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Yusuf Pathan’s hitting laid us low: Sehwag

— Photo: AP

CHAMPION STUFF: Graeme Smith and Yusuf Pathan did a splendid job on Tuesday.

Centurion: Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag on Tuesday gave full credit to Yusuf Pathan for powering Rajasthan Royals to the five-wicket victory over his side, saying the all-rounder just came in and blew the game away with his clean hitting.

Pathan smashed a blistering 60 (32 balls, 3 x 4, 6 x 6) to help the defending champion register its second victory in the tournament and end Sehwag-led Delhi’s winning streak.

“No, you can’t complain about that. Yes, we dropped couple of catches and it proved costly but when a batsman is in such a mood you can’t do anything. “He came in and just thrashed the bowling attack. I wasn’t expecting Vettori to go for so many runs. He is such a wonderful bowler but Yusuf Pathan got it right. All the sixes went 10 rows into the stand,” said Sehwag after the match.

Daredevils’ dynamic opening duo of Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have not yet clicked and the Delhi captain said it was a matter of concern.

Royals skipper Shane Warne also lauded Pathan and hailed Graeme Smith for his responsible innings. “Graeme Smith used all his experience at the top, he batted responsibly but Yusuf (Pathan) was fantastic,” Warne said.

Confidence-booster

The inspirational Royals skipper said the victory was a result of team effort and would be a confidence booster for the future matches.

“It was a goos stepping stone. If we keep performing the same way, we can be a force in the competition.” He also praised his bowlers, especially Munaf Patel, for restricting Daredevils to a modest score.

Meanwhile, man-of-the-match Yususf Pathan said he didn’t come out to bat with any specific plan and was just playing his natural game. “Yes, I am hitting quite well but I didn’t target any specific bowler. I just played my natural game,” he said. — PTI

SCOREBOARD

Delhi Daredevils: 143 for seven in 20 overs.

Rajasthan Royals: R. Quiney lbw b Nehra 4, G. Smith (not out) 44, S. Asnodkar (run out) 11, P. Valthaty c Vettori b Mishra 1, R. Jadeja c Sangwan b Mishra 16, S. Warne st Karthik b Mishra 0, Yusuf (not out) 62; Extras: (lb-3, w-5, nb-1) 9; Total: (for five wkts. in 18.3 overs) 147.

Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-31, 3-34, 4-63, 5-64.

Delhi Daredevils bowling: Nannes 3.3-0-22-0, Nehra 4-0-23-1, Sangwan 4-0-28-0, Mishra 4-0-34-3, Dilshan 1-0-4-0, Vettori 2-0-32-0.

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