The newest format of cricket does not necessarily belong to the young and fit. Veterans can also have their say and we saw that at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium on Tuesday as Rajasthan Royals handed Delhi Daredevils a six-wicket defeat.
Rahul Dravid and Man-of-the-Match Shane Warne rekindled fond memories of their glorious past. Warne caused dents with his spinning guile and Dravid came up with some shots that must have surprised himself, like the straight six off Irfan Pathan.
Dravid's clinical strokeplay and his catching in the slips made the day for the purists in the stands. For the entertainment seekers, there were thrills aplenty.
Rajasthan Royals was favoured to win and it won with nine balls to spare. Delhi Daredevils set Royals a total of 152 to win and the local team, riding on the crisp start by Dravid, fretted and faltered before reaching the target.
Johan Botha was around to finish the job that was aided by a three-six knock by Ashok Menaria. Barring Morne Morkel, there was no Delhi bowler who could make an impression.
Good stand
The Daredevils innings progressed in fits and starts. Two quick dismissals by Shaun Tait triggered a middle order collapse before opener David Warner and Y. Venugopala Rao added 83 runs for the fifth wicket to set up a fight.
Venugopala stole the limelight with his refreshingly attacking strokeplay. Branded as an ODI player, Venugopala chose the stage to play his shots, a few robust, but most from the book. He even hit four 6s.
It was his performance that gave Daredevils a decent score to stifle the opposition.
“Venu batted very well. I thought we had a decent total but Rajasthan played very well. I'll have to get runs in the coming matches. Our batting is a concern,” admitted Delhi skipper Sehwag.
The response from Warne was warm. “We still need to improve. In fact, Tait set up the match. He bowled as fast as he could. Rahul was too good. I think our intensity worked tonight,” said Warne.
Tait strikes
Daredevils won a good toss and the first ball boundary by Sehwag raised hopes.
But Tait swung the contest when he snared Sehwag off the next ball.
Dravid breaking into a sprint from first slip on plucking a catch out of thin air was a throwback to the days when his agile presence in that area lent teeth to the bowling.
Dravid's reaction said it all — the value of the wicket and that he had an inkling that the ball would come his way soon.
The ball flew to Dravid again a while later when young Unmukt Chand made an unwise tactical move to take on the wily Shane Warne.
It was Warne's first ball of the day. For Chand, it was his debut ball against Warne.
The pupil was restless to make a point. The master did not mind. The ball landed in a nice arc, turned slowly but lethally to take the edge.
It was a difficult catch but Dravid made it appear easy.
As it turned out, it was Dravid's day; Warne's day too. The stalwarts shone all the way.
Scores
Delhi Daredevils: D. Warner c Raut b Amit Singh 54 (44b, 6x4, 1x6), V. Sehwag c Dravid b Tait 4 (2b, 1x4), A. Finch c Botha b Tait 11 (14b, 1x4, 1x6), U. Chand c Dravid b Warne 2 (10b), N. Ojha c Tait b Warne 0 (2b), Y. Venugopala Rao c Warne b Trivedi 60 (40b, 4x4, 4x6), I. Pathan (not out) 9 (6b, 2x4), R. van der Merwe (not out) 2 (3b); Extras (lb-4, nb-2, w-3): 9; Total (for six wkts. in 20 overs): 151.
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-29, 3-36, 4-36, 5-119, 6-139.
Rajasthan Royals bowling: Tait 4-0-40-2, Amit Singh 4-1-18-1, Botha 4-0-36-0, Trivedi 4-0-36-1, Warne 4-0-17-2.
Rajasthan Royals: A. Paunikar b Dinda 5 (8b, 1x4), R. Dravid c Ojha b van der Merwe 38 (31b, 6x4, 1x6), J. Botha (not out) 39 (32b, 4x4), A. Menaria c Sehwag b Pathan 22 (15b, 3x6), A. Rahane b Morkel 18 (17b, 1x4, 1x6), R. Taylor (not out) 18 (10b, 1x4, 1x6); Extras (b-4, lb-5, nb-2, w-1): 12; Total (for four wkts. in 18.3 overs): 152.
Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-61, 3-92, 4-121.
Delhi Daredevils bowling: Dinda 3.3-0-34-1, Morkel 4-0-11-1, Pathan 3-0-32-1, van der Merwe 4-0-41-1, Nadeem 4-0-25-0.
Man-of-the-Match: Shane Warne.
