Simons takes over as Head Coach of Delhi Daredevils

NEW DELHI: Delhi Daredevils has elevated South African Eric Simons, currently Team India’s bowling coach, as Head Coach ahead of the DLF Indian Premier League season that is scheduled to begin on April 4 next. Former India fast bowler T A Sekar returns to Delhi Daredevils as its Mentor after two years as Mumbai Indians’ Team Manager.

Familiarity will take not the edge away from competitive series: Warner

NEW DELHI: Delhi Daredevils’ David Warner, who made his battling maiden Test century for Australia and was named man of the match against New Zealand at Hobart on Monday, is looking forward to being selected to play the coming Test series against India and expects it to be a most competitive series.

Thank you for your unstinted support

I have learnt that in cricket each season and each innings is a new lesson. This has been one more such season, where we have learnt that talent alone does not win matches or competitions. Everyone needs luck but also all players must apply themselves  to the task consistently.

The current season, which has just come to an end, was a disappointment for the Daredevils, me personally and the players. We know that we have not lived to the expectations of our fans and supporters in Delhi.

I have now spent four years with the Delhi Daredevils, a team that is as dear to me as the Indian national team. For the last four years the fans have supported us by coming out in large numbers.

The fans are justified in feeling let down. Inside the team it hurts us as much as it hurts you, our fans, for not being able to produce a result that we should have.

We had a team with great potential but we did not play to it. The net result: we failed to qualify for the play-offs.

Frankly, when we lost a few early games, I always felt that we could bounce back and turn the momentum around. But it just did not happen. We came close on many occasions, but again the wins eluded us.

In a  tournament that is long with 14 league games each, form and fortunes can change more than a few times, as it has happened with a quite a few teams out there. A winning streak can suddenly disappear, just as a losing  streak can be turned around.

We have a young team that has a lot of ability and I am confident that we will come out of this disappointment and perform in a manner  that will bring joy to the city of Delhi .

To you I promise we will bounce back from this and give you all a lot to cheer when we come back for the next season.

Thanks once again for your unstinted support.

Virender Sehwag

Daredevils-Warriors match called off due to rain

New Delhi, May 21: Delhi Daredevils ended the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League at the bottom of the points table as their last league match against Pune Warriors was washed out, forcing them to split points, here today. Both teams had nine points each but the Daredevils, with four wins and nine defeats, finished at the bottom of the table owing to their poorer run rate.

More to me than just pace: Varun Aaron

NEW DELHI, MAY 19: Raw pace and extreme power is what Varun Aaron is associated with, yet the young right-arm fast bowler insists there is more to him than just speed. “I like to bowl fast, but along with pace, you need to have a good line and length and some variation as well. I don’t think about just pace when I’m bowling. Pace comes naturally to me. But you also have to keep in mind the batsman’s strengths and weaknesses while bowling,” he said. 

Our fielding cost us the game: Hopes

DHARAMSALA: The focus may have been on Delhi Daredevils’ batting and bowling, but it was actually their fielding which let them down against Kings XI Punjab, felt stand-in captain James Hopes. Although the visitors lost by 29 runs, Hopes felt that had Delhi held on to their chances, the story could have been a different one.

Our fielding cost us the game: Hopes

DHARAMSALA: The focus may have been on Delhi Daredevils’ batting and bowling, but it was actually their fielding which let them down against Kings XI Punjab, felt stand-in captain James Hopes. Although the visitors lost by 29 runs, Hopes felt that had Delhi held on to their chances, the story could have been a different one.

Kings XI Punjab stay in hunt for play-offs

Dharamsala: Paul Valthaty and Shaun Marsh starred with the bat while leggie Piyush Chawla took three wickets to set up a 29-run victory for Kings XI Punjab over the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League, here Sunday, to stay alive for the play-offs.

Candid Hopes gives credit to better team

CHENNAI: “If the opposition beats you by playing good cricket,” said Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni, “you should accept it with an open heart.” That is exactly what Delhi Daredevils’ stand-in captain James Hopes did, as his side fell short by 18 runs on Thursday against a stronger opposition. 

CSK beat Daredevils to maintain unbeaten record at home

Chennai: Mahendra Singh Dhoni sent the Delhi bowlers on a leather-hunt as Chennai Super Kings kept their unbeaten record at Chepauk intact with a comfortable 18-run victory over Delhi Daredevils in a 12th round IPL encounter today.

Dhoni smashed his way to an unbeaten 63 off only 31 balls (5x4s, 4x6s) and along with an equally effective Subramanium Badrinath (55) guided CSK to a formidable 176 for four in 20 overs. With no Virender Sehwag in their line-up, the target was virtually impossible for Daredevils to chase as they managed only 158 for six in 20 overs.

Irfan Pathan scored an unbeaten 46 but that was never going to be enough.

With this win CSK notched up their eighth win in the competition and stretched their unbeaten streak at home to six matches.

The match will however be remembered for the contrasting half-centuries by Dhoni and Badrinath as they added 96 runs for the fourth wicket in only 9.2 overs.

Dhoni clobbered the Daredevils bowlers racing his way to a 28-ball half century. He finished with a flourish hitting Irfan Pathan for consecutive sixes off his final two deliveries. The exhibition of clean hitting reminded one and all of the Dhoni of the old who had the penchant for taking on the bowlers straightaway.

On the other hand, Badrinath (55, 43 balls, 6x4, 1x6) who is almost a certainty going to board the flight to the Caribbeans did his reputation no harm as he played with lot of precision rotating the strike and punishing the loose deliveries. The final two overs yielded 37 runs while CSK scored 109 runs off the last 10 overs having scored 67 from the first 10.

For Daredevils who erred by selecting five pacers on a slow track, Ajit Agarkar turned out to be the most expensive bowler leaking 49 runs from four overs while Pathan gave away 40 from his four.

Dhoni started off with a pulled boundary off Ajit Agarkar and then launched into Andrew McDonald for a straight six and then helped himself with a boundary. Both Dhoni and Badrinath ran the singles and twos well as they waited for the loose balls.

When Agarkar came back for his second spell, he played an audacious pull-shot and followed it up with a deft scoop past the short fine leg.

The Indian captain moved into the 40's when he patted state-mate Varun Aaron's full-toss straight past the bowler. The best stroke however remained a lofted shot off Agarkar over extra cover that brought up his second six.

With an able ally in Badrinath who was wise enough to rotate the strike, Dhoni ensured that his side put up another commendable score on a slow Chepauk track.

Put in to bat, CSK suffered an early setback when Irfan removed danger-man Michael Hussey (5) in the very first over. Suresh Raina (14) started off with a four and a six off McDonald but perished trying to hook a short-pitched delivery from Jharkhand pacer Varun Aaron. Raina, whose weakness against rising delivery is well known, took his eyes off the ball and the balance was not there as Irfan took an easy catch at deep fine leg.

Meanwhile Murali Vijay (35, 33 balls, 2x4, 2x6) played some nice shots including couple of huge sixes off Agarkar, one flew into the deep mid-wicket stands while the other one went over long-on.

Vijay should however be blamed for not cashing in on being dropped twice off successive deliveries. On 22, he drove Aaron towards cover which skipper James Hopes failed to latch on to.

The first ball of the very next over from left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem saw Vijay lobbing it straight to the bowler who failed to grab the chance. The batsman had scored 23 then.

He could add only 12 more before Agarkar got his revenge as Venugopal Rao held onto a smart catch inches inside the ropes. Source: PTI

Experienced Hopes takes over from Viru

New Delhi: James Hopes, who takes over as the captain from Virender Sehwag for the remainder of Delhi Daredevils’ matches in the Indian Premier League-4, is looking forward to his new responsibility. Sehwag has been ruled of the rest of the IPL-4 as he will undergo a surgery on his injured shoulder. One of the handful of Daredevils in form, he feels the remaining three matches in the league is an opportunity for youngsters to make a name for themselves.

Mumbai beat Delhi by 32 runs to stay on top

Mumbai: Dishing out another superlative all-round performance, Mumbai Indians crushed Delhi Daredevils by 32 runs to virtually qualify for the play-offs of the Indian Premier League here today. The win at the Wankhede Stadium meant Mumbai are back at the top of the leader board with 16 points from 10 games and have virtually booked a berth in the last four stage of the Twenty20 tournament.

Early wickets cost us the game, rues Sehwag

MUMBAI: Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag was left regretting the lack of a good start as his side lost to the Mumbai Indians by 32 runs on Saturday, a defeat that has virtually ended Delhi’s hopes of making the play-offs.

I was confident of a win once I batted 15 overs: Sehwag

Hyderabad: Daredevils' captain Virender Sehwag rated his match-winning hundred against Deccan Chargers as one of his best in Twenty20 format and said he was confident of achieving the target once he had batted beyond the 15th over.

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

Knight Riders beat Delhi Daredevils by 17 runs

New Delhi: Manoj Tiwary made a resilient unbeaten 61 off 47 balls as Kolkata Knight Riders beat the Delhi Daredevils by 17 runs at their Feroz Shah Kotla home ground in the Indian Premier Legue (IPL) match played here Thursday.

Daredevils go down fighting to RCB

New Delhi: Virat Kohli scored an aggressive 56 as Royal Challengers Bangalore held their nerves to beat Delhi Daredevils by three wickets in the Indian Premier League here Tuesday.

Viru-Warner shine in Daredevils victory over KXIP

New Delhi: Delhi Daredevils stopped Kings XI Punjab's three-match winning streak, beating them by 29 runs for their maiden home win in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the packed Ferozeshah Kotla here Saturday.

Sehwag blitz, Kotla pitch let me play my game: Warner

NEW DELHI:  David Warner praised fellow opener Virender Sehwag and the changed Feroz Shah Kotla pitch as his man-of-the-match performance saw Delhi Daredevils set an imposing target of 232 and beat Kings XI Punjab by 29 runs.

You learn a lot discussing with Sehwag: Finch

NEW DELHI, April 22: Aaron Finch, all of 24, and in his first year of international cricket, is in a crucial phase of his career. And the hard-hitting batsman, who wants to make the most of it, is loving the Indian Premier League experience. Getting picked by Daredevils and playing alongside Virender Sehwag, Finch is hoping to learn a lot from the legend.

Daredevils Go Down to Deccan Chargers for Second Home Defeat

New Delhi: Delhi Daredevils' first win at home in season four of the Indian Premier League (IPL) remained elusive as they went down to Deccan Chargers by 16 runs at the Ferozeshah Kotla here Tuesday.

It was an all-round performance by Deccan Chargers, who climbed to the fourth spot in the IPL after their second win from five matches. The Daredevils failed to move out of the ninth spot as they witnessed their third loss in four matches.

Delhi Daredevils taste first win in IPL 2011

Navi Mumbai: Delhi Daredevils tasted their maiden win in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after they clinched a thrilling three-wicket win against Pune Warriors India at the D.Y.Patil Sports Complex here Sunday.

Chasing a winning target of 188, Daredevils made 190 for seven with four balls to spare after openers David Warner (46) and captain Virender Sehwag (37) set the platform for a late onslaught with their 75-run stand. Venugopal Rao (31) and Aaron Finch (25) added crucial 47 runs for the sixth wicket as Daredevils won in style.

Royals’ team-effort trumps Daredevils

Jaipur, April 12: Despite putting up a commendable performance with the bat, Delhi Daredevils lost out to a well-in-form Rajasthan Royals. It was a match that proved to be unpredictable until the death overs  of the second innings.

Daredevils lose opener to Mumbai Indians

New Delhi: The first outing of the Delhi Daredevils in IPL4 against Mumbai Indians was one of many surprises. An explosive start by Virender Sehwag right from the first ball turned into a swift loss of wickets after his departure in the fifth over. Viru looked threatening as he stepped out to bat; the first ball he faced from Harbhajan Singh in the first over landed only about a yard short of the ropes before being cut off. But it was the next ball that went soaring into the crowds (85 Meters) and got them roaring for more. The Daredevils were off to a good start with 10 runs in the first over.