JAIPUR: Delhi Daredevils made six changes to their side but failed to change the course of their Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013 campaign as Rajasthan Royals beat them by nine wickets yesterday at Sawai Mansingh Stadium here.
Rajasthan’s seventh home win in as many games took them to the second position on the points table and a step closer to the qualifiers.
Having opted to bat, Delhi made 154 for 4 before Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane, reprieved in the fifth over when Pawan Negi dropped a skier at point, carried their form from the last game against Pune Warriors India to set the foundation for Rajasthan’s win with their first century partnership of the season.
Short deliveries were knocked off ferociously and anything on length was either driven past or lofted over the infield. Yet, as you might expect with Dravid and Rahane, their shots had little trace of anger on them, even when Dravid hit Morne Morkel and Ajit Agarkar for three boundaries in four balls.
With the total on 108, Dravid fell to a rather uncharacteristic slog, caught at long-on by Agarkar off Siddharth Kaul for 53. But Rahane, who remained unbeaten on 63, and Shane Watson, with a 14-ball 28, ensured that they romped home with 13 balls to spare.
Earlier, Delhi crossed the 150-run mark only because of the unbeaten 76-run stand between Ben Rohrer and Kedar Jadhav. Rohrer made his first significant contribution of the season with a 40-ball 64, his innings studded with nine fours and a six. He played most of his strokes square of the wicket against the pacers and used the sweep shot to good effect against the spinners. Jadhav also opened up and his 21-ball 23 worked as a good foil for Rohrer, who hit his unbeaten 64 in 40 balls.
Before Rohrer and Jadhav got together, Delhi’s innings stuttered along with Virender Sehwag, CM Gautam and David Warner falling by the eighth over with the total on 47.
Mahela Jayawardene and Rohrer rebuilt the innings with a 31-run stand and it was Rohrer who started the counterattack by sweeping Pravin Tambe, the oldest debutant in the history of the IPL at 41 years and 212 days, for two boundaries. Jayawardene pitched in and hit the first six of the innings off Siddharth Trivedi with an effortless shot over cover on his way to a 31-ball 34.
Wisden India
