Brutal Gilly shatters Delhi

WHILE THE league matches of IPL season 2 were thrillers, the Semi final between Delhi Dare Devils and Deccan Chargers Hyderabad was quite a one sided match. Delhi’s dream of reaching the finals and winning the tournament was blown away in a mesmerizing tempest called Gilchrist! If ever this match will be remembered it will remembered because of Gilchrist’s innings.

Gilchrist won the toss and decided to bowl first. There might have been a point in his mind that Delhi Daredevils have won most of their matches while chasing the target throughout the tournament. Delhi’s innings began with a disaster. A side that looked quite strong on papers started with 0/2 as their scorecard. Harris provided a dream start to his side. But after this Sehwag and Dilshan played their innings as if nothing had happened and within no time Delhi were 83/2 in 10 overs. At this crucial point Sehwag got out after which there was a downfall in the run rate. Sehwag departed after scoring 39 runs off 31 balls. Dilshan played an impressive innings 65(51 balls) but he didn’t get enough support from the other end. Delhi ended with the final score of 153. This was great recovery as compared to the kind of disastrous start they had but then again looking at the kind of form Deccan Chargers were in, Delhi were 25-30 runs short of target, yet with their bowling attack it seemed to be a fighting total.

Delhi had already faced a disaster by losing both their openers in the first over. When they came to bowl there was even a severe disaster waiting for them. Gilchrist welcomed Nannes with five boundaries in the very first over after which there was no looking back. He made the Daredevils chase ball all across the ground and kept hammering every bowler who came in. He even hammered Sehwag for 3 consecutive sixes and reached his half century in just 17 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes! By the time he lost his wicket the match was just a formality. He had murdered the strategies of the Daredevils and scored 85 runs of just 35 balls!

It seemed as if we were watching ’Gully Cricket’ where Gilchrist was a big boy hammering the local boys to various parts of the ground. In fact we should name it as the ‘Gilly’ Cricket. Gilchrist was in a hurry to reach Johannesburg. His innings reflected how Australia has won four world cups till date. He has always played memorable innings while playing for Australia in the semi finals and the finals. He did the same leading from the front for Deccan Chargers. With his blitzkrieg knock Deccan Chargers seem to be all charged up for the finals and no matter who is the winner of the second semi final, the kind of cricket Deccan Chargers played, has certainly left the bells ringing for them!