11: DD vs CSK

Game 11 of the IPL's 5th edition was yet another disappointing defeat for Chennai Super Kings, at the hands of a clinical Delhi Daredevils, revitalised by the return of big signings Jayawardene and Pietersen.

The noise in the stadium was unreal for the course of the match and this may have accounted for the downfall of the Chennai innings. The first ball set the tone for them as indecisive running had Vijay scampering back to his ground to be run out without facing a ball, the innings never picked up any momentum from there. Du Plessis fell soon after to the ever impressive Morne Morkel after some stylish shots through the off side. This brought a couple of Chennai's more consistent players together in the form of Raina and Badrinath, both of whom briefly displayed some clean hitting. Their fightback was ended by more catastrophic running, Raina short of his ground attempting a risky single to cover-point and then Badrinath suffered the same fate 3 overs later after sharp work from Pietersen at short third man. This handed the initiative to Delhi who, although performed well, did not have to do anything exceptional and gratefully accepted as Chennai were intent on handing them the game. Bravo and Dhoni, two attacking players normally, went into their shells as the spinners gave them nothing to work with. Van der Merwe and Nadeem's 7 overs of slow left arm went for just 24 runs in a crucial spell for their Delhi side. More good death bowling from Morkel (4-0-19-2) and Yadav prevented the big finish that CSK desperately needed as they capitulated to a hugely under par 110/8.

The only way that 111 was ever going to look a tough chase would have been with some early wickets but some wayward bowling from both Morkel and Bollinger gifted boundaries to Ojha and Sehwag as CSK continued to be outplayed. Sehwag fell after a typical cameo of 33 from 21 balls and at 50/2 Chennai had a glimmer of hope. But the new signings of Pietersen (43* from 26) and Jayawardene (20*) showed their experience and combined nicely. Pietersen's clean striking and Mahela's deft placement showed the signs of a successful partnership at 3 and 4 in the weeks to come. There aren't enough English players in the IPL and it was great to watch KP who was clearly enjoying himself, bringing out some of his now controversial switch hits, I doubt Dilshan would have been impressed! They comfortably took Delhi home inside 14 overs to complete a hammering of CSK in whats been a shaky start to the defence of their title.

Chennai never turned up and a professional performance from Delhi, who never had to get out of their first couple of gears, was more than enough to produce a totally one sided victory and an 8 wicket win with 40 balls to spare! Today wasn't the first time Chennai have suffered from run out fever and its hard to put your finger on the cause as their squad is more or less the same as last year's. There is too much quality in the CSK squad for them not to come back, but the IPL certainly looks an open affair this year which is pleasing to see. Sehwag now has the squad he wants, barring the absent Warner, and they appear to have a good mix with their bowlers more than pulling their weight, with Morkel as the star performer.