The IPL witnessed one of its closest finishes in recent times when the Delhi Daredevils played a nail biting match at home. The opponents were sitting high on top of the table and Delhi had their task cut out going into the game. The Daredevils had just played another thrilling game on Saturday and the results did not go in their favor unfortunately. This was going to be one tough game and the Daredevils’ philosophy reflected their intent aptly enough.

DD vs CSK

The Delhi Daredevils were sent into bat by the opponent captain after losing the toss. The pitch had little doses of moisture and experts wasted no time in declaring it a as a track which would gradually play in the favor of the batsmen. Quinton de Kock took over from where he left, stroking three boundaries and two imperious sixes in his knock of 24 from just 16 balls while Murali Vijay played a steady knock of 35 from 30 balls with two hits to the fence and one six to show for his efforts. However, Delhi lost wickets in quick succession when de Kock’s dismissal was followed by captain Kevin Pieterson being bowled off the first ball.

The ship was steadied by Dinesh Karthik however, who put on a fruitful 71 run stand with Vijay and played some lovely shots indeed which got the crowd roaring. He played a swashbuckling innings of 51 from only 36 balls with four boundaries and three stunning sixes to his credit. Thereafter, while Laxmi Ratan Shukla got out for a duck, JP Duminy and Kedar Jadhav took the Daredevils to a good total of 178 in their 20 overs, remaining unbeaten on 28 and 29 respectively. While Duminy cut loose with boundaries in quick succession, Jadhav took the bull by its horns in the last over, hitting two majestic sixes and a gorgeous boundary.

The batting effort of the Daredevils deserved praise and they capitalized in the last four overs to post a good total on the board. The Delhi bowlers bowled their heart out but the opponent batsmen survived and put up a solid 82. However, the Delhi bowlers tightened things up with two crucial wickets and set up an exciting finish to the game.

Alongside, some fantastic bowling from Wayne Parnell ensured that the opponents needed 11 runs to win off the last over. In the end, the nail biting match did not go Delhi’s way but audiences and experts were unanimous about the large hearted effort from the Delhi bowlers in taking the match to the last over. Wayne Parnell was impressive with overall figures of 1 for 25 in his quota of four overs. Shami Ahmed and Jaydev Unadkat were a little off color, conceding 42 and 47 runs respectively. However, Shahbaz Nadeem and Laxmi Ratan Shukla bowled brilliantly in the middle overs, conceding only 27 and 31 respectively in their four overs. Shukla picked up a crucial wicket too.

All in all, this was another nail biting match in which the Delhi Daredevils demonstrated their class even though the results did not go their way!