Pre-tournament favourites Delhi Daredevils may have broken their three-match losing streak with the win over Chennai Super Kings to move closer to the semi-finals, but the worries over their vaunted top-order remain. A target of 113 should have been a snap, but the loss of three wickets in the first two overs made it a strenuous trek towards victory.
It started when offspinner R Ashwin continued his trend of providing early breakthroughs, removing Warner in the first over, after the batsman failed to keep the cut along the ground. In the next over, Australian fast bowler Doug Bollinger, who has already won over Chennai hearts with his bustling displays over the past couple of weeks, increased his fan-count by nipping out Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan in the space of four deliveries - Sehwag chasing a wide, full delivery and Dilshan bowled when attempting an extravagant cover drive.
Delhi were 6 for 3, and the deafening cries of 'Bollinger, Bollinger' ringing round the MA Chidambaram Stadium made it hard to believe the home side had scratched their way to one of the lowest totals of the tournament less than half an hour ago. Sensible batting from Gautam Gambhir and Mithun Manhas, who cut out the big hits and dealt mainly in singles initially, took Delhi to a vital win.
However, in a crucial match the feared Delhi hitters at the top had flopped again. Despite the presence of three of the world's most explosive batsmen (Sehwag, Warner, Dilshan) and two of the most consistent run-getters in recent years (Gambhir and AB de Villiers), the Delhi batting hasn't clicked as often as one would expect.
Source : http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2010/content/current/story/456255.html
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