More than just a daredevil

Delhi captain Sehwag shows patience before cutting loose to set up a 38-run win at Kochi

Till the time he took strike against Ravindra Jadeja in the 13th over of Delhi Daredevils8217;s innings,he had batted with more self-control than possibly ever before in a limited-overs contest. Wickets had fallen at regular intervals at the other end but he had kept his nerve,and had conjured up a cautious by T20 and his standards anyway 31 off 32 balls.

Often criticised for his limited footwork,Virender Sehwag,however,moved his feet in exaggerated fashion at Kochi8217;s Nehru Stadium on Saturday,especially or probably as a result of having seen his Delhi teammates David Warner and Naman Ojha fall to deliveries,which might have bounced more even if they were bowled under-arm on any other wicket.

By the time,Delhi Daredevils recorded a massive 38-run win to get their IPL IV campaign back on track again; many more would fall to the wiles of the Kochi wicket. But with his team in disarray both in the competition and in the context of the match,reeling at 35-3 at one point,the Delhi skipper produced a master class,an uncharacteristic one nevertheless. And on a day where only one other batsman managed to cross 30,Sehwag8217;s 47-ball 80 proved the ultimate difference between the two teams.

Viru fury

During the first three editions of the IPL,Sehwag though came across numerous flat wickets,where most of the other batsmen have had their fill and recorded big scores. But despite being only one of eight batsman to have scored over 1,200 runs in the IPL,the Delhi dasher,who presently stands seventh on the overall highest run-scorers8217; list,has hardly played a major innings of note. At times,he has even looked uninterested,as if the IPL stage didn8217;t deserve to see him at his aggressive best.

The longest he had occupied the crease during an IPL knock prior to Saturday was the 13 overs that he batted during his unbeaten 94 against Deccan Chargers in the inaugural edition back in 2008. Here against Kochi,he lasted for 17.5 overs. And after playing a role rather alien to him,that of anchoring the innings,for the first 12 overs of the innings,it was in Jadeja8217;s over that he returned to his usual ways.

Sehwag hoisted the left-arm spinner for two sixes in the over,before dishing out the same treatment to R Vinay Kumar,Balachandra Akhil and Ramesh Powar to record his ninth IPL half-century.

Srees success

Having played in only three of his team8217;s eight prior matches in the tournament,Sreesanth had by default donned the role of his team8217;s in-house cheerleader,sitting in the dug-out. But while he did owe a touch of gratitude towards his home-turf for the two wickets that he picked up,the Kerala speedster produced his best spell in recent times,giving away only 10 runs in his four overs.

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As he walked out to bat for Kochi8217;s chase,Brendon McCullum would have afforded himself a smile,seeing the target that his team was after. After all 158 was the exact score that he recorded in scintillating fashion in the first-ever IPL match.

And the Kiwi seemed to be lost in nostalgia as he swung wildly after running down the wicket at a length ball,which crashed into his stumps. The rest of the Kochi batting folded rather meekly.