OPENER Rob Quiney turned in a strong performance with the bat on a difficult pitch as the Victoria Bushrangers thumped the Delhi Daredevils by seven wickets in the Champions League Twenty20 at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

Fast bowler Clint McKay claimed three wickets and Shane Harwood and Andrew McDonald snared two each as the Daredevils squandered the advantage of winning the toss and ended up posting a meagre 98 for eight.

Quiney then dominated an opening stand worth 55 with Brad Hodge (nine) as the visitors cantered to a clinical victory with 3.2 overs to spare.

Virender Sehwag had begun the Daredevils’ innings adroitly with consecutive boundaries in Harwood’s first over with the new ball. But his promising innings was nipped in the bud by McKay, the first change bowler brilliantly snapping up a return catch for his first victim.

Sehwag’s partner Gautam Gambhir had already departed and when McKay snared Owais Shah for a five-ball duck, the Daredevils were in a spot of bother.

It fell to Tillakaratne Dilshan to keep the Daredevils from abject capitulation and the Sri Lanka opener adapted to the unusual role of anchoring the innings after Dinesh Karthik was run out. Together with Mithun Manhas (25), Dilshan had revived the innings, but his attacking instinct eventually got the better of him and he perished for a slow 18.

Dilshan was McKay’s third victim, while Manhas – who needed the aid of a runner – was left to plough a lone furrow.

Quiney began his innings cautiously, but with new ball bowlers Ashish Nehra and Dirk Nannes straying in line, the opener cut loose.

He clubbed Nannes for boundaries in consecutive overs and smashed Nehra for a six as he quickly knocked off almost half the target. He eventually fell to wrist spinner Amit Mishra, but with the required rate dropping to less than three per over, the result was a foregone conclusion.

Cameron White was unbeaten on 22 and Aiden Blizzard, who finished the chase with a six, was unbeaten on 15. (Eurosport)
DELHI DAREDEVILS
*G Gambhir b Harwood 4
V Sehwag c & b McKay 21
T Dilshan b McKay 18
O Shah c wkp Wade b McKay 0
+D Karthik run out 6
M Manhas b Harwood 25
R Bhatia b McDonald 8
A Mishra not out 7
P Sangwan b McDonald 1
Extras (b2, lb2, w4) 8     
TOTAL (8 wkts, 20 overs) 98
Did not bat: D Nannes, A Nehra.
Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Gambhir, 2.4 overs), 2-31 (Sehwag, 4.5), 3-41 (Shah, 6.2), 4-47 (Karthik, 8), 5-76 (Dilshan, 15.1), 6-84 (Manhas, 16.3), 7-96 (Bhatia, 19.3), 8-98 (Sangwan, 20) 
Bowling: Harwood 4-0-20-2, Siddle 4-0-21-0 (w1), McKay 4-0-17-3 (w1), McDonald 4-0-17-2, Holland 3-0-10-0 (w1), Hussey 1-0-9-0.

VICTORIA
R Quiney b Mishra 40
B Hodge b Dilshan 9
*C White not out 22
D Hussey b Bhatia  7
A Blizzard not out 15
Extras (lb1, w5, nb1) 7     
TOTAL (3 wkts, 16.4 overs) 100
Did not bat: A McDonald, +M Wade, C McKay, S Harwood, J Holland, P Siddle.
Fall of wickets: 1-55 (Quiney, 7.5 overs), 2-55 (Hodge, 8.2), 3-78 (Hussey, 12.5) 
Bowling: Nehra 3-0-20-0 (w3), Nannes 3-0-17-0 (w1), Mishra 4-0-30-1 (nb1), Dilshan 4-0-14-1, Bhatia 2.4-0-18-1.  
Points: Victoria 2, Delhi Daredevils 0.