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McGrath helps destroy Rajasthan
19/04/2008 20:28 - (SA)
Delhi - A brilliant bowling performance from former Australian great Glenn McGrath helped the Delhi Daredevils restrict the Rajasthan Royals to a meager total of 129 for eight and then coast to victory by nine wickets in the third match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Delhi on Saturday.
A century partnership between Gautam Gambhir (58 not out) and Shikhal Dharwan (52 not out) completed the formalities of victory after the loss of captain Virender Sehwag who blasted three boundaries from his first three deliveries before being dismissed.
McGrath rolled back the years, despite retiring from all cricket over a year ago, to produce an opening spell of 3-1-13-1 and finish with figures of 4-1-21-1 as the visitors batsmen struggled to lay meaningful bat on ball.
Sri Lankan all-rounder Farveez Maharoof continued the good work started by McGrath and finished with an impeccable spell of 4-0-11-2.
Royals captain Shane Warne won the toss and chose to bat first but his decision immediately backfired when compatriot Shane Watson's brief but entertaining cameo ended on 21.
Ravindra Jadeja top scored with 29 from 23 balls and Dinesh Salunke made 26 from 20 balls but the overall impression was one of an experienced and well-drilled unit pulling the legs off another which has often given the impression of being more satisfied with the marketing value of Warne than of winning matches.
"We lost our way in the early overs but we have a young squad and we're still learning our way but hopefully we can improve as we go along," Warne said.
Sehwag, meanwhile, was in no doubt about who had won the match: "We have four world-class bowlers and they did the job for us. It was easy to win with them."
Teams:
Delhi Daredarevils:
Virender Sehwag (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, Manoj Tiwary, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Farveez Maharoof, Rajat Bhatia, Daniel Vettori, Brett Geeves, Glenn McGrath, Mithun Manhas.
Rajasthan Royals:
Shane Watson, Taruwar Kohli, Mohammad Kaif, Darren Lehmann, Yusuf Pathan, Mahesh Rawat (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Shane Warne (captain), Dinesh Salunke, SK Trivedi, Munaf Patel.
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Rugby
