New Delhi: It took a blistering knock from Virender Sehwag to end Delhi Daredevils’ six-match losing streak as they beat Mumbai Indians by nine wickets for their first win in the sixth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) at the packed Ferozeshah Kotla here yesterday.
Sehwag came back to form with a whirlwind unbeaten 95 and along with skipper Mahela Jayawardene (59), chased down the target of 162 in 17 overs with their massive 151-run stand for the first wicket. David Warner remained unbeaten on seven.
Sehwag’s match-winning knock brought some life back into Daredevils’ campaign. Sehwag missed the first three matches with a back spasm and was completely out of touch in the next three.
Yesterday, with the crowd chanting his name, it seemed Sehwag was determined to end the losing streak. He was not reckless but aggressive hitting 13 fours and two sixes during his 57-ball knock while Jayawardene, who preferred to give most of the strike to the local boy, struck eight fours and a six in his 43-ball crafty knock.
Sehwag and Jayawardene made a cautious start as 17 runs came off the first three overs and then went after the Mumbai Indians bowling as 85 came off the next seven. Daredevils virtually sealed off the contest in 10 overs when they were comfortably placed at 102/0. In the next seven overs, they got 63 runs and romped home safely with nine wickets in hand.
In Mohali, an unbeaten 128-run stand off 79 balls between Mandeep Singh and David Miller helped Kings XI Punjab beat Pune Warriors India seven wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium yesterday.
Put into bat, Pune Warriors scored a mammoth 185 for four in their allotted overs. Kings XI overhauled their opponents’ score in 19.5 overs scoring 186 for three.
Mandeep (77 not out) and Miller (80 not out) were the stars of the show as this victory took the hosts to fifth in the IPL standings.
Pune with just two victories languish in eighth place tied on points with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders.
Aaron Finch top scored for the Warriors with 65 off 42 balls and received ample support from Robin Uthappa (37), Yuvraj Singh (34) and Luke Wright (34).
Earlier, Finch and Uthappa got Pune off to a rollicking start with an 83-run partnership in just 63 balls. Yuvraj and Finch then kept the scoreboard ticking with some lusty blows. IANS
