IPL 8: CSK defeat DD in thriller, win by a run

Scorecard: CSKvDD

As he opened the bowling against the former team after JP Duminy won the toss and elected to field, it looked like he was still playing for CSK. That ordinary first over where a fresh but careless Morkel conceded four fours (including four leg-byes) probably returned to haunt him in the end. For, in the final over of the 151-run chase, a drained but still intent Morkel, who would finish with more than twice as many runs as the next best batsman of the match, launched an almighty effort but DD still fell short by a solitary run. More on his eventual failure later, but first let’s look at the brilliant, counter-intuitive knock that Morkel played on Thursday.

Walking in at an unusually high No.3 spot, the strapping South African played a restrained innings after Ashish Nehra (another player facing his former team) had derailed Delhi’s chase with a three-wicket burst.

Morkel’s reputation is of a pinch-hitter. His T20 strike rate is close to 140 and he has smoked almost as many sixes as he has hit fours in his career. However, the situation at hand demanded a more cautious approach, and Morkel, along with a willing Kedar Jadhav did just that as they almost nurdled Delhi back into game. Almost, but not quite. A safe 87/3 after 13 overs became a precarious 106/6 in the 16th, with Jadhav, the Rs 16-crore Yuvraj Singh and the captain Duminy back in the hut.

All this while sprinting those ones and twos in the stifling Chennai heat also took a considerable toll on Morkel’s body. So much so that when he was left all by himself to finish the job, the big man couldn’t summon enough of those big hits.

Hopes of a fresh start

The loss notwithstanding, the Delhi Daredevils may still feel proud of their performance. Unlike many other occasions in the past, there weren’t overwhelmed by the Chennai Super Kings. It’s all the more laudable because of the apparent gulf of class and international experience between them and the CSK players. This contrast leaped out of the team sheets, with nine players of the Chennai XI having participated in the 2015 World Cup in Australia, while only two of Delhi’s players — JP Duminy and Imran Tahir — did so.

Nevertheless, paceman Nathan Coulter-Nile and spinners Tahir, Amit Mishra and Duminy kept chipping away at the CSK batting to leave them with 150 — barely a par score in the end. A kind of a total you expect Delhi to post, more than any other team.

Six-feet under

While their Morkel gamble nearly paid off, there were a couple of questionable decisions by the Delhi management. To keep Yuvraj Singh and JP Duminy waiting on the bench when they could have been sent above. Eventually, when they came out in the 15th and 16th over, they couldn’t blast off straightaway — Yuvraj pulled one down the mid-wicket’s throat while Duminy chopped an Ishwar Pandey delivery onto his stumps. Morkel still kept them in the hunt, with DD needing 32 off last three — the kind of equation you expect to end in the chasing team’s favour especially if a set batsman is in the crease. However, a couple of wickets and tight overs left 19 to win off the last over.

Morkel edged Dwayne Bravo for four off the first ball. A single and a wicket followed, after which the Saffer hammered a length offering by the West Indian medium-pacer over mid-wicket for a six. Another couple made it six off one. Bravo bowled length, Morkel took a swipe and the ball flew towards the long-off. From the edge of their seats, spectators rose to see where it fell. It bounced six feet within the rope.

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