Delhi Capitals wins a thriller ~ set to play CSK for a place in finals

Indraprastha ("Plain of Indra" or "City of Indra")  was a flourishing  city of the Kuru Kingdom. It was the capital of the kingdom led by the Pandavas ~ compares to the present day  New Delhi, particularly the Old Fort (Purana Qila)

Delhi Capitals are on a high .. … they have ascended and are at a place, where they had been never before in the previous versions of IPL.  Perhaps the name change from Delhi Daredevils (from 2008) has changed their fortunes.  Ahead of the 2018 IPL, 50% of the franchise ownership was transferred to the JSW Group. In Dec 2018, the team changed its name from the Delhi Daredevils to the Delhi Capitals.  Giving the rationale behind the change of the team's name, co-owner and chairman Parth Jindal said, "Delhi is the power centre of the country, it is the capital, therefore the name Delhi Capitals."  Don’t get into too much of logic and say that Delhi has been capital for long.  Team Delhi Capitals are the only current team to have never appeared in an Indian Premier League final, and, prior to the current season, last qualified for the IPL playoffs in 2012. The leading run-scorer for the Capitals is VirenderSehwag, while the leading wicket-taker is Amit Mishra.

The wily customer Amit Mishra was in thick of action .. .. and you could find much on his dismissal on twitter and social media.  Amit, the genial leggie, made his test debut against Australia at Mohali in 2008 and much earlier in 2003 made his ODI debut against South Africa at Dhaka. 

Delhi's history begins with the onset of the Delhi Sultanate in the 12th century. Since then, Delhi has been the centre of a succession of mighty empires and powerful kingdoms, making Delhi one of the longest-serving capitals and one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world.From 1206, Delhi became the capital of the Delhi Sultanate under the Slave Dynasty. The first Sultan of Delhi, Qutb-ud-din Aybak, was a former slave who rose through the ranks to become a general, a governor and then Sultan of Delhi.

Away from the power struggle, the good news for DC was it beat SRH in the last over. The scorecard reads :Delhi Capitals 165 for 8 (Shaw 56, Pant 49, Rashid 2-15) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 162 for 5 (Guptill 36, Paul 3-32) by two wickets

Sunrisers Hyderabad had a great start though they were at a disadvantage playing first – the spinners especially Amit put the brakes and the final tally of 162 looked a winning total for most part.   Martin Guptill tucked intomate  Trent Boult, whom he was facing for the first time in a competitive T20 match, with two consecutive sixers too. Sunrisers made their way to 54 for 1 in the Powerplay.   Amit Mishra   bowled his four overs without conceding a single four or six. The middle overs produced just two boundaries, but Sunrisers did well to lose just one wicket in this period.

When Delhi chase was on, it was Prithvi and Shikhar.  Prithvi Shaw has been dismissed 10 times inside the Powerplay this season, the highest for any batsman,  this time they were rollicking.  It boiled down to 34 off 3 - Khaleel had two left, Bhuvneshwar one, but Williamson took the gamble of going with Thampi. Not only was the choice of the bowler wrong, he also executed poorly.  Pant played havoc.

First ball hit straight back for a 4 – couple of bounces before crossing the boundary.  Next over midwicket for a huge 6; 3^rd off the pads for a 4; then over midwicket for another 6 ~ then 2 singles – suddenly match was alive, very much in favour of Delhi.  12 off 12 as Bhuvi came to bowl.  First ball he had Rutherford taken at long off;  next a dot ball; 3^rd hit by Pant over long off for a 6 (Pant is strong on his leg side, this time this is on off)  .. then Bhuvaneswar Kumar had Pant caught by Nabi for a well made 49 off 21 balls @ 233.33 strike rate.  Five off six might sound simple – not with tailenders or a chaotic situation. Khaleel it was to Amit Mishra – started with a wide.  First legal ball played to thirdman for a single.  Kemo Paul could not connect the next.  Another single and .. .. something weird happened.

Khaeel Ahmed kept bowling wider – Amit missed, went through to WriddhimanSaha- Amit scampered for a run, Saha’s throw missed the stumps – in the middle was Khaleel, who took the ball as Amit was just pasing him – the throw only hit Mishra.  They went for a review – there was no edge – but Amit was given out, - yes, run out ! – no, the ball had not hit the stumps.  Out – obstructing  the field ! .. the next ball was hit for 4 by Paul and everyone in Delhi camp were jumping with joy.  Pant could have finished but Keemo Paul did.  The newly appointed pro Ricky Ponting was ecstatic.

Amit Mishra was given out obstructing the field as he  ended up running in front of the stumps and Ahmed's throw hit him on his arm. The Sunrisers Hyderabad fielders were convinced that Mishra was obstructing the field and he was given out by the third umpire. Mishra became the second batsman in the history of the Indian Premier League to be given out obstructing the field. Yusuf Pathan, then playing for Kolkata Knight Riders, was given out for obstructing the field in a match against Pune Warriors India in Ranchi back in IPL 2013.

Obstructing the field is one of the nine methods of dismissing a batsman.  It dictates that either batsman can be given out if he wilfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action. It is governed by Law 37 of the laws of cricket, and is a rare way for a batsman to be dismissed: in the history of cricket, there have been only one instance in Test matches, six occasions in One Day International (ODI) games, and only one instance in Twenty20 International matches. The only time a batsman has been dismissed obstructing the ball in a Test match was during the South African cricket team's tour of England in 1951 when, in the fifth Test, England's Leonard Hutton top edged the ball and, thinking the ball would hit the stumps, attempted to hit the ball away, thereby preventing the wicket-keeper from catching the ball.  In One dayers, Rameez Raja, Mohinder Amarnath, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Anwar Ali and Ben Stokes have all been dismissed this fashion.

In the end Shreyas Iyer kept his cool and looked remarkably confident while Kane Williamson appeared tense and seemed to micro-manage Khaleel !! ~ Kane has more than 200 International appearances, while Shreyas has around 10 ! (none of them as Captain)

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

9^thMay  2019