The game is
a great leveller and often produces great surprises – its unpredictability is
its greatest attraction. Watch the ball
close, they would say, and perhaps it is what he is doing !!
An year
back, in Mar 2017, the climax of the
gripping India-Australia Test Series was to occur at Dharamsala, a city in Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh. The Tibetan settlement of Dharamshala began in
1959, when His Holiness the Dalai Lama had to flee Tibet and the Prime Minister
of India allowed him and his followers to settle in McLeodGanj (in Upper
Dharmshala), a former colonial British summer picnic spot. There they
established the "government-in-exile" in 1960 and the Namgyal
Monastery.
In a prematch interview Michael Clarke said Kohli had hidden the true extent
of the shoulder injury he suffered diving in the outfield on day one in Ranchi.
There was a call for Shreyas Iyer, an attacking top-order batsman
capable of making classical shots with brute force. Iyer made headlines when
Delhi Daredevils bought him at the 2015 IPL auction for a whopping INR 2.6
crore, and he repaid the faith with interest. Opening the batting, he
aggregated 439 runs from 14 matches and went to win the IPL emerging player of
the year award. He did not however debut
in that Test, which was captained by Ajinkya Rahane. He has represented India in 6 one dayers –
making his debut at the same Dharamsala against Sri Lanka in Dec 2017 (3 each
against Lanka and South Africa) making scores of : 9; 88; 65; 18; 30 & dnb.
Junior Dala,
the South African fast bowler, has signed with the Delhi Daredevils as a
replacement for the injured all-rounder Chris Morris. Dala made his T20 International debut for
South Africa against India earlier this year and has featured in three matches
for his country so far. He impressed with his unique action - he takes off on
his right foot in his pre-delivery stride and lands on the right foot again -
and skiddy pace. He was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the three-match T20I
series at home against India, claiming seven wickets at an economy rate of
9.16.
Junior Dala
has replaced his injured South Africa team-mate Chris Morris who was the only
overseas player to be retained by Daredevils, for INR 7.1 crore Dala had set a
base price of INR 20 lakh - but found no takers in the auction in January.
Daredevils have now bought him at that price, and this will be his first IPL
stint. He will wear jersey no. 3 for the Delhi Daredevils.
Today, KKR
won the toss, put DD in with disastrous result.
The openers young Prithvi Shaw and Colin Munro gave a flying start. Shaw made 62 off 44 balls. Best was to come
from their new Captain – as you would know, in Corporate style, Gautam Gambhir
bade adieu to captaincy and was dropped for today’s match. Delhi
Daredevils posted a mammoth target of 220 for Kolkata Knight Riders as Shreyas
Iyer made 93 runs from 40 balls.
The DD vs KKR contest is a crucial contest for the home team
considering they are languishing at the bottom of the IPL 2018 points table
with just one win from six matches. KKR, on the other hand, are in a
comfortable position at the fourth position from three wins from six matches. Iyer
took the match away with 93* off 40
balls - 10 sixes and 3 fours.
The final over domination will ever be talked about .. .. the
1st ball was swung over extra
cover for a six; 2nd over wide long on for another 6; Maxwell run
out – no run; next pulled over midwicket for 6; a wide; a 4 and last ball
mightily heaved over long-off for another 6 – total of 29 runs. For sure
Shreyas Iyer is bound to play with recognition for the Nation.
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
27th Apr 2018.
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