Well, it turns out it was a procession after all. A pitch that had been made to look like a minefield by Kings XI’s batsmen held little threat for the Daredevils, who go fourth. Kings XI remain in the mire down at the bottom of table and I think we can say with some certainty that they won’t be making the play-offs.
Shreyas Iyer’s excellent form continued, with his fourth 50 of the season and it’s a shame he couldn’t quite see it through to the end. It was the bowlers who take most of the credit though: Zaheer Khan, in his first match in a year, and Nathan Coulter-Nile were excellent.
That’s all from me. Do join me again shortly for today’s second match between Mumbai and Rajasthan. Thanks for reading. Bye!
Daredevils win by nine wickets
14th over: Daredevils 119-1 (Agarwal 52, Tiwary 5) target 119 Seven runs needed then. I wouldn’t expect this to last much longer. Axar Patel does his best to delay the inevitable, ceding just two singles from his first four balls, before Tiwary looks to win it, going down the track and hitting over mid-wicket; just a one-bounce four to level the scores. Oh well, Patel’s next ball is a wide outside off and that’s the winning run.
13th over: Daredevils 112-1 (Agarwal 51, Tiwary 0) target 119 Thakur again and Agarwal goes back in his crease and pumps his first ball over mid-on for four. Iyer wants to end this early and tries to dump the bowler into the stands, but he can’t quite get hold of it and thus can’t quite see his side home. Well played that man though. Tiwary is brought up the order. The final ball is carved behind point for four by Agarwal and he gets his own 50, from 39 balls.
Wicket! Iyer c A Patel b Thakur 54
Iyer looks to clear mid-wicket but doesn’t quite get hold of it. Axar holds on just inside the rope and Thakur has his debut wicket, for what it’s worth.
12th over: Daredevils 101-0 (Agarwal 40, Iyer 54) target 119 Just 28 needed. Can the Daredevils follow a 10-wicket defeat with a 10-wicket win? Iyer dabs to third man for a couple, then flicks Perera off his hips for four to square-leg. That’s his 50, from 38 balls. His fourth half-century of the season. The batsmen take a single then Agarwal smashes it through the hands of Bailey at mid-wicket for four. I guess that’s a drop.
11th over: Daredevils 88-0 (Agarwal 34, Iyer 47) target 119 That was a lovely swing of the bat to end the last over, the ball sailing high in a neat, rainbowesque arc. This over, which Anureet is bowling, incidentally, brings a slightly less aesthetically pleasing boundary, as Iyer drives over long-off for four. Delicate, two balls later as he guides it down to third man for another boundary. What should be the final ball is called for Anureet overstepping, although the replay shows that he didn’t! Agarwal smites the free-hit back down the ground for one.
10th over: Daredevils 75-0 (Agarwal 32, Iyer 38) target 119 It’s Patel again and he makes a decent diving stop as Iyer tries to flay one, cross-batted down the ground. It’s not a bad over until he drops a touch short with the final ball and gets whipped high over mid-wicket for six more by Iyer. You know when I said it won’t be a procession?
Updated
9th over: Daredevils 64-0 (Agarwal 30, Iyer 30) target 119 Back comes Thakur and Iyer slugs him out to deep extra cover, knocking one more off the target. Another single to Agarwal, Iyer looks to muscle one away again and this time it just clears mid-off. Thakur then appeals vociferously as Agarwal slashes at a wide one; the batsman was nowhere near it, so it’s kind of satisfying to to see the bowler wided. And, if you’re a Daredevils fan, the next shot is even more satisfying, cut behind square for four.
This is harsh, but yeah. He’s not very good.
This lad win a competition? #ipl
— Steptoe (@Steptoesyard) May 1, 2015
Richard Illingworth signals the time-out.
8th over: Daredevils 55-0 (Agarwal 24, Iyer 28) target 119 Spin now, in the form of Axar Patel, whose name makes him sound like the lead character in a Bollywood remake of Beverley Hills Cop. Iyer looks to go big, doesn’t get hold of it but at least finds the gap out at deep mid-wicket. He’s through the over in no time, for the concession of just three runs.
7th over: Daredevils 50-0 (Agarwal 22, Iyer 25) target 119 Thisara Perera into the attack with just 78 to defend. After three singles, Perera sends down a slow, short delivery that Agarwal waits on, waits on, waaaaaits on... then pulls muscularly through square-leg for four. This is now the highest opening stand for the Daredevils in this year’s tournament.
6th over: Daredevils 41-0 (Agarwal 16, Iyer 22) target 119 Anureet strays to leg and Agarwal flicks it from knee-height, behind square-leg and away for four easy runs. Iyer looks to marmalise a back-of-a-length one over square, but it keeps low and hits him on the back pad. Going down leg though. Iyer then pushes to mid-off, sets off for a run, changes his mind and gets back, but then Marsh’s throw ricochets off the stump and away for an overthrow.
5th over: Daredevils 33-0 (Agarwal 10, Iyer 20) target 119 I know “At this stage” comparisons are usually meaningless, but at this stage Kings XI were 15-4 and arguably already cooked. Agarwal, perhaps bored on three from nine, goes for the big shot against a length ball and clears mid-on, just, for six. Of course on this pitch it’s a wise move not to go absolutely mad, lest you make an embarrassing mess of a straightforward chase. A good comeback from the bowler though, who sends down three consecutive dots to Iyer.
4th over: Daredevils 26-0 (Agarwal 3, Iyer 20) target 119 Rather unsurprisingly, there’s a change of bowling as Anureet Singh comes into the attack for Thakur. Iyer is felled by one that crashes straight into his knee, the young batsman losing his footing as he rocks forward. Like Daft Punk, he gets lucky on the pull, top-edging and the ball looping up and over mid-off for one.
Another single to end the over and, Thakur’s over aside, this has been a very good start to the defence. Thakur’s over did happen though, didn’t it?
3rd over: Daredevils 22-0 (Agarwal 2, Iyer 19) target 119 Sharma finds Agarwal’s thinnest of edges, but there’s no slip and it goes down to third man for a single. Iyer is far more circumspect against Sharma, taking just a leg-bye from the final ball.
2nd over: Daredevils 21-0 (Agarwal 1, Iyer 19) target 119 From the other end it’ll be Shardul Thakur on his IPL debut. He does find a bit of swing, getting one to move away from Iyer outside off-stump. Short and wide though and Iyer cuts him high over third man for six off his tip-toes. Short and wide again next ball and it’s met with the exact same shot and the exact same result. A wide, then Iyer flicks off his ankles, round to fine-leg for four more. I think we can call this start “inauspicious”. Two more to long-leg, off the inside edge and Thakur’s first over in the IPL goes for 19.
1st over: Daredevils 2-0 (Agarwal 1, Iyer 1) target 119 I imagine the Daredevils batsmen will be pretty happy not to be facing Johnson on this wicket, even if he has gone for nine an over so far. Instead it’ll be Sandeep Sharma and he opens with three dots. There’s no swing, but he’s accurate enough to keep Agarwal watchful – Sharma has the best economy rate in the tournament this year so you’d expect as much. A single to backward point brings Iyer on strike and he gets one with a hard hit to the same region, where Bailey makes a good stop to save three.
This won’t be a procession, on a pitch that’s offering a surprising amount for the bowlers, given it’s in India. I don’t think 118 is enough though.
End of innings
20th over: Kings XI 118-8 (Thakur 7, Anureet 8) Shows what I know; Tahir is going to bowl the final over. A little surprising it’s him and not the more economical Mishra. Thakur carves one high in the air from outside off to give Yuvraj the easiest of catches at silly point, but the beleaguered Yuvi spills it over his shoulder. Anureet Singh smashes the final ball over mid-on for six.
19th over: Kings XI 108-8 (Thakur 5, Anureet 0) I doubt we’ll see Tahir again and that doesn’t look too bad an idea, as Coulter-Nile ends the partnership in 8.2 overs on 57. Miller takes a single and Thakur is the new man. Miller’s departure then a fortunate inside-edge away for four mean that Coulter-Nile ends his excellent spell with 4-20.
Wicket! Miller c Tiwary b Coulter-Nile 42
Miller looks to drive up and over point, but can’t get enough on it and it’s easily taken on the boundary rope.
Wicket! A Patel c Agarwal b Coulter-Nile 22
Coulter-Nile’s first ball is short, Patel charges and cross-bats it straight to the long-on fielder. Easy catch.
18th over: Kings XI 102-6 (A Patel 22, Miller 41) So the Daredevils will have improve on their last batting performance to win this now. 130 is very much on for Kings XI, which would be a hell of a recovery from 10-4. Mathews is back on and Miller misses out on a juicy leg-stump full-toss, getting an overthrow only after Iyer needlessly threw down the stumps. An exchange of singles brings up the team 100, although had Yuvraj hit the stumps on the second one then Patel would have been gone. Great over from Mathews, just five from it, all in singles.
17th over: Kings XI 97-6 (A Patel 19, Miller 39) Zaheer is coming back in a bid to stem the recent flow of attacking shots. It’s good stuff, just a single to each batsman from the first three balls, but they could really do with getting rid of Miller here. The batsman slaps a short one through mid-off for a single to bring up the 50 partnership off 43. A good diving stop at short third man by Coulter-Nile off the penultimate ball keeps Miller to one, then Axar Patel pulls to deep mid-wicket on the bounce for another.
16th over: Kings XI 92-6 (A Patel 16, Miller 37) Tahir again and Miller absolutely slaughters a length ball over mid-on for six. The next ball is a full-toss and rightly gets hammered through the same region, all along the ground this time, for four. Yuvraj comes over for a chat with his bowler and presumably advises him to toss it up outside off stump, which he does. A single, then five wides as Patel runs past a full one and it turns past his legs, past Jadhav and away to the boundary. 18 from the over, the best for Kings XI so far.
15th over: Kings XI 74-6 (A Patel 14, Miller 26) Time for the counter-attack now? Miller thinks so as he comes down the track to Mathews, turns it into a full-toss and hammers it over extra-cover for four. A few balls later he goes again, smashing a wide one with little control up and over, into the gap at extra-cover and away for four more. Mathews finds the edge and it goes to third man, who is up, on the bounce.
14th over: Kings XI 64-6 (A Patel 13, Miller 17) At long last, Tahir is on. Spin at the death, then? I think this is another drop as Miller goes for the sweep and deflects off Jadhav’s gloves; I think it touched the bat, I heard a noise at least. 39 balls since the last boundary, so Patel steps down the track and lifts it straight down the ground for the first six of the innings.
13th over: Kings XI 56-6 (A Patel 6, Miller 16) Still no time for Tahir, as Angelo Mathews comes into the attack and sends down a leg-side wide. A scrambled single as Patel bottom edges a pull into the ground and Tahir fumbles at short mid-on. Oohhhh and then Miller is beaten all ends up by one that pitches and just doesn’t get up again. You know 120 won’t be easy to chase on this pitch, if Kings XI can get there. One more round the corner to Miller, then Patel forces one out to cover for another.
12th over: Kings XI 52-6 (A Patel 4, Miller 15) Mishra again and Miller thumps him down to long-on for one. Axar Patel then gets a leading edge that loops up in the air but drops short of mid-off; the batsmen run through and bring up the team 50. Then a drop as Patel gets a thin edge, going for the slog, and it deflects off of Jadhav’s gloves. A tough one that.
11th over: Kings XI 48-6 (A Patel 2, Miller 13) Duminy into his final over, with 1-13 so far. Axar Patel, the new batsman, takes one into the on-side before Miller misses out and gets hid on the pad, looking to sweep, once again. Duminy too is getting variable bounce here; obviously it’s not the kind of pitch where you should be 46-6, but it’s a tough one for the batsmen even in this slog-and-hope format. Just two from the over.
10th over: Kings XI 46-6 (A Patel 1, Miller 12) In fact, still no Tahir as Duminy returens to seam and Coulter-Nile. The Aussie has 1-11 from his two over so far. He beats Perera twice in a row, the first an excellent lifter outside off, the second slightly less nippy but met with a weak, watery pull that gets nowhere near the ball. A thick inside edge goes down to fine-leg for one, then a flick off the hips by Miller does the same. Perera goes soon afterwards, bogged down on three from seven.
Wicket! Perera c Tiwary b Coulter-Nile 3
Perera looks to go big, giving Coulter-Nile the charge and hooking him to square-leg. Tiwary comes running in and takes a good catch tumbling forward on to his knees. We’re checking with the TV umpire, but it’s clearly clean.
9th over: Kings XI 43-5 (Perera 2, Miller 11) Thisara Perera is the new man and the final proper batsman. This innings is in rubble already and Imran Tahir hasn’t even had a bowl yet. After three singles, Miller’s eyes light up at a short-ish one, drifting down leg, but he can only pick out fine-leg with his powerful sweep.
8th over: Kings XI 37-5 (Perera 0, Miller 7) The Daredevils are going to look to strangle these two with spin, it seems, as Mishra comes into the attack. Bailey pushes to long-off for one, then Miller sweeps very nicely, off leg-stump and through square for four runs, all along the ground. Perfect sweep shot, that. The next ball he tries the same and gets hit on the pad, but it’s probably not turning back in enough and thus missing off. One more to Miller, then Bailey goes.
Wicket! Bailey lbw b Mishra 18
Pitches on leg and turns back in, Bailey looks to sweep, misses and gets hit in front. I don’t think it’s turning enough to miss off, and nor does the umpire.
7th over: Kings XI 31-4 (Bailey 17, Miller 2) We’ve just had a time-out. To be honest, I don’t blame the fielding side for taking it now with the temperature around 37 degrees. Duminy is back on and has an appeal for LBW against Miller, trapped on the back foot, but he’s hit a foot or so outside the line of off-stump. Miller finally gets a run with a push down the ground. Another single and the South African batsman misses out going for a big hard slog sweep. Two more singles and that’s another good over from Duminy.
6th over: Kings XI 27-4 (Bailey 15, Miller 0) Coulter-Nile to continue to his compatriot Bailey, whose grimace shows the size of the task ahead of him. The bowler drops a touch short and a touch wide, and Bailey slashes him nicely over backward point for four more. Two balls later he reads a low one very nicely and touches it down to third man for a single. Coulter-Nile switches to round the wicket for the left-handed Miller and begins with a wide, then follows that up with an LBW appeal that was heading similarly down the leg-side. The batsmen take a leg-bye, before Bailey clips one past Zaheer’s square-leg misfield and away for four.
5th over: Kings XI 16-4 (Bailey 6, Miller 0) It’ll be Zaheer again and why not? Bailey tucks him nicely off his hips, square through the leg-side for four. Can Kings XI go an over without losing a wicket? A couple of dots then Bailey runs one off the face of the bat down to third man. Miller sees out the rest of the over and, with five runs and no wickets, that’s Kings XI’s best over.
4th over: Kings XI 11-4 (Bailey 1, Miller 0) With the bounce about as easy to read as a James Joyce novel, Nathan Coulter-Nile comes on at first change. It’s an excellent move as he strikes before a run is scored, sending Saha back with a low ball and a hint of movement. Cap’n George Bailey, who was an injury doubt, comes in. What must the dropped Glenn Maxwell be thinking? Single to Bailey is all that Kings XI get from the over.
Wicket! Saha c Jadhav b Coulter-Nile 3
Carnage now. Saha flashes at an out-swinger outside off-stump and gets a faint edge through to the keeper.
3rd over: Kings XI 10-3 (Saha 3, Miller 0) Saha, the newest batsman, doesn’t look especially comfortable here, being hurried even by Zaheer’s slower deliveries. He gets off strike with a dab down to deep backward-point. Vohra looks to do the same, but gets beaten outside off-stump by one that keeps low. I should point out that the Daredevils are wearing purple today in support of Yuvraj Singh’s cancer foundation, which is a nice touch. The wicket comes from the final ball and this is a hell of a start from the Daredevils.
Wicket! Vohra c Jadhav b Zaheer 1
Vohra charges down the pitch so Zaheer pulls his length back. The batsman reads it and looks to run it down behind square on the off-side, but can only feather it through to the keeper.
2nd over: Kings XI 9-2 (Saha 2, Vohra 1) Make that a very dodgy start. I reckon Marsh is a bit unlucky there, as it looked to be drifting down leg. Although he’d have been run-out anyway as the square-leg fielder threw down the stumps with the batsman standing out his ground. Three singles from the over.
Wicket! Marsh LBW b Duminy 5
Marsh goes first ball of the second over! He played around Duminy, bowling round the wicket, and is trapped in front.
Updated
1st over: Kings XI 6-1 (Marsh 5, Vohra 0) Ooh a dodgy start for Sehwag, who mistimes it off the back foot and chips just over silly point for what should be two, but the second run is short. Sehwag goes the very next ball though, getting a leading edge with hard hands and Mathews takes a good catch. The new man, Shaun Marsh, drives through cover for four. He gets a leading edge next ball, but it falls well short of the bowler. One more down to third man and a dot to finish. Well, that’s some first over in a year for Zaheer.
Wicket! Sehwag c Mathews b Zaheer 1
Sehwag goes cheaply again, fending off the back foot straight to silly point.
Updated
The players are out. Zaheer will open the bowling to Sehwag.
Sky 'Key man for Punjab is Murali Vijay'.....dropped... #ipl
— Innocent Bystander (@InnoBystander) May 1, 2015
Mitchell Johnson has also been dropped, you’ll notice.
Teams
Daredevils: Agarwal, Iyer, Duminy, Yuvraj, Mathews, Jadhav, S Tiwary, Coulter-Nile, Mishra, Zaheer, Tahir.
Kings XI: Sehwag, Vohra, Marsh, Bailey, Miller, Perera, Saha, Patel, Thakur, A Singh, S Sharma.
Updated
We are going to see Zaheer Khan bowling to Virender Sehwag. What year is this?
The toss
Delhi Daredevils win and insert Kings XI. Zaheer Khan, 213, replaces Domnic Joseph and Saurabh Tiwary is in for Shahbaz Nadeem.
For Kings XI, Virender Sehwag, Thisara Perera and seamer Shardul Thakur all come in.
Updated
Preamble
Morning folks. One man come in the name of love, one man come and go, one man come he to justify, one man to overthrow, in the name of not suffering complete and utter embarrassment.
There’s no relegation to fight against in the IPL, so, if we’re honest, there is little but pride to play for between two of the competition’s bottom three sides. The Daredevils have sparkled intermittently, albeit only when Shreyas Iyer, JP Duminy and Imran Tahir have played well.
Kings XI, on the other hand, have been rubbish. They’ve won two matches, including the super over match against the leaders Rajasthan Royals, but I can’t for the life of me remember the other one – against the similarly hapless Mumbai Indians – actually happening.
These two sides have met already this year, with the Daredevils’ last-ball victory ending a run of 11 straight losses. Not long after, they also ended a run of nine straight home defeats... then promptly got bowled out for 95 and Chris Gayled in their last match. That was as embarrassing a thrashing as you’ll see all year, so there’s a point for them to prove right there.
One of the most heartwarming tales in this hard-to-love tournament has been the return of a bowler who has spent so long out of the game that we thought he might never play again. But, against the odds, Rubbish Mitch has been present throughout for the Kings XI and I’m sure you’ll all join me in hoping that he stays fit for The Ashes this summer.
Play begins at 11.30am London time, which is also Manchester time, Birmingham time, Northampton time, Dartmouth time and wherever-else-you-might-be-in-the-UK time. It begins at 4pm local time.
