Cooper last-over seals victory for Royals

 

Rajasthan Royals 165 for 7 (Dravid 65, Binny 40, Yadav 4-24) beat Delhi Daredevils 160 for 6 (Warner 77, Cooper 3-30) by 5 runs

David Warner looked ominous, but a brilliant run-out from Brad Hodge helped even the odds, before Kevon Cooper pulled off the heist

An electric late rally in the field, completed by a stoic over of pinpoint yorkers from Kevon Cooper, saw Rajasthan Royals begin their IPL campaign with a thrilling five-run win over Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Daredevils were hurtling towards their target after 17 overs, with only 22 runs to get, and a flourishing David Warner at the crease. But Cooper ignited his side with a five-run over in the 18th that ended with a wicket, before a direct hit from acting captain Brad Hodge at cover dismissed Warner in the next to the last over, to give his side hope of a still-unlikely victory.

Nine runs were required off Cooper’s last over, but the bowler delivered six yorkers, two of which dismissed panicking Daredevils batsmen, and provided the IPL’s first week with its second nail-biting result. Johan Botha was out lbw, attempting a reverse paddle with seven required from four, before Andre Russell also fell trying to hit the ball fine with six needed from two, only this time Cooper cleaned him up. New man Naman Ojha had to hit a six off the last ball for Daredevils to salvage victory, but could not connect with a wide yorker, sparking ecstatic celebrations from Royals.

Daredevils’ death-over meltdown almost mirrored Royals’ returns from the same period of their innings, after the visitors had managed just six runs from their last two overs, and lost four wickets. Royals had arrived in the 18th over at 159 for 3, and were eyeing a 180-plus total that seemed par on a good batting surface. They however lost four batsmen in six balls, including Rahul Dravid, whose immaculately paced 65 off 51 held the team’s innings together.

Dravid had arrived at Kusal Perera’s demise in the third over, and aside from a controlled edge to the third man fence first ball, was largely content to collect singles to begin with, despite the fielding restrictions. When the bowlers erred, as Andre Russell did when he served up a wide delivery in the sixth over, Dravid’s placement and timing ensured the desired boundary was achieved.

He was dropped twice in the 12th over, when he began to introduce more aggression to his innings, but he was undeterred, and having made only 22 from his first 26 deliveries, he quickly achieved a more laudable strike rate through the middle overs.

For Daredevils, Warner was also relatively reluctant to begin with, allowing opening partner Unmukt Chand to give the early innings impetus, and striking at no better than a run a ball until the tenth over of the innings. When he eventually exploded in earnest, with two fours off Rahul Shukla in the 13th over, Daredevils appeared to be executing a measured chase.

Warner was dropped early in his innings, and had one more reprieve just after hitting fifty, as he continued to maul some indifferent Royals bowling through the middle overs. Just before Daredevils hit their wall, Warner launched Siddharth Trivedi in the 17th over for 13. After Warner’s demise however, none of the Daredevils batsmen seemed capable of finding the boundary, and Royals achieved revenge for the mighty close defeat they had suffered last year, in the same fixture.

Royals take on depleted Delhi

Match facts

Saturday, April 6, 2013
Start time 1600 (1030 GMT)

Rahul Dravid will play his first match in almost A YEAR

 

 

 

 

 

The first couple of matches are always about getting the ball rolling in a long tournament where the teams go through cycles of form and they are important in helping team management take an uncomplicated view. Rajasthan Royals open their season with a clean slate when they take on a depleted home side, Delhi Daredevils, who had an insipid outing in Kolkata in the first match of the tournament.

Royals are without one man who is likely to be a constant in their equation this season – Shane Watson, who is not available for this match – and that opens up a vital spot for them to test one of their imports. In-form Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Perera is almost certain in the XI but the choice of other three could depend on the surface laid out in Delhi. The other interesting bit for Royals would be how their captain-cum-coach Rahul Dravid copes with his first taste of competitive cricket in almost a year. The longer he takes to find his groove, the more muddled the strategies would get.

Daredevils are still handicapped by the absence of two of their impact players – Virender Sehwag, who is out with back spasms, and Morne Morkel, who is playing domestic Twenty20 in South Africa. But this time, they are playing at home, against a not-so-daunting opponent they have beaten every time at home and the team would hope to put up a better batting performance to get a move on.

 

 

Players to watch

Kusal Perera is a rising star in Sri Lankan cricket and Royals have been lucky to fetch his services for just US$20,000. A good season here and that price, likely, is expected to multiply a few times over. Perera is a powerful player who loves to play lofted shots on either side of the wicket. He has often been compared to Sanath Jayasuriya, who, 17 years ago, ended the career of another Delhi bowler on this ground.

David Warner had a quiet start to the tournament by his standards, but in the absence of Sehwag, his form is crucial for Daredevils to do well as the middle order appeared a bit undercooked in the last game. Warner has scored a century and two fifties on his home ground.

 

Stats and trivia

• Daredevils have beaten Royals six times in the ten matches they have played against each other. They have lost just once in the last six matches
• In Brad Hodge and Owais Shah, Royals have two of the top five run-scorers in Twenty20s
• Rahul Dravid has scored 1703 IPL runs, which is the most among players from both sides

 

Quotes 

“I like Unmukt Chand a lot. He comes to my room often and asks me a lot of questions. We discuss how to deal with pressure situations and I tell him about my discussions with the Australian psychologist Mike Lloyd.”
David Warner is impressed with his opening partner

“The game against Delhi last year was disappointing as we lost by just one run. We have learnt from our past mistakes and are ready to start from scratch.”
Rajasthan Royals Ajinkya Rahane

Delhi Daredevils sign Ben Rohrer

 

Ben Rohrer had an impressive run in the 2012-13 BBL

Delhi Daredevils have signed the New South Wales captain and left-hand batsman Ben Rohrer for this IPL season.

The Daredevils’ spokesperson confirmed Rohrer’s inclusion, saying he was a replacement for Indian seamer Varun Aaron, who isn’t available due to a stress fracture he suffered last year. Rohrer, though, could also compensate for the absence of Jesse Ryder this season. Ryder was at the receiving end of avicious attack in Christchurch last week.

A capable and versatile middle-order batsman as well as a calm operator, the 32-year-old Rohrer was a stand-out performer for the Melbourne Renegades in the 2012-13 BBL in Australia, compiling 295 runs at an average of 49.16 as his side led the preliminary standings before falling in the semi-finals.

As impressive as Rohrer’s runs was the manner in which he made them, combining busy running with strong hitting like Michael Hussey. Those displays earned Rohrer a Twenty20 international debut against the West Indies at the Gabba, where he did not look out-of-place while hustling to 16.

Rohrer’s first-class career for NSW has been sturdy, returning him 1901 runs at 39.60 in 34 matches, including a century on debut for the Blues against Tasmania in 2006.

He has been in and out of the side due to the state’s raft of international players for several summers since, but his reliability as a batsman and a character was recognised by his appointment to the state captaincy this summer after Steve O’Keefe resigned his commission.

Rohrer will join his fellow New South Welshman David Warner in Delhi. He tweeted the news of his inclusion in the squad.