Sehwag stunner keeps Daredevils in the hunt

Hyderabad: Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag single-handedly demolished the Deccan Chargers bowlers with a blistering century to guide his team to a four-wicket victory in the IPL match here today.

Chasing a stiff target of 176, Sehwag took the Chargers attack to the cleaners scoring 119 from only 56 balls with the help of 13 fours and five sixes as his teammates had little contribution in the winning cause.

Irfan draws inspiration from elder brother Yusuf

Hyderabad: Delhi Daredevils all-rounder Irfan Pathan draws inspiration from his elder brother Yusuf and hopes to follow the explosive right-hander's footstep when it comes to power-hitting in cricket matches.

Tuskers bounce back with emphatic win

New Delhi: Kochi Tuskers bounced back in two days to outplay Delhi Daredevils by seven wickets in their away match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Feroz Shah Kotla here Monday. Both teams badly needed a win to stay in contention in the tournament but it was the Tuskers who rose to the occasion and recorded their first win in four matches. 

Difficult but not impossible, says Sehwag

NEW DELHI, MAY 2: It may have been their sixth defeat in nine games, but Virender Sehwag and his Delhi Daredevils are not willing to give up just yet, with the captain promising to fight until the end.

Sehwag takes Daredevils past Tuskers

Kochi: Virender Sehwag (80 off 47 balls) played a captain's knock on a difficult wicket to steer Delhi Daredevils to a 38-run win over Kochi Tuskers in their Indian Premier League match here Saturday.

Sehwag, who had been critical of his poor form this season, single-handedly took the team to 157 for seven on a pitch of uneven bounce.

Chasing under the circumstances was always going to be hard for the Tuskers and they folded up for 119 in 18.5 overs. Morne Morkel (3/18), Roelof van der Merwe (3/20) and Irfan Pathan (2/27) bowled in the right areas to get Daredevils home. 

The win has pushed the Delhi side to seventh place in the table with six points from eight matches. The Tuskers also have the same number of points, but are placed ninth. 

The Tuskers were under pressure from ball one and it showed with their main batsman Brendon McCullum (7) getting out straightaway to a rash shot off Pathan. The low bounce also got the better of Patel (1) and when Captain Mahela Jayawardene was caught by his counterpart off Agarkar, the match seemed to have slipped out of Tuskers' grasp.

Brad Hodge (27) and Ravindra Jadeja (31) provided some resistance but getting 78 off last 36 balls seemed like a mountain to climb. 

Earlier, Daredevils did well to post a 150-plus score after being at 45 for three in the first 10 overs. David Warner (3) and Naman Ojha (1) were victims of the pitch with Sreesanth's deliveries keeping awfully low, especially in the case of Ojha as he was adjudged leg before getting the ball on his toe. A 100 plus score looked improbable at that time but Sehwag came to the rescue as he batted beyond 15 overs for the first time in the tournament. 

Batting patiently on a challenging wicket, Sehwag smashed the bowlers in his trademark style after getting used to the variable bounce. 

The Indian opener got to his 50 with a maximum on a slow bouncer off Vinay Kumar and departed in the 18th over trying to hit another one out of the park.

It was a remarkable recovery from the visitors as they amassed 112 runs in the last 10 overs, of which 63 came off the last 30 balls. Yogesh Nagar (22) and Travis Birt (20) made useful contributions towards the end.

Kumar, Balachandra Akhil and Ramesh Powar proved most expensive for the Tuskers as they conceded 83 runs in their eight overs. Source: IANS