I say, that was more than a fair-to-middling expenditure of time. Delhi will be hoofing themselves in the solar plexus like the finest yogis after that - they were there and poised, and again, they made a mess. Though they’ll probably start by detesting their bowling, they allowed themselves to become bogged down after a fast start, which cost them in the end. Other hand, Mishra and Tahir were both excellent - they’re only a few twiddles away from being a smart outfit.
Rajasthan, on the other hand, are two-and-o, thanks, in particular, to the brilliant freshness of Deepak Hooda, who showed composure, power and skill with both ball and bat. And, at the death, James Faulkner, Chris Morris and Tim Southee kept cool to show exceptional finesse in getting it done.
19.6 Mathews is too full, and Southee hammers between cover and long-off for four! Rajasthan win by three wickets!
What a game! Another what a game!
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Here we go!
19.5 Mathews tries the yorker again, they run one to cover. 3 from the final ball needed! 2 for a super-over!
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19.4 Oh shot! Shot! Mathews strays full and leg-side, Morris is down and there to it, touching four to fine leg! 4 from 2 needed!
19.3 Well bowled Mathews, full, single down to long on. 8 from 3 needed.
19.2 Southee slices down to backward point, they run 2. 9 from 4 needed.
19.1 Morros shows Mathews his stumps, carves away on the off-side, they run one, Yuvraj’s wild through causes brief alarm. 11 from 5 needed.
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19th over: Rajasthan 173-7 (Morris 7, Southee 2) Rajasthan need 12 runs from six balls.
WICKET! Faulkner b Tahir 17 (Rajasthan 173-7)
Bowledim! Another wrongun, Faulkner misses, Tahir hits - and he’s off, circumnavigating the globe in celebration! What a game this is!
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18th over: Rajasthan 173-6 (Faulkner 17, Morris 7) Wow and other associated exclamations! Morris is ready for Tahir’s wrongun, and gets right up close to it, rolling his hands and clobbering six over midwicket via slog-sweep. Then a dot and a single; what can Faulkner manage?
WICKET! Hooda c Mathews b Tahir 54 (Rajasthan 166-6)
And another switch in momentum! Hooda goes hard at Tahir’s first ball, as well he might - it’s a long-hop! - but doesn’t get the elevation he needs, locating Mathews on the fence at long-on. But what an innings, and what a performance.
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18th over: Rajasthan 166-5 (Hooda 54, Faulkner 17) Coulter-Nile to bowl his last one - looks like Mathews will be entrusted with the final over. Faulkner steps to leg and looks to drive his first ball, slicing over the slip area for four instead - and then, after a single, Hooda glances a quicker one behind for four more and his fifty! Assuming he did that on purpose, what a shot that was! And what a discovery he is! He’s 19. Just consider that, and your own life. There’s a brief delay due to a kite on the pitch, and then a wide - Coulter-Nile hasn’t found the lines that were so effective in Chennai, and Hooda turns him away to leg for two more. Oh dear; a single to Hooda down to long-on, and then Faulkner backs away to leg, Coulter-Nile follows him - when he might have gone outside off - and it flicks the edge to cede four more. Rajasthan strong favourites now. Rajasthan need 19 runs from 12 balls.
17th over: Rajasthan 149-5 (Hooda 47, Faulkner 8) Mishra replaces Unadkat and Faulkner tries cutting his first ball, missing, but also missing with his edge. Then, a cut to backward point, and as they try turning one into two, Yuvraj somehow stations himself between the fielder and Jadhav, preventing him from fielding it as quickly as necessary. A single down the ground allows Hooda to sweep two, and two further singles close the over - a decent one for Delhi. Rajasthan need 36 runs from 18 balls.
16th over: Rajasthan 141-5 (Hooda 44, Faulkner 1) Hooda is something! Faulkner gets him a single, and then, having seen what happened to Rahane, he moves his feet to get closer to the pitch, caning a google over long-on. Next, a single, and then Faulkner paddles to midwicket - they race through for two. Rajasthan need 44 runs from 24 balls.
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WICKET! Rahane b Tahir 47 (Rajasthan 130-5)
Aother googly cramping Rahane as he comes down the track looking to flick over the top on the leg-side. He misses, Tahir hits, and we have to check his foot, then whether the ball or keeper’s pads removed the bails. All is fine.
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15th over: Rajasthan 130-4 (Rahane 47, Hooda 37) Unadkat back into the attack, and Rahane gets one to long-on. Hooda jinks and all that, but can’t get a full toss over midwicket - they add a single - and after an additional one, Hooda lamps six over long-on, on one knee. And then, to the final ball, he goes well back in his crease, slamming towards midwicket, where somehow, the catcher on the boundary - Tiway - is side-on to it, spilling it over the rope for six.
14th over: Rajasthan 115-4 (Rahane 45, Hooda 24) Rajasthan need more of the same, and with Yuvraj preparing to bowl, now might be the time. Rahane quickly takes a single to allow Hooda the strike, but Yuvraj tweaks a slow one that forces only one more. Rahane then adds one more, before Hooda bunts to point. He sets off, pauses, keeps going, and is well short when the throw arrives at the non-striker’s, only for Yuvraj to fumble a take he has an epoch to complete. And, next ball, his aggravation is compounded when Rahane swipes him over midwicket for six. This is getting interesting.
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13th over: Rajasthan 104-4 (Rahane 36, Hooda 22) Mathews is back, in a way a sort of Smith character - someone with a startling knack of getting done whatever that which needs to be done happens to be. Ah, beautiful, some slowmo footage with mood music; choking up, here. Hooda takes two from the first ball, behind square on the leg side, and then, after a single, a wide and a single, Hooda eases into a full one that’s not far off a half-volley, depositing it over long-on and into the stand. And then, he wanders well across his stumps to the off-side, daring Mathews to hit them - and he can’t, instead encountering bat, applied at yorker length to divert four to square-leg. And there’re four more, slashed to backward point! 19 from the over! Time to talk strategy and stratagem!
12th over: Rajasthan 85-4 (Rahane 35, Hooda 5) Not saying I couldn’t have him, but Shane Watson is an enormous man. He reckons his chaps have the firepower to win from here, but they already need 12 an over - and Hood, perhaps bothered by the slowness, misses out when Mishra gives him width.
11th over: Rajasthan 79-4 (Rahane 32, Hooda 1) Hooda can bat; he’s going to need to be able to. But really, it’s hard to see how Rajasthan win from here.
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WICKET! Binny lbw b Tahir 1 (Rajasthan 78-4)
Another googly! Binny comes forward, is beaten by the turn, and, though he doesn’t intimate pleasure at the call, looks plumb in front of middle-and-leg, on the kneeroll.
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WICKET! Nair st Jadhav c Mishra 10 (Rajasthan 74-3)
Oh yes! The googly does it again! Nair comes down the pitch, but when the ball nips in at him, he can’t readjust. It dashes through the gate, and and the bails are off in a trice. Rajasthan are in shtuck. Over.
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10th over: Rajasthan 74-2 (Rahane 32, Nair 10) It’s getting dark in Delhi, as it is wont to around getting dark time. Rahane takes a single off Mishra, than Nair dances leg-side and a sliced carve takes the ball just inside cover and to the fence. Two more to him follow, and then a chunky stride allows him to reverse-sweep into the turf and for four more.
9th over: Rajasthan 63-2 (Rahane 31, Nair 10) On comes Tahir, ceding two from his his first two balls. He won’t be unduly nauseated, though - Rajasthan need to arrange some boundaries. Nair then nudges into the off-side and sets off, Rahane sending him back, and he only just makes it - direct hit and he’s gone, but by the time Jadhav removes the bails, the chance has gone. Oh, and I say! It’s a strategic break! Point for discussion during it: are we etched in stone or just sketched in the sand?
8th over: Rajasthan 57-2 (Rahane 31, Nair 5) Nair sweeps four, smothering whatever spin their might have been. He’ll need to get frisky almost immediately, with Rahane taking care to stay in.
WICKET! Smith c Agarwal b Mishra 10 (Rajasthan 50-2)
Huge, gigantic, colossal, gargantuan wicket. Aware that the runs will need to come from somewhere, Smith decides to get after Mishra second ball, but, after trotting down the pitch, the wrongun leaves him reaching and stretching . Swiping, he can’t get all of it, and is easily taken at long-on.
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8th over: Rajasthan 50-1 (Rahane 29, Smith 10) On comes Mishra, who bowled slipperily against Chennai...
7th over: Rajasthan 50-1 (Rahane 29, Smith 10) Is Smith going to try building an innings, or just get crazy with ese? Rahane takes a single, he responds, Rahane responds to his response, and then given width, he lightly clears his leg, flinging his arms into a cut that earns four. Both captains will be relatively happy with how things are.
6th over: Rajasthan 42-1 (Rahane 27, Smith 4) Smith’s eager to get moving, whirling into an enormous swipe and missing by miles. This is a good over from Coulter-Nile, just one from the first five balls, but then a wider one - wider, not wide - allows Smith to free his arms again, and this time he connects, rasping four through cover.
WICKET! Samson c Yuvraj b Mathews 11 (Rajasthan 37-1)
He’s not looked great, hasn’t Samson, and trying to rescue an economical over, holes out to Yuvraj at deep midwicket. Not much else to report; Mathews is Mathews is mathews.
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5th over: Rajasthan 37-0 (Rahane 26, Samson 11) Mathews into the attack, and begins well, a fullish length forcing Samson to defend, and then a skidder beats the slog. Next, Samson works a single to leg, and Rahane is beaten by one that clips his hip - there’s an appeal, though for what is unclear. Then, a miscued pull loops up - just over the bowler’s head - and...
4th over: Rajasthan 35-0 (Rahane 25, Samson 10) Rahane misses with a hoik to leg, wearing one on the midriff - there’s an appeal, but it’s clearly too high. Then, next ball, he slides down the track, gets under the ball, and strokes it to cow corner for six. Coulter-Nile responds well, extracting a little extra bounce on a fifth-stump line, but then offers width and Rahane isn’t for the missing out, cutting hard to the fence. Decent start for the Royals.
3rd over: Rajasthan 23-0 (Rahane 14, Samson 9) Rahane is a beautifully smooth technician. First he forces one over midwicket for six with an elegance beyond most, then taps into position across his stumps and powertickles through cover for four. But Unadkat comes back well - a dot and three singles follow.
2nd over: Rajasthan 10-0 (Rahane 2, Samson 8) Coulter-Nile, who was excellent against Chennai, drops short and leg side. Samson flicks it away, but Tahir is there on the fine-leg fence - only to scuttle past it. And two more follow when he’s forced to fend away on the leg-side - instead of turning the face, he presents it by mistake, relieved to see the ball clearing the infield. All the trickshots from Samson now, looking to turn away on the leg-side, but in the cricketing version of the no-look pass, lofting over cover.
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1st over: Rajasthan 2-0 (Rahane 2, Samson 0) Unadkat’s on the money to start, back of a length, and Rahane pushes down into the offside. Then, more width from the second ball, and a slash misses, before one seams away just missing the face of the bat - there’s an appeal, but the umpire has no interest. This is an excellent opening over - Rajasthan need a proper start - but this isn’t it, two turned down to fine-leg from the final ball the only runs from it.
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Left-arm of Unadkat to open...
Right then, here we go.
Hmmm. Looking again at Rajasthan’s order, there’s a lot of pressure on Steve Smith. On tell, Warne says he’d bowl short towards his shoulder, and yorkers, with catchers on the leg-side.
That was an interesting, enjoyable passage. Agarwal started superbly for Delhi, and Iyer also batted well, but Tambe and Hooda slowed things dow while Duminy and Yuvraj took a while to get going, scoring sedate in the third quarter of the innings. This meant that Mathews was not given requisite overs to impose himself, doing well with what he had nonetheless, helping to set a competitive, though slightly below-par total for Rajasthan to chase. They’re favourites, but will need to be careful.
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Rajasthan Royals need 185 to beat Delhi's 184-3
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20th over: Delhi 184-3 (Duminy 44, Mathews 27) Mathews can only swat one to long-on from Morris’ first delivery, and Duminy only pull two to midwicket from his second. But he connects with the slower-ball third , swinging six over midwicket - only just - before a leg-bye gives Mathews the strike. Morris finds a brilliant yorker, homing in on middle-stump - a bat dropped on it to keep it out means only a single, and then Duminy clouts six off the closer, again over midwicket.
19th over: Delhi 167-3 (Duminy 30, Mathews 25) That single from the final ball to keep the strike matters not when Mathews takes another from the first of the next over - bowled by Southee. Duminy, with 28 from 32, must do something, and another single isn’t that bad. In general, because it brings Mathews back, specifically because he pirouettes to whip four to fine-leg immediately. A single follows, then two more - this is very clever, accurate bowling from Southee. Delhi will want minimum 15 from the over that remains; pressure on Morris and Mathews.
18th over: Delhi 158-3 (Duminy 28, Mathews 18) Mathews - who, arguably, hasn’t been given sufficient scope today - announces himself, creaming Faulkner’s first ball high and straight back past him as he follows through. Then, he misses a swipe, before ramming one directly to Rahane at long-on - somehow, he falls backwards and spills as easy a chance as he’s getting. Immediately, Mathews makes him pay, hopping and turning to powerflick four to long leg, then rolling his hands over a violent drive, lofted over cover for six.
17th over: Delhi 141-3 (Duminy 28, Mathews 0) These two batters really need to get into it, else Rajasthan should - will - chase whatever the target is, fairly easily. Five and a wicket from the over.
WICKET! Yuvraj c Nair b Morris 27 (Delhi 138-3)
Fine catch, this. Yurraj top edges a drive and Nair races around the boundary from deep backward square-leg to hold a low one, on the run and in his fingertips.
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16th over: Delhi 136-2 (Duminy 26, Yuvraj 26) Yuvraj arrives at the soiree! He crouches, Faulkner bowls full, he rises, and slams it back down the ground for six. He applauds himself via hand and bat, and well he might. Next ball, he pulls to square-leg for two, then a single brings Duminy onto strike - and again, he can’t despatch a wide one. They run one more, allowing Yuvraj to dismiss from his countenance a fuller, slower ball, sent over long-on. Better from Delhi.
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15th over: Delhi 119-2 (Duminy 25, Yuvraj 10) Duminy charges the returning Southee, but can only edge into his pads for one. Yuvraj is getting there, though, flipping down to long-on - Nair does well to save two by diving along the rope. Through the screen of my computer, this looks like a 200 or so track - Delhi need to start motoring here - but Southee’s last ball, yorker length, forced Duminy to block, and they can manage but a single from the last ball. It’s a tactical time-out! Get in!
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14th over: Delhi 113-2 (Duminy 23, Yuvraj 6) Yuvraj cuts two - he’s starting to find his timing, now, but can’t find the boundary that the over needs. Only seven off the over will please Rajasthan. Hoodafinishes with 0-20 off four, an excellent contribution.
13th over: Delhi 106-2 (Duminy 21, Yuvraj 2) Faulkner returns, and after two dots, Duminy cuts - it just avoids the hands of Rahane at point, and they run two. Then, next ball, he rams a pull over the fence for six, which is more like it, but eight form the over will please Rajasthan more than Delhi.
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12th over: Delhi 98-2 (Duminy 13, Yuvraj 2) Yuvraj gets off the mark with a single down to long-off, and he’ll really need to get after it. Duminy has 13 off 18 - that’s not really on - and he’ll really need to get out if he can’t turn it up.
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WICKET! Iyer c Southee b Morris 40 (Delhi 93-2)
Iyer goes again, a louche swing catching a slower ball too low on the bat, and Southee does well to make a steepler look pips. Over bowled.
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11th over: Delhi 93-1 (Iyer 40, Duminy 12) Shreyas Iyer is a lot of fun! He gets right under Morris’ first ball, lamping six over square-leg - apparently without imparting the remotest power. Morris punishes him with a bouncer, which he lets by, subsequently nabbing a single off a slower one. The action then pauses as we see a mini-montage in the American style, evocative music and close-up shots incongruously inserted for no apparent reason, before...
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10th over: Delhi 84-1 (Iyer 33, Duminy 11) With the batting Rajasthan have to come, this is a deeply pleasing circumstance, and Iyer rams home the sentiment, swinging hard and fairly zetzing Tambe over long-on for six. Then, after waiting for the ball - none of the moving the feet nonsense - another huge, loose swing to send four racing straight back past the bowler; decent start to the over. But Tambe comes back well, the remainder of it yielding just two singles.
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9th over: Delhi 71-1 (Iyer 21, Duminy 10) Faulkner into the attack, and Duminy comes down the track to him, gets low and crumps him over the top - but the ball’s dropping in front of Tambe, who dives forward, but the ball passes through his hands. They run one, and Iyer then flicks four through midwicket, before making room and assaulting six, inside-out over mid-off. Time for a time-out, so we can all discuss strategy, switching off the telly to make sure we’re not distracted by any adverts.
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8th over: Delhi 58-1 (Iyer 10, Duminy 9) Yes, Agarwal was seeing it, but three overs without a boundary - without really attempting a boundary-getting shot - seems a curious approach on a decent track, almost halfway through a T20 innings, batting first, only one down. Losing a wicket oughtn’t to have hampered momentum quite so much, I’d not say. Iyer does miss a short, wide one - and Hooda follows up with a wide -but the extra ball almost yields a wicket. Iyer cuts, starts running, Duminy sends him scurrying back, and a wild throw misses.
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7th over: Delhi 54-1 (Iyer 10, Duminy 6) If Steven Smith jumped into a barrel of the brown stuff, he’d come up smelling of bone marrow gravy. The bowling changes are working for him, and Tambe catches Iyer on the pad coming down the pitch to drive - the appeal looks decent, but the ball’s going down. Another good over, but.
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6th over: Delhi 51-1 (Iyer 9, Duminy 4) “The Lacoste polo shirt in a fragrance collection” - someone on telly actually just spoke those words. It’s spin from both ends now, as Hooda comes on. Does anyone think JP Duminy should have come in earlier in the Delhi’s last game? I’m amazed no one’s thought to mention it.
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5th over: Delhi 46-1 (Iyer 7, Duminy 1) Duminy in at three, and takes a single from the final ball to midwicket.
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WICKET! Agarwal c & b Tambe 37 (Delhi 45-1)
Handy bowling, this. Agarwal makes room, moving away to leg, but the ball, slower to begin with, skips on and he mistimes his drive, hitting back to the bowler.
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5th over: Delhi 45-0 (Agarwal 37, Iyer 7) Tambe’s leg-spin is introduced...
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4th over: Delhi 44-0 (Agarwal 37, Iyer 6) Kukarni into the attack, and after a dot, is subjected to a peculiar punishment: Agarwal stands and beefily chips back past him. It doesn’t come out of the middle - it’s nearer the splice - and the bat’s at a funny angle, but it flies away for four anyway. Next, four more using the pace when the delivery is on the pads, then four more backwards of square on the off-side when given width, then two past point, then four more run down to third man! Brilliant batting! 18 off the over, 37 off 19 for Agarwal.
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3rd over: Delhi 26-0 (Agarwal 13, Iyer 6) “The first yes-bang maximum” from the first ball of the over, Agarwal committing and hoisting Southee over cover as easily as hard things are to people who do them well. This ground really is an interesting piece of work, a huge sweeping stand at one end and an enormous tall affair at the other. Meanwhile, back in the middle, a single allows Iyer to assert, an expert’s cover drive - beautifully timed - and two more singles make it 13 from the over. This is now A Good Start.
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2nd over: Delhi 13-0 (Agarwal 11, Iyer 1) Chris Morris in from the other end, and his second ball floats onto the pads. Of this, Agarwal is having none, glancing four behind square on the leg-side - but Morris responds well, ceding just one more run from the over.
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1st over: Delhi 8-0 (Agarwal 6, Iyer 1) Swing for Southee first up, and it’s squirted away on the leg-side, bringing Iyer onto strike - it’s slightly surprising to see him opening, but he’s an interesting talent. After a wide, he gets off the mark by turning to midwicket, and Agarwal then thumps a drive to point that looks sure to scoot for four, only for Rahane to fling himself in the road and hang onto to brilliant stop. He quickly compensates, though, not quite middling a front-foot pull but clumping it for a two-bounce four nonetheless.
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Southee is marking out his run.
There players are with us. The pitch looks green (apparently), which might explain why Rajasthan elected to bowl.
Octopussy - in Udaipur, Rajasthan.
Talking of Steven Smith, he continues to captain Rajasthan in the continuing absence of What-Ho Watson.
Delhi made a right old mess of their chase against Chennai after bowling superbly. Batting first, they’ll need to be far more aggressive - the question is whether they’ve quite got the power and skill at the top of the order to set the kind of total that’ll put pressure on Rajasthan. Is it even possible to put pressure on Steven Smith?
Rajasthan, unchanged, win the toss and shall bowl. JP Duminy says he’d have batted anyways, and announces three changes: Morkel, who didn’t quite get it did against Chennai, when he should’ve done, is replaced by Mathews. Also dropped are Gautam and Joseph, for Unadkat and Tiwary.
Morning everyone.
Morning everyone.
