Delhi Daredevils ended their Airtel Champions League Twenty20 campaign on a high by handing the South African side, Cape Cobras, a 30-run defeat.

Early breakthroughs and regular wickets thereafter vindicated the Cape Cobras skipper Andrew Puttick’s surprising decision to field as the Delhi Daredevils struggled with the bat.

Owais Shah helped finish the innings with a flourish with an unbeaten 39, while Dinesh Karthik scored 23 as the home side finished with a modest 114 for six.

The Daredevils, however, defended that small total with aplomb, fast bowler Dirk Nannes claiming three wickets for 19, while spinners Amit Mishra, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Yogesh Nagar claimed two apiece as the Cobras, who are already in the semi-finals, were restricted to 84 in 18.3 overs.

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Fast bowler Rory Kleinveldt had rocked Delhi’s top order, dismissing both opening batsmen, Dilshan and Gautam Gambhir, in his first over after Monde Zondeki had delivered an excellent over with the new ball.

Dinesh Karthik, one of the few Daredevils batsmen to return with some success in this tournament, revived the innings together with with Manoj Tiwary (19).

Day’s action in pics

Tiwary, one of three changes in the side, provided the early spark, turning Zondeki to fine leg for four, but Karthik’s impressive form soon came to the fore.

The wicketkeeper batsman ruined Klienveldt’s figures by slamming him for three consecutive boundaries, the first through mid-wicket and the others over cover.

Tiwary, however, fell to Claude Henderson, the left-arm spinner striking in his first over, and Karthik was then run out following a mix-up with Shah as the Daredevils again slumped.

Nagar (10) and Shah lowered their sights and settled for singles as the Daredevils recovered slightly.

The two put on 34 for the fifth wicket, but Nagar perished while attempting to force the pace and the Daredevils crumbled again.

Shah injected some acceleration at the death, blasting Justin Ontong for the only six of the innings and clubbing two boundaries as the Daredevils finished with a modest, but defendable total.

Dilshan, handed the new ball, provided the early breakthrough removing Herschelle Gibbs for a golden duck.

Nannes then sent down a fiery first spell, bowling Puttick with one that kept low, but the Cobras, with Davids and JP Duminy at the crease, seemed to have weathered the storm.

Davids, however, was run out and leg-spinner Mishra struck twice in an over to scalp the dangerous Duminy and the big-hitting Klienveldt and leave the Cobras reeling at 57 for five.

Dilshan then returned to bowl Ontong before Nannes destroyed the tail with two wickets in his final over as the Daredevils eased to victory.(source)

The absence of Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra and Glenn McGrath disappointed the spectators but couldn’t dampen their spirit.

In an inconsequential match between Delhi Daredevils and Cape Cobras, people poured in large numbers at Ferozshah Kotla ground to get the glimpse of their heroes – Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra and Glenn McGrath.

But to their utter shock, all three of them were absent from the playing XI, in order to give a chance to the lesser mortals in the team as Delhi were already out of the Airtel Champions League Twenty20.

However, having lost the previous game, it was expected that the Daredevils would go all out to restore their pride and silence their critics.

“Even with Daredevils out of the tournament, I came here to see my idol Sehwag play, but I got really upset when I saw the final team. I feel bad and cheated,” Madhav, a standard III student at the Mother’s International school, expressed his disappointment.

“The Daredevils should have played the full-strength team and should have come to the field with the mindset of giving their 100 per cent but they just don’t bother it seems,” Sunil Yadav, a businessman added.

With all the Indian Premier League teams – Royal Challengers Bangalore, Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils already out of the Airtel CL T20, it was up to the Daredevils to provide some last bit of entertainment to the crowd in the Capital.

The departures of Gautam Gambhir for a duck and Tillakaratne Dilshan for one only added to the fans’ woes.

But the worst part of the Daredevils’ story was that even the youngsters, who had the wonderful opportunity in the absence of the star batsmen, also failed miserably.

Be it Manoj Tiwary or Yogesh Nagar, no one could even make a mark; leave aside entertaining the full-strength crowd at the Kotla. It was only England’s Owais Shah, whose 39 at the end, at least enabled the team to cross the 100-run mark.

There were only six boundaries and one six during Daredevils’ allotted 20 overs in the game.

“On this wicket, none of the guys, other than Sehwag, is capable of hitting a six. What is even worse is that the bowling also lacks teeth in the absence of Nehra and McGrath,” said another disappointed fan, Aditi Sharma.

Nonetheless, New Delhi witnessed one of the rare sights in world cricket as McGrath, considered as one of the world’s best bowlers, and Indian stars — Sehwag and Nehra, all carried drinks and towels on to the field.

However, as they say ‘Dilli hai Dilwalon ki’, the spectators made the most of the electrifying atmosphere even without their favourite stars on the field – dancing to every beat of the DJ’s tunes, eating spicy Punjabi food and cheering every success that Daredevils achieved on the field.

As a die-heart cricket fan, Shailendra concluded, “We are here to cheer for our team and it doesn’t matter whether international players are playing or not. We are having good fun and since Delhi have won the game, I think it was all worth it.”(source)

Given what he did for the Kolkata Knight Riders in South Africa, a lot was expected of Henriques. The young man has made quite a name for himself in the shortest format of the game.

While KKR have struggled to come to terms with the competition in the Indian Premier League, Henriques stood out in the team and he has done his reputation no harm in the Airtel Champions League Twenty20.

It is no wonder then that he has been more comfortable playing for the Blues, a team that is closer to his heart.

“I love playing for the Blues, more than the Knight Riders, because I am with my brothers. I have been around with these guys for a long time now.”

The soft-spoken, benign cricketer has done what he does his best. He has stood up for the team and been counted.

Be it a controlled fifty to partner Phillip Hughes on a tricky Delhi wicket against the Sussex Sharks or taking wickets in the crucial middle overs or facing the heat from a savage Kieron Pollard, Henriques has done it all.

The 23-year old, considered by many to herald the next generation of Australian super stars, is a study in contrast to his already established seniors.

Henriques is more open to Indian culture, appears more at ease in the country and has a lot of respect for all things Indian when he pointed out the fervour around the Airtel CL T20, “Indians don’t do anything by the half.”

Is that an indication of how Australia will play their cricket from now on? A dramatic change in attitude?

“I think it is all to do with the way cricket is headed these days. The IPL has brought a lot of international cricketers together and we are getting to know each other far better and earlier.”

Henriques feels his generation of cricketers is living it through a “revolution in the game.”

“The game is changing, that’s for sure. I never thought I would have played T20 cricket and that too with so much hype around the format.”

With so much riding on the Blues going into the semi-final of the Airtel CL T20, Henriques will rise again.

Men like him wait for the right moment to strike and make an impact. They are watching him from somewhere in Australia, those selectors. Henriques will have his gaze fixed on the Aussie dressing room and slot in the finals in Hyderabad.(source)

New South Wales Blues captain Simon Katich says there are still areas to improve upon for the team ahead of their semi-final clash.

“Obviously we are happy. Two games we played in Delhi are outstanding with the ball, in the field and our bowling. We wanted to replicate here in Hyderabad. So there are still areas to improve on,” Katich told reporters  after the winning against the Somerset Sabres.

He said the semifinal would be a big challenge as all the teams are formidable.

“It is a big challenge because we know that every team that qualified is going to be of great standard. Each game that comes is going to be a big challenge,” Katich said.

Katich expressed confidence that his team would put up a good show in Delhi as they were used to playing on a slow wicket in Sydney.

He said losing their earlier League A match against Trinidad and Tobago on October 16 was a wake up call.

“We actually learnt a lot from that match. Sometimes, not the worst things happen to lose a match. We are playing good cricket but it was a wake up call for us. Anything can happen on a given day in Twenty 20 cricket. It was a pretty good thing for us,” he said.

Somerset captain Justin Langer admitted that his side did not play well against a world-class team like NSW.

“I think this is probably my last game. Obviously some sadness there. We tried to get on to a flying start. They have got such world-class players like Brett Lee, Stuart Clark.

They played really well. We did not play well at that,” he said.

Describing Champions League Twenty 20 as a fantastic tournament, Langer said it can sustain whether it is played in South Africa, Australia or India.

“IPL was successful in South Africa. CL T20 will be successful whether it is in South Africa or Australia or India. There are lots of Indians who will watch cricket,” said Langer when asked whether the Airtel CL T20 will be successful outside India.(source)