Indian Culture?: The Delhi Daredevils got rid of their cheerleaders
a fortnight ago, after complaints that the scantily dressed girls weren't
representative of Indian culture. But in their place, you can see two
topless men with faces and torsos painted in red and black, the team
colours. They dance around the outfield, with a bhangra troupe following
them. More Indian? We wonder what the crowd thought of that.
Helping hands: No bowler enjoys catches being dropped off his
bowling, and the excitable Sreesanth was near the end of his tether as two
chances went down in the space of three balls. First Yuvraj Singh spilled
a sitter at mid-off to reprieve Virender Sehwag, and then VRV Singh
misjudged a chance at third man after Gautam Gambhir had miscued
a drive. Two costly mistakes, redeemed only by the batsmen on the stroke
of midnight.
Pace isn't everything: VRV bowled the fastest ball of the match,
clocked at 143.2 kmh, and Sehwag responded with a nonchalant swipe over
backward point. VRV's two overs went for 33, proof that pace alone doesn't
count for much.
Fat men can move: You may remember Wesley Snipes and Woody
Harrelson in White Men Can't Jump, and the rotund Ramesh Powar
exploded another myth tonight with a smart running catch at midwicket to
send back the dangerous Farveez Maharoof. He had two wickets as well. Not
bad for a debut outing.
Yours? Mine? Oops: When Shaun Marsh lofted one high into the dusty
Delhi night, Shikhar Dhawan and Shoaib Malik both ran towards the rope to
try and snaffle it. With the crowd making such a noise, calls of "Mine"
are unlikely to have been heard, and the two men ran into each other.
Fortunately, there was no repeat of the sickening Steve Waugh-Jason
Gillespie collision , and a jubilant Dhawan rose off the turf with the
ball in his hands.
Three strikes, you're out: Glenn McGrath had been on the money for
the first nine balls of his spell, but then Yuvraj lofted sixes over
long-off and backward square leg to rouse the sleeping Punjab lion. But
his attempt at three in a row was brilliantly taken on the run [and dive]
by Maharoof at long-on.
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