Matthew Hayden, wielding a Mongoose bat, overshadows Virender Sehwag’s quick-fire 74 as Chennai down Delhi
For Matthew Hayden, you can be forewarned but not forearmed.
The hefty Australian has said that he wants to help Chennai Super Kings win the third edition of the IPL and intends to use his new Mongoose bat to that purpose. Delhi Daredevils knew the batsman’s might and understood his new weapon’s potential, but were left licking their wounds after a second successive defeat.
Hayden missed a century but overshadowed Virender Sehwag, who had produced a quick-fire knock earlier in the day, to ensure a second win in three matches for the Chennai team.
Hayden, playing for a major part with the new variant of a bat that has a longer handle and a shorter blade, produced a characteristic knock that had little frills but all the crucial ingredients. Picking the line and length of deliveries as well as he did during his prime, he decimated the Delhi attack with ease.
“Hayden is as dangerous a batsman, irrespective of which of the bats he uses. He always bats the same way as he did today,” said Delhi’s stand-in skipper Dinesh Karthik.
The big-hitting left-hander struck 93 off 43 deliveries, showing respect to neither spinner nor pace bowler. He slammed nine fours and seven sixes, spraying the ball all over the ground, an over from Tillakaratne Dilshan taking him quickly past the fifty-run mark.
He welcomed the off-spinner into the attack with a six to long-off and then followed with one each to long-on and mid-wicket. Dilshan played a part in Hayden’s dismissal when he took a fine catch in the deep off leg-spinner Amit Mishra, but the big man had done the job by then.
The way Hayden was batting, it was no bother that Chennai did not get any notable contribution other than stand-in skipper Suresh Raina. The left-hander, leading the side in the absence of the injured MS Dhoni, struck 49 not out off 34 balls with three sixes and three fours to see the team through with five balls to spare.
Delhi were able to set a target of 186 largely because of top-order heroics from Sehwag. The former skipper produced a good mix of shots, from the lofted ones straight down the ground to the well-placed ones square of the wicket. He raced to 74 off just 38 deliveries, during which he hit a six each to seamers Lakshmipathy Balaji, Justin Kemp and a pulled one to off-spinner R Ashwin. Muralitharan, whom Sehwag once hit for two fours in the same over through the point region, finally dismissed Sehwag with Kemp taking a well-judged catch at long-off.
With David Warner and Dilshan failing to provide additional thrust up the order, it was left to seasoned Delhi regulars Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia to ensure a fighting total. Manhas revelled in playing the cut shots in his 32 off 22 deliveries while Bhatia once struck two consecutive sixes to long-on off Joginder Sharma during his crucial 21 off nine.
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