In a match which was cut short to 12 overs a side after a drizzle, the toss winning captain would certainly hope for the advantage he could get from the pitch, bowling first and Sehwag was not an exception. But to make things difficult for the Delhi Dare Devils, both the openers of Punjab Kings XI were determined to make it big on a day made uncertain by the rain. Goel was fully throttled from the very beginning itself dispatching the ball many a times to the fence but Bopara took almost 2 overs to settle down there and then he welcomed U-19 World Cup hero Sangwan with a fabulous loft which vanished in to the masses. Goel notched ahead of Bopara’s 97 Meter hit by belting Yo Mahesh well beyond 100 meters.

With plenty of options at hand, Sehwag kept on shuffling the bowlers after every over but nothing was working for them as he himself dropped Bopara followed by the bowler Sangwan missing another opportunity on the very next delivery. The opening partnership took just a little over 4 overs to score the first 50 runs. But then Goel surrendered when the score was 67. He might have relieved Kings XI’s worries for not having Marsh here as he could pave a great foundation by scoring 38 runs off 21 balls laced with 3 sixes and fours each before he was out being caught at mid-on by Vettori on his failed attempt to flight Mahesh over the fielder.

Vettori had much in his kitty to upset Punjab as he could get the better of Bopara on his very first delivery of IPL Season 2. With both the dangerous openers back in the pavilion, Dare Devils could firm their grip over the match and Vettori was the man behind with two more scalps. Kings XI could not capitalize on the marvelous foundation laid by the openers in the first half of their innings as they shrink from 67/1 in 6 overs to 104 after 12 overs.

In reply, Sehwag gave a lightening start for the Delhi side scoring impetuously along with Gambhir. They scored 24 runs from 11 balls and then started the rain at its maximum. After a short spell of showers when play was resumed the target was revised as 54 runs from 6 overs as per DL Rule. Then it became little a match for Sehwag and Gambhir and the duo crossed past the target in just 4.5 overs with all the wickets in hand. Sehwag remained unbeaten at 38 with Gambhir on 15. A win by 10 wickets would certainly bright their future in the IPL and Kings XI too would be little disappointed as they do have something to rejoice like Goel’s stunning form and a dream start their openers could share together.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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