Deccan roll into final thanks to Gilchrist blitzkreig

Adam Gilchrist’s blazing knock of 85 off only 35 deliveries ensured that the biggest favourites of the tournament, the Delhi Daredevils, went crashing out of the tournament in a rather one-side game.

Despite playing back to back games, Adam Gilchrist, the captain, won the toss and decided to field first. Delhi’s lack of form at the top of the order has been a suspect, and the semi-finals saw both the openers, Gautam Gambhir and Dave Warner, perish in the first over to Ryan Harris for a duck. The usual opener, and the captain, Virender Sehwag was batting at number three and had been in an iffy form, but rebuilt the inning with the batsman in form, T.Dilshan. In fact, it was Sehwag who began the fight back by creaming a couple of boundaries in an over, while Dilshan didn’t waste any time in dishing out as they came; a short ball going for a six. Smashing 'em! > At the end of the tenth over, the Daredevils had got to 83/2 and both batsmen were neck in neck with 38 and 39 to their names. The change in flow came with the wicket of Sehwag, who tried to act cute off Andrew Symonds and was declared LBW in the eleventh over. The run-rate expectedly dropped, even as Dilshan reached his half century. A.B. de Villiers’ purple patch saw him hit a couple of sixes in his 21-ball 26, after having struggled through the start of the inning, while Dilshan was dropped by Gibbs!

At 133/3, the Daredevils could have got another 30 odd runs – even 40 if the big over came – but as Gilchrist admitted later, the 20 off the last three overs changed the complexion of the game, as Delhi ended with 153.

Deccan’s reply was mesmerizing from the very first over. After the first couple of deliveries were used as sighters by Gilchrist, he launched into Delhi’s best bowler, Dirk Nannes and smashed five boundaries off him! Herschelle Gibbs was dismissed for another duck, but after that, it was a carnage party from the skipper’s bat. Pradeep Sangwan – replacing Nannes – went for a couple of fours and a six, where as Nehra then was hit for 15!

Deccan was 56/1 in four overs, and the match looked to be running away from them. Dilshan was introduced to stem the flow of runs, and while he conceded only three, it was the sixth over the match that left the outcome in no doubt. Sehwag bowled it to Gilli, and was thrashed for a four and three sixes to have the Chargers at 84 runs at the end of the fielding restrictions.

Bilakhia departed out after that, and Gilli followed soon after that, but the Daredevils were facing a tough challenge as their opponents needed only 52 runs in the last ten overs. First Symonds and then T.Suman ensured that the runs were surpassed in the 18th over itself.

Gilli was the undoubted choice for the man-of-the-match, as he led them to the finals of the tournament!