30 May 2008 - Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai : The Rajasthan Royals annihilated the Delhi Daredevils by a whopping 105 runs to storm into the finals of the inaugural DLF Indian Premier League. Having won the toss and getting to opt what he dearly wanted to do, Virender Sehwag would be bitterly disappointed with the way things went about. On a pitch that most thought would assist the seam bowlers and get easier during the chase, Sehwag won the toss and put the Rajasthan Royals into bat. Warne hinted that he would have done the same; making this as a great toss to loose.
Rajasthan Royals, playing their winning combination and full-strength squad, opened with Smith and Asondkar. A brilliant first over from the stalwart McGrath, which only fetched one wide, Smith flicked Asif in the next to open his account with a boundary off the ninth ball he faced. A tight single then surfaced up his hamstring injury and Smith looked like he was struggling. Spirited Sehwag allowed Smith a runner, one that could have been denied as it was an injury from an earlier match. Kudos and hats off for sportsmanship! Asondkar survived an edge that beat Sehwag at slip to go for four, but followed with a series of boundaries in the next Asif over.
The struggling Smith who had scored on 5 off 12, took on old nemesis McGrath, as he smashed him for a hattrick of fours. Asondkar was then dropped by Mahroof off the bowling of Mahesh on the boundary. To rub salt to the injury, the ball went for four, and two balls later, Asnodkar pulled one for a massive six and followed up with another boundary. At 58/0 after six overs, the symphony of Halla Bol seemed to be dampening the Fighters Delhi Daredevils. Mahroof then made amends as he had Smith, brilliantly caught off Dhawan, in his first over for 25. Mahroof then struck again as the snatched Asnodkar for 39 (21b, 6x4, 1x6) of the last ball of the same over.
Watson and Tanvir managed a boundary each before Tanvir was the third to go, falling pray to an in-form Mahroof. At 77/3 and having lost the 3 wickets in no time, the Rajasthan Royals looked in a spot of bother and needed a partnership to get going. After getting his eye-in (10 off 10) Watson launched himself into the Delhi attack. Mahesh came under the Watson hammer, as Watson hit him for 19 off 5 balls that included a four and two biggies!
The Mumbai crowd that had a major chunk of the Royals’ supporters along with the women fan following were right behind Watson as the stands echoed the chants of his name. Kaif too joined in the party as he launched Mishra for a six. However, the bowler had the last laugh as he had Kaif bowled. In came the dangerous Pathan, at a perfect time for an onslaught. Watson then raised his 50 with a streaky boundary that flew on Mahesh’s head for four.
Yousuf Pathan, who has impressed one and all with his clean striking abilities including the national selectors, did not disappoint has he smashed Mishra for successive sixes. That over however, saw the back of Watson for 52 (29b, 4x4, 3x6). Thereafter, there were a flurry of wickets and a few good hits in between them. The one man who stood up and stood out, was Yusuf Pathan. Elated with his one-day cap for the Bangladesh tri-series, Pathan could not have found a better way to say ‘thank you’ than to have his bat do the talking. One particular McGrath over, Pathan first hit the all-time great for successive boundaries and then followed up with a clean six. McGrath had smiles and probably admiration, because he is certainly not used to this treatment, even in the T20 format. Pathan was finally run-out in the last over, not before he hit and fantastic 45 (21b, 3x4, 4x6). That set the Delhi run chase at 193.
Delhi’s top order has been in sublime form. However, their run chase got off to a nightmarish start as Sehwag perished off a pull shot when Watson bounced him with a quick one. The Royals had a strangle hold of the Daredevils with 10 runs coming over almost four overs. That transpired Gambhir to come down the track and slap Watson only to be brilliantly caught off Kohil (substituting for Smith). Watson’s next got Dhawan and the Delhi Daredevils were on the mat with Watson snatching 3/10.
Patel joined the celebrations as he had Tiwary out for nought. At 37/4, the Delhi Daredevils had their hopes buried, and a lot would have been resting on Karthik and Dilshan. However, at the end of the tenth over, Karthik fell with the score on 56. With ten overs to go and the asking rate having reached 13.7, it was only the formalities that the Royals needed to complete. The only joy the Daredevils supporters had in their batting innings was an over on Trivedi that saw a four and a six come by.
Warne, the Royals skipper and coach, could not be out of the action for too long. Warne got rid of the Sri Lankan duo of Mahroof and Dilshan in the same over. Patel came back and knocked off two more as he completed a fantastic spell of 3/17. Finally, a chaotic and bizarre runout saw the Delhi innings fold for a mere 87, setting a 105-run for the Royals.
Post match, Sehwag said, “I think Rajasthan played well and beat us in all departments. I thought 160-170 was easily achievable but Waston, Smith and Pathan took the target beyond that. We didn’t get good start. If Gautam and I had played a little longer it might have been different”.
The winning Royals skipper Warne said, “We asked the guys for a big effort today. Congratulations to Delhi and to McGrath, copping one on the finger in the end. But, congratulations to our guys. The IPL is important to every-one of our players. We didn’t need to say anything, everyone was up for it. There’s always room for improvement. We could have got 10-15 more runs”.
The Finals will be played in Navi Mumbai at the DY Patil Stadium where the Royals will take on the Kings. What remains to be seen, which King – Kings XI Punjab or Chennai Super Kings, would it be!
Halla Bol!!!