… rain washes out Riders/Chargers match
DELHI Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag smashed a fine 87 off 48 balls to lead his side to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League clash at Pune yesterday. Chasing 147, Delhi lost Mahela Jayawardene (18) but England’s Kevin Pietersen partnered Sehwag in an 89-run stand to put the Daredevils well on course at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium.
Pietersen departed to Rahul Sharma in the 12th over after a 27 that included two sixes, before Ross Taylor joined the chase with his nine to lead the visitors’ home with four overs left, putting them two points clear at the top of the IPL table with a game in hand in the process.
Pune had struggled with the early losses of Jesse Ryder and skipper Sourav Ganguly – with just one run on the board.
Delhi bowlers Irfan Pathan and Morne Morkel did the damage, but Manish Pandey (80) and Robin Uthappa ensured Pune lost no other wickets thanks to a superb partnership of 145 that lasted nearly 19 overs.
Pandey cracked seven boundaries and three sixes in his 56-ball innings, while Uthappa became Pune’s highest scorer of the tournament so far with his 60 off 58 balls.
Meanwhile, the other match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers has been abandoned without a ball being bowled following a torrential downpour at Eden Gardens.
No play was possible with much of the pitch underwater, the wind and rain in Kolkata even causing some boarding to collapse from the side of the stadium’s police control room and the IPL website confirmed one person had been taken to hospital, with reports suggesting another had also been injured.
The start was initially delayed in the hope of conditions improving, before the decision was taken to call the match off.
The outcome meant a point apiece for Gautam Gambhir’s second-placed Knight Riders and Kumar Sangakkara’s bottom-of-the-table Chargers – their first in the 2012 tournament.
Kings XI Punjab take on Mumbai Indians today before Royal Challengers Bangalore play Chennai Super Kings in the second of two matches scheduled for the day.