Well unlike India, in South Africa scoring seems tough so initially we may not see fireworks but as the players gets accustomed to the grounds and pitch, the pinch hitters are going to unleash their hunger on the bowlers.
The first innings of IPL 2009 has been the highest scoring one till now with Mumbai Indians scoring 165/7 powered by Sachin Tendulkar's balanced innings of 59 .
There was an uncalled guest in the middle of the ground who delayed the match for 15 minutes.
No one was able to shoo him off the ground . He seemed good at dribbling first beating the players then the security officials. The above picture shows a valiant effort being made by an official to catch the dog.
Another amusing thing was the toss. In the first match when the coin was about to be tossed Dhoni intervened and asked for permission to do some changes in the team selection.
Ravi Shastri repeated his words again.
The second match saw in-form Rahul Dravid rescuing Royal Challengers Bangalore by playing a very sensible and brilliant innings. The initial spell of Mascrenhas had Bangalore top order in trouble. He took 3 wickets in no time. Dravid's innings of 69 propelled the RCB team to 133 which eventually became enough for them to defend.
Rajasthan Royals had a similar start to the tournament as they last year with a loss. They were desperately missing the services of Watson and Sohail Tanvir.
The third match between KingsXIPunjab and Delhi Daredevils took place after being delayed for one hour due to rain.The match was shortened to 14 overs. KXIP got off to a brilliant start thanks to a stunning innings by Karan Goel hitting 3 sixes and as many number of fours. But after wickets started crumbling the scoring rate got reduced. They finished off 14 overs scoring 104/7. For Delhi Daredevils Viru and Gambhir got off to a good start attacking the KXIP bowlers.
Rain again halted the match with DD at 24/0 at 1.5 overs. Duckworth Lewis method came into action. The revised target meant they needed only another 30 runs off 4.1 overs.
And they achieved it very easily.
The fourth match was b/w Deccan Chargers and Kolkatta Knight Riders. Mcullum won the toss and decided to bat first. RP Singh got rid of both dangerous openers . Debutant Harmeet Singh got his prized scalp in Ganguly. Then Brad Hodge tried to do something(really? Runrate was going below 3) but the match became dull by then. The crowd got alive only when a ball came into Gibbs hands. Deccan Chargers bowlers got rid of the middle order and tail order batsman in good style.
Gibbs and Rohit Sharma finished it off for DC in style.
Spinners played a very vital role this time.
Be it Anil Kumble,Harbhajan,Shane Warne , Vettori and even Pragyan Ojha. The pitches have something in them for the spinners.
I was impressed by performances by Fiedel Edwards, RP Singh and Malinga.
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