VIRENDER SEHWAG SAYS HE WAS DETERMINED TO BAT LONGER AGAINST KOCHI TUSKERS KERALA

The Delhi Daredevils skipper, Virender Sehwag said on Saturday that he had gone in to the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Kochi Tuskers Kerala with an intention to lead from the front by batting throughout their innings.

"Absolutely happy. The wicket was not easy, I took the responsibility and once we crossed 120, I thought we had got par. We were very happy we got 158," said Sehwag after the match.

"I was hitting the ball nicely, it was obvious I had to bat longer. I told myself if I just stayed longer we could get 130, a good total on this wicket. And then just told my bowlers to bowl straight, and the wicket would do the rest," the visiting skipper added further.

The swashbuckling Indian opener led the Daredevils from the front with a whirlwind 80-run knock which came of just 47 balls. His knock steered the hosts to a daunting total of 157 for 7 before the Morne Morkel-led bowling attack rolled over Kochi for just 119 runs, to register a 38-run victory at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi.

Morne Morkel and Roelof van der Merwe shared three wickets each, conceding 18 and 20 runs respectively, while Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar returned with two wickets apiece.

The Kochi captain, Mahela Jayawardene, lauded his counterpart for the belligerent knock and said that that Sehwag's heroics at the top of the order took the game away from the home side. He said that 130 to 140 runs would have been a competitive total, but chasing 160 was quite tough.

Jayawardene wished they had removed Viru early. He also said that after getting on to a relatively good start, the bowlers failed to keep hold in the second half of Daredevils’ innings.

"The way we bowled in the last 10, we didn't have any control over things. We didn't bowl good areas. The first 10 we were good," said Jayawardene.

The Delhi Daredevils were earlier at the bottom of the tournament points table, but the victory against Kochi Tuskers Kerala has moved the side up to number seven.

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ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE EDGE OUT DELHI DAREDEVILS IN A PULSATING ENCOUNTER

DD 160/6 20 overs RCB 161/7 19.3 overs

Bangalore edged out hosts Delhi in a pulsating finish to score an important win, which has improved their chances of finishing amongst the top four teams after the group stage of the cash rich league.

The hosts opted to bat first in the match played at Kotla in Delhi. The star of the show was James Hopes, who scored a breezy half century to help his team get a sizeable total.

The mainstays, Virender Sehwag, and his opening partner, David Warner, had an ordinary game, as both were dismissed cheaply in the game.

Hopes scored 54 runs off 43 balls, his innings was studded with 7 fours and was the cornerstone of the Delhieffort on what was set to be a good batting track, besides Hopes, the Daredevils were well served byVenugopal Rao, who scored 24 runs.

For the visitors Abhimanyu Mithun claimed 2 wickets conceding 37 runs in his allocation of 4 overs.

The Bangalore team lost Dilshan without score. However, the pair of Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli brought them back in the hunt. The two took the total to 83, as Gayle took the back seat for a change to support the assault by Kohli.

Gayle was dismissed for 26 off 14 balls, while Kohli motored along to a score 56 off 38 balls, his innings was studded with 8 fours.

Kohli fell in the 10^th over of the innings, the score was 96 at this stage and the game was in the balance, as the Indian top order batsman was the 4^th one to fall.

The chase was carried forward by the late order batsmen. Daniel Vettori, the captain of the Challengers, came good with the bat after a long time. His crucial unbeaten knock of 18 runs took his team home. He was ably supported by Syed Mohammad, who scored an unbeaten 13 off 10 balls.

The Delhi attack that was taken apart by Kohli and Gayle early on came back strongly. However, they failed to run through the Challengers. Morne Morkel with 3 wickets was the pick of the bowlers.

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Kings X1 Punjab Vs. Delhi Daredevils

The confident Kings X1 Punjab (KXP) will take on the struggling Delhi Daredevils (DD) in the 26^th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL), at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, Delhi in India. The match will be played on Saturday, 23rd April, and the hosts will look to turn around their fortunes in the tournament.
Things haven’t been good for Delhi at home though, as they were defeated by Mumbai Indians (MI) and Deccan Chargers (DC) at the Feroz Shah Kotla, earlier in the tournament. They are currently at the bottom of the IPL table with just one victory in four games.
The home team is led by flamboyant Indian batsman Virender Sehwag, who has been unable to fire until now in the cash rich event. The explosive right-handed opener has been suffering from a shoulder problem, which may have affected his performance in the tournament. His performance holds the key for the hosts, as it will give them a huge confidence boost.
Sehwag is partnered by Australian David Warner at the top of the order and both batsmen can be deadly for the opposition once they get going. They were deemed to be one of the best opening pairs in the tournament, but have been unable to live up to those expectations until now.
There are also some other very talented batsmen in the DD side, but they too have struggled to be consistent. Aaron Finch, Venugopal Rao, James Hopes, Morne Morkel, Irfan Pathan and Naman Ojha have looked good in patches, but will be required to come up with a special effort to overcome the opposition.
On the other hand, former Australian wicketkeeper batsman Adam Gilchrist will lead the KXP side. He was a part of the DC team in the previous three editions of the IPL and led the franchise to a title victory in the second season, played in South Africa. One common thing between both captains in this match is their aggressive nature. However, the Australian has been able to use his abilities to full affect, winning three matches out of the four played until now in the tournament.
The main force behind the visitors impressive start has been their opener, Paul Valthaty, who is the leading run scorer in the tournament so far. He has been able to attack the opposition with effortless ease and also scored a brilliant century in a match against the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who are led by Indian captain MS Dhoni.
Shaun Marsh has also been a consistent performer for his team and has managed some useful runs at the top of the order. He was a relative unknown when he first appeared in the inaugural IPL in 2008, but stunned one and all with his brilliant batting. The stylish left-hander ended-up being the top scorer in that tournament and has been a valuable player since then.
David Hussey, Ryan McLaren, Ryan Harris and Dinesh Karthik are the other players who add to the strength of the KXP squad. They will look to continue doing well for their team and win against any opposition they face.
Both teams look strong on paper, but the momentum is definitely with the visitors at the moment. They will look to gain full advantage of that and exert maximum pressure on the home team.

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KINGS X1 PUNJAB VS. DELHI DAREDEVILS

The confident Kings X1 Punjab (KXP) will take on the struggling Delhi Daredevils (DD) in the 26^th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL), at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, Delhi in India. The match will be played on Saturday, 23rd April, and the hosts will look to turn around their fortunes in the tournament.

Things haven’t been good for Delhi at home though, as they were defeated by Mumbai Indians (MI) and Deccan Chargers (DC) at the Feroz Shah Kotla, earlier in the tournament. They are currently at the bottom of the IPL table with just one victory in four games.

The home team is led by flamboyant Indian batsman Virender Sehwag, who has been unable to fire until now in the cash rich event. The explosive right-handed opener has been suffering from a shoulder problem, which may have affected his performance in the tournament. His performance holds the key for the hosts, as it will give them a huge confidence boost.

Sehwag is partnered by Australian David Warner at the top of the order and both batsmen can be deadly for the opposition once they get going. They were deemed to be one of the best opening pairs in the tournament, but have been unable to live up to those expectations until now.

There are also some other very talented batsmen in the DD side, but they too have struggled to be consistent.Aaron Finch, Venugopal Rao, James Hopes, Morne Morkel, Irfan Pathan and Naman Ojha have looked good in patches, but will be required to come up with a special effort to overcome the opposition.

On the other hand, former Australian wicketkeeper batsman Adam Gilchrist will lead the KXP side. He was a part of the DC team in the previous three editions of the IPL and led the franchise to a title victory in the second season, played in South Africa. One common thing between both captains in this match is their aggressive nature. However, the Australian has been able to use his abilities to full affect, winning three matches out of the four played until now in the tournament.

The main force behind the visitors impressive start has been their opener, Paul Valthaty, who is the leading run scorer in the tournament so far. He has been able to attack the opposition with effortless ease and also scored a brilliant century in a match against the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who are led by Indian captain MS Dhoni.

Shaun Marsh has also been a consistent performer for his team and has managed some useful runs at the top of the order. He was a relative unknown when he first appeared in the inaugural IPL in 2008, but stunned one and all with his brilliant batting. The stylish left-hander ended-up being the top scorer in that tournament and has been a valuable player since then.

David Hussey, Ryan McLaren, Ryan Harris and Dinesh Karthik are the other players who add to the strength of the KXP squad. They will look to continue doing well for their team and win against any opposition they face.

Both teams look strong on paper, but the momentum is definitely with the visitors at the moment. They will look to gain full advantage of that and exert maximum pressure on the home team.

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