The previous 2 pitches at Pune had both proved good batting decks and neither captain seemed quite sure what today's would offer as they were plenty of cracks to suggest some dodgy bounce. Ganguly won the toss and decided to make first use of it, but any fears of variable bounce were immediately realised as Ryder, who played so well against Delhi last time, was bowled by Irfan Pathan's second ball that kept really low having pitched on a length. In the next over Ganguly played an unnecessary swipe over the off-side, a trade-mark shot of his years ago, that landed in the hands of 3rd man and suddenly PWI found themselves at 1/2 after just 9 balls, a dream start for the Daredevils. Pandey, promoted to opener today, and Uthappa have both often been accused of not batting responsibly in the past and they had no choice but to do just this. The powerplay is the time when batsmen can afford to take risks with the field up but having lost 2 wickets so early they were forced to accumulate carefully and wait for a bat ball to put away. They did a fantastic job too, with good communication and running and noticeable feature throughout. Pandey is at his best when opening, unfortunately for him that is the case for most of the PWI batting line-up, and he times the ball so cleanly when presented with some pace, stroking Morkel back over his head for an effortless six in the 6th over. Uthappa played more circumspectly, in the knowledge that he has the ability to catch up later on, and they had recovered nicely to reach 50/2 after 10 overs. The spin bowlers were particularly difficult to score off and few risks were taken off either Nadeem or Negi, both of whom's 4 overs went for just 22 and instead the pace bowlers were targeted later on. Yadav's spell cost 40 runs as both players clearly enjoyed the pace on the ball, able to hit through the line and use the pace cleverly to score behind square. The last 10 overs went for 96 runs as Pandey (80* from 56) and Uthappa (60* from 58) managed a record breaking partnership of 145 to get Pune back into the game with a seemingly par score of 146/2. Pandey in particular looked far more assured and this was terrific to see, the only issue being that to get the best out of him as an opener Uthappa and others must drop the down the order, a real dilemma for the selectors.
Given the ease with Delhi managed to chase the score, some may well point fingers at this partnership. Though it was undoubtedly crucial in getting Pune to a defendable total some may well say that they should have gone harder earlier in pursuit of a total good enough to truly challenge such a powerful top order as Delhi's but I disagree. Had they risked it in the 10th over or even before, then PWI may well have found themselves at 60/4 at the half way mark and all of a sudden are struggling to even hit 120. From the 13th over onwards the acceleration was clear, Pandey hitting a 4 and a 6 off Yadav to kickstart the late assault. The spinners had simply executed their plan perfectly, bowling to their field and giving away little, Uthappa's reverse sweeps hit the men and it was just a tough pitch to score on. Had Sehwag gone early then the chase would have been compltely different but he was in sublime touch. He let Jayawardene do the bulk of the scoring at the start but when he fell, run out after a mix up, it was all Sehwag, despite a brief cameo from KP. His striking was as clean as ever and some of the sixes were incredible in that he barely seemed to hit them, one pick up over square leg off the bowling of Wright stands out in my mind. Both Pune spinners, Karthik (4-0-26-0) and Sharma (4-0-33-1), bowled well at times to have Sehwag (87* from 48 and MoM) in some trouble but the run rate was at around 10 throughout the DD innings and consequently the required run rate plummeted to leave absolutely no pressure on the batting side as they cruised home in the 16th over. He is a player that can make any total seem miles under par and that was the case today, Pandey and Uthappa had to had play well to get their side back in it but then all that hard work was to no avail as 146 is not a total to daunt an in form Sehwag.
Delhi now find themselves 2 points clear at the top of the table and are, rightly so, considered serious contenders for the title. Their bowling line-up is well balanced and their batting is simply awesome, KP returns to England soon but the returning Warner is a decent enough replacement! As for Pune, Uthappa and Pandey did really well, fully taking on the responsibility to make up for a disastrous start and get their side back in it at the half way mark. Unfortunately, Sehwag was at his best today and will chase down near any 20/20 score on his day. The side chosen looked the best balance that Pune have come up with yet in terms of batsmen, all rounders and bowlers but the issue is finding the right order. I really like the Ryder/Uthappa opening partnership but the problem is that there are so many other openers in the side (Pandey, Ganguly and Wright) which will always mean some men can't play in their preferred position. Its so tough to get right and every time I try to think up the right combination there's always an issue somewhere! Good luck to the Pune management staff on that one and hope to see the players come back well next match, Sehwag was simply too good for them today.
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