a disastrous start with in-form Kallis departing in the very first ball of the match and Robin Uthappa (3), the other opener, exiting in the second over.
Pietersen (37 off 25), in Ross Taylor's (31 off 34) company, resurrected the Royal Challengers' innings with a 62-run fourth wicket stand.
And then Boucher (36 off 28) and Virat Kohli (22) added 61 runs down the order to take them near the 150-mark. Promoted to the opening slot after his half century against Kings XI Punjab in the last match, Kallis shoulder armed a Dirk Nannes delivery that castled the South African.
The Royal Challengers' problems were further compounded when out-of-form Uthappa's mistimed pull off Ashish Nehra (2/34) found Pradeep Sangwan at mid-on.
Reduced to 10 for two, the Bangalore side broke shackles in the fourth over, picking up 13 runs off Nehra. Daniel Vettori also came in for some thrashing in his very first over, with Taylor first hitting him for a boundary and then Pietersen finishing off the over with another six.
Pietersen was going great gun when his misadventure to go for a switch-hit did him in as the Vettori delivery disturbed his timbers.
Taylor soon followed his skipper in the pavilion after Amit Mishra trapped him in front with a well deceived googly. Boucher, playing his first match, stuck two huge sixes in the 19th over off Sangwan before departing.
![](https://s.ndtvimg.com/images/misc/fullImage/ver1/i/iplroyalchallengers.jpg)
After the early dismissal their openers Dilshan's 47-ball knock, studded with five boundaries and two sixes, kept the Daredevils in the hunt.
Earlier, skipper Kevin Pietersen (37) and Mark Boucher (36) helped Royal Challengers Bangalore post a modest 149 for seven after opting to bat.
With this victory the Daredevils remain unbeaten in the tournament with three victories from as many matches while Royal Challengers are lying at the bottom with just one win out of five games.
Chasing a modest 150 for victory, the Daredevils once again lost skipper Virender Sehwag (7) early after he mistimed a pull off Pankaj Singh (2/31) in the second over to give an easy catch to Pietersen at mid-on.
But a determined Dilshan started from where he left against Chennai Super Kings and first hit R Vinay Kumay for a four in the third over and then struck a cheeky six over the keeper's head off Pankaj in the next over.
Dilshan, however, got a reprieve on 18 when Pankaj grounded a difficult chance off his own bowling in the sixth over, but made amends a ball later by having Gambhir (16) caught behind.
After the early burst, both Dilshan and last match centurion AB de Villiers (21 off 34) found going tough against the spin duo of Anil Kumble and young KP Appanna.
The duo kept the scoreboard ticking with ones and twos. Appanna broke the 42-run stand between the two, cleaning up De Velliers' stumps with a gem of a delivery that turned viciously.
Needing 61 off 36 deliveries, next man in Dinesh Karthik (12) began with a six off Kallis but perished in the next over.
Dilshan, however, was in no mood to give up as he hit Kallis for a huge six over the mid-wicket and then some sloppy fielding at deep gave Mithun Manhas two easy boundaries to take 19 runs of the 17th over.
The Royal Challengers lost the grip of the match in the last four overs, thanks to some poor fielding.
Needing 15 of the last two overs, Pietersen called back his best bowler Pankaj but the move had hardly any affect on Dilshan as he hit the pacer for a boundary in the very first ball and then mixed it up with ones and twos to pick up 12 of the penultimate over.
The Daredevils registered the victory with four balls to spare with Manhas hitting the winning run.
Earlier, opting to bat first, the Royal Challengers got off to a disastrous start with in-form Kallis departing in the very first ball of the match and Robin Uthappa (3), the other opener, exiting in the second over.
Pietersen (37 off 25), in Ross Taylor's (31 off 34) company, resurrected the Royal Challengers' innings with a 62-run fourth wicket stand.
And then Boucher (36 off 28) and Virat Kohli (22) added 61 runs down the order to take them near the 150-mark. Promoted to the opening slot after his half century against Kings XI Punjab in the last match, Kallis shoulder armed a Dirk Nannes delivery that castled the South African.
The Royal Challengers' problems were further compounded when out-of-form Uthappa's mistimed pull off Ashish Nehra (2/34) found Pradeep Sangwan at mid-on.
Reduced to 10 for two, the Bangalore side broke shackles in the fourth over, picking up 13 runs off Nehra. Daniel Vettori also came in for some thrashing in his very first over, with Taylor first hitting him for a boundary and then Pietersen finishing off the over with another six.
Pietersen was going great gun when his misadventure to go for a switch-hit did him in as the Vettori delivery disturbed his timbers.
Taylor soon followed his skipper in the pavilion after Amit Mishra trapped him in front with a well deceived googly. Boucher, playing his first match, stuck two huge sixes in the 19th over off Sangwan before departing.
Topics mentioned in this article
Cricket
Delhi Daredevils
Get the Latest Cricket Updates, Check Out Paralympics 2024 Medals Tally, Schedule, Results and News Updates at NDTV Sports. Like Us On Facebook Or Follow Us On Twitter For More Sports Updates. You Can Also Download The NDTV Cricket App For Android Or Ios.