Zakhmi Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Crowd favourite: Half an hour before the first semi-final, the Wankhede was only about half full. An hour into the game the crowd, now packed to the rafters, was screaming "Watson, Watson" as he smashed Delhi's bowlers to all parts of the ground. Mumbai has been known to cheer only their own but two neutral teams contesting the semi-final meant that the fans could cheer for the excellent cricket, irrespective of who was playing it. VIP treatment: The union railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav arrived for the match surrounded by a throng of commandos who wanted to sit next to him to guard him. However, the MCA officials, owners of the VVIP box that sits atop the Garware Pavilion, objected and tempers had to be calmed by Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI chief operating officer. Lalit Modi was obviously irritated and was seen shaking his head. Walking wounded: Graeme Smith was struggling with his leg and his footwork was severely restricted. Glenn McGrath tried to capitalise on the weakness but Smith countered by using his bottom hand to lift two consecutive deliveries for four to deep midwicket. McGrath then replied with a yorker which swung into Smith. Forgetting his injury for a moment, Smith punched hard at the ball, sending it racing to the long-off boundary before hobbling away to the side in pain. Catch it right: The pull from Swapnil Asnodkar came in flat, fast, and above chest height towards Farveez Maharoof at deep fine leg. The thumb rule for catching at that height is to take it with hands cupped in front of the chest - the conventional way. Maharoof tried to catch it Aussie style - with fingers pointing upwards - and spilled it. The ball bounced off his hands, hit his face and went over the boundary for four. Gambhir plays into Watson's hands: With the asking-rate climbing steadily, Gautam Gambhir, Delhi's best batsman, decided to force matters but failed repeatedly. He charged out of his crease to pull but was beaten by Watson's quick bouncer. He then tried to slash through covers but was beaten yet again. A second attempt at pulling also failed and when Gambhir finally connected with a fierce cut, he saw Taruwar Kohli dive to his right to pull off a stunning catch at cover. © Cricinfo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fineleg Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Gambhir plays into Watson's hands: With the asking-rate climbing steadily, Gautam Gambhir, Delhi's best batsman, decided to force matters but failed repeatedly. He charged out of his crease to pull but was beaten by Watson's quick bouncer. He then tried to slash through covers but was beaten yet again. A second attempt at pulling also failed and when Gambhir finally connected with a fierce cut, he saw Taruwar Kohli dive to his right to pull off a stunning catch at cover. © Cricinfo The above was the most disappointing play. GG got tied up, and then got frustrated and got out. If GG expects to be a mainstay in Indian team, he should "ride these passages of play" rather than throw it away in frustration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakhmi Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 MoM of Semi-final This was Shane Watson's match. Imposing himself on the first semi-final, he boosted Rajasthan Royals with an electric fifty before rattling Delhi Daredevils' top order with an outstanding opening spell. Shane Warne had complained about being deprived of home advantage but his side adjusted perfectly to the conditions at the Wankhede Stadium, putting on a show that illustrated exactly why they have been the stand-out team in the competition. Watson's arrival put the innings back on track. From the moment he took 21 off the 11th over, with two ferocious pulls for six, only one team bossed the contest. With the high, straight back-lift that's been the feature of his batting in the tournament, Watson swung through midwicket and square leg. He targeted specific bowlers and went through with shots even if he wasn't to the pitch of the ball, allowing the timing to take care of the rest. © Cricinfo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Delhi was blown away by Jaipur just because they didn't do their homework. McGrath, Asif and the rest of them struck to their past bowling efforts meanwhile Jaipur innovated a bit by bowling a lot of short balls the minute they knew the pitch offered good bounce. Delhi bowlers bowled short too but not as short to force the batsmen to hook and pull. Delhi seemed to reckon bowling good length was the way to go and got hit all over the park. Meanwhile the Jaipur pace men used short balls to good effect. They either bowled very full as in yorker length, bowled good amount of slower balls and when they bowled short they bowled quick and directed at the body. Gambhir was the only one to try and upset the Jaipur bowlers but the Jaipur bowlers looked so confident they were able to counter Gambhir quite easily. Even before Delhi could realize what was happening they had lost far too many wickets. Jaipur was better prepared than Delhi, physically as well as mentally it looked like. The Jaipur fielders were also enjoying every stop and every catch they were taking. The bowlers looked charged up too. Delhi just didn't look the team that was ready for a fight. I think they stuttered because they lacked game plans. Unfortunately in Twenty20s there is not enough time to rethink or fall back to plan B. Not that Delhi had any anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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