Warne-led RR beat Delhi comfortably

RR made a couple of changes to their playing eleven – Jacob Oram and Stuart Binny made way for Ajinkya Rahane and Shaun Tait.

DD made one change to their playing eleven – Umesh Yadav made way for Shahbaz Nadeem.

On winning the toss, Virender Sehwag, DD’s skipper, chose to bat.

The first Powerplay of DD’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 30, and lost a couple of wickets.

Sehwag, who faced a couple of balls, scored four. His runs came by way of a boundary. Three balls into the match, he was caught by Rahul Dravid. Shaun Tait broke the five-run stand.

Aaron Finch, whose 14-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 11. Twenty-six balls later, he was caught by Johan Botha. Tait broke the 24-run stand.

Unmukt Chand, who faced 10 balls, scored just a couple. Fourteen balls later, he was caught by Dravid. Needless to say, Shane Warne, RR’s skipper and the player of the match, was in seventh heaven.

The fourth-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Naman Ojha, who faced a couple of balls, didn’t open his account. A couple of balls later, he was caught by Tait off the bowling of Warne.

DD scored 50 off 10.4 overs (64 balls). RR had conceded five extras at that point.

The fifth-wicket pair put on 50 off 45 balls. While David Warner’s contribution to the partnership was 17, Venugopal Rao’s contribution to it was 35. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was a run.

DD scored 100 off 15.4 overs (94 balls). RR had conceded five extras at that point.

While Warner’s half-century – which included half-a-dozen boundaries and a six – came off 40 balls, Rao’s half-century – which included four boundaries and three sixes – came off 37 balls.

Warner eventually scored 54 off 44 balls. Sixty-one balls after Ojha’s dismissal, he was caught by Abhishek Raut. Amit Singh broke the 83-run partnership.

Rao, whose 40-ball innings included the aforementioned number of boundaries, in addition to four sixes, eventually scored 60. Eight balls later, he was caught by Warne. Siddharth Trivedi broke the 20-run stand.

Irfan Pathan, whose six-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored nine. He was unbeaten, as was Roelof van der Merwe, who faced three balls, scoring a couple.

DD scored 150 off 20 overs (121 balls). They eventually scored 151 for the loss of half-a-dozen wickets. RR had conceded nine extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Each of the five bowlers bowled four overs apiece.

Botha, who conceded 36, was wicketless.

Trivedi and Amit (whose spell included a maiden) picked up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 36, the latter conceded 18.

Tait and Warne bowled two scalps apiece. While the former conceded 39, the latter conceded 17.

The first Powerplay of RR’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 57, and lost a wicket.

Amit Paunikar, whose eight-ball innings included a boundary, scored five. Twenty balls into the chase, Ashok Dinda broke the 26-run stand.

RR scored 50 off 5.3 overs (35 balls). DD had conceded 11 extras at that point.

Dravid, whose 31-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries and a six, scored 38. Twenty-seven balls after Paunikar’s dismissal, he was caught by Ojha. Van der Merwe broke the 35-run stand.

Botha, whose 32-ball innings included four boundaries, scored 39. He was unbeaten.

Ashok Menaria, whose 15-ball innings included three sixes, scored 22. Twenty balls after Dravid’s dismissal, he was caught by Sehwag. Pathan broke the 31-run stand.

RR scored 100 off 12.1 overs (75 balls). DD had conceded 11 extras at that point.

Rahane, whose 17-ball innings included a boundary and a six, scored 18. Twenty-six balls after Menaria’s dismissal, Morne Morkel broke the 29-run stand.

RR scored 150 off 18.3 overs (113 balls). They eventually scored 152 for the loss of four wickets, winning by half-a-dozen wickets with nine balls to spare. DD had conceded a dozen extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Ross Taylor, whose innings included a boundary and a six, scored 18. He was unbea‘ten’.

Nadeem bowled four wicketless overs, conceding 25.

Pathan bowled three overs, conceding 32. He picked up a wicket.

Dinda bowled 3.3 overs, conceding 34. He picked up a wicket.

Van der Merwe and Morkel bowled four overs each, picking up a scalp apiece. While the former conceded 41, the latter conceded 11.