June 01, 2008	Sunday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 26, 1429

MUMBAI, May 31: The much anticipated first semi-final clash turned out to be a no-contest as Jaipur Rajasthan Royals stormed into the Indian Premier League final with a comprehensive 105-run win against Delhi Daredevils at the Wankhede Stadium here on Friday night (also partly reported in Saturday’s edition).

Virender Sehwag after electing to field was pushed on to the back-foot early in the game and he was forced to stay there for the entire match as Jaipur walked all over Delhi, first with the bat and then with the ball. Shane Watson (52 and three for 10) was once again the hero of the show as he top-scored for Jaipur and then took three wickets to rip the heart out of Delhi’s batting.

After posting a mammoth 192-9 with some audacious strokeplay, Jaipur’s bowlers were on the money from the word go and it took all of 16 overs to knock-out Delhi for a paltry 87.

A stiff 193-run target was always going to be a mountain to climb for Delhi but once they had lost their top three for 24 runs, the task was too demanding for the middle-order. Watson broke Delhi’s backbone when he sent back Sehwag (3), Gautam Gambhir (11) and Shikhar Dhawan (5) with just 24 runs on the board.

And it was always going to be downhill from there as Manoj Tiwary (0), Farveez Maharoof (6) and Dinesh Karthik (10) failed to put on a fight. Tillekeratne Dilshan (33) stood his ground for a while but he too crumbled under pressure. Eventually, the game finished on humiliating lines for Delhi as they lost their last five wickets for just 12 runs.

Munaf Patel (three for 17) and Warne (two for 20) along with Watson proved too hot to handle as Jaipur booked a much deserved spot in the final two.

Though Delhi managed regular breakthroughs but they could not halt Jaipur’s surge, who never allowed the scoring-rate to sag. And it was once again Jaipur’s men-in-form

who came good in the crunch game. Graeme Smith (26), Swapnil Asnodkar (39), Watson (52) and Pathan (45), all came to the party at a belter in Wankhede to give Delhi a mountain to climb.

The Jaipur batsmen pulled out everything from the drawer as audacious strokeplay along with chancy shots kept the score moving at a neck-break speed. And if it was not for a superb last over by Mohammad Asif, the target for Delhi could have been well over 200.

Scoreboard

RAJASTHAN ROYALS:

G.C. Smith c Dhawan b Maharoof 25

S.A. Asnodkar c Tiwary b Maharoof 39

Sohail Tanvir c Karthik b Maharoof 5

S.R. Watson st Karthik b Mishra 52

Mohammad Kaif b Mishra 12

Y.K. Pathan run out 45

R.A, Jadeja c Maharoof b Mahesh 7

S.K. Warne c Sehwag b Mahesh 0

M. Rawat c and b Asif 2

M.M. Patel not out 0

S.K. Trivedi not out 1

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-3) 4

TOTAL (for nine wkts, 20 overs) 192

FALL OF WKTS: 1-65, 2-65, 3-76, 4-128, 5-155, 6-171, 7-172, 8-190, 9-191.

BOWLING: McGrath 4-0-38-0 (1w); Mohammad Asif 4-0-32-1; Mahesh 4-0-50-2 (1w); Maharoof 4-0-34-3; Mishra 4-0-37-2 (1w).

DELHI DAREDEVILS:

G. Gambhir c sub b Watson 11

V. Sehwag c Sohail b Watson 3

S. Dhawan c Jadeja b Watson 5

M.K. Tiwary c Asnodkar b Patel 0

T.M. Dilshan c Sohail b Warne 33

K.D. Karthik c Kaif b Trivedi 10

M.F. Maharoof c Pathan b Warne 6

A. Mishra b Patel 2

V.Y. Mahesh c Rawat b Patel 3

Mohammad Asif run out 3

G.D. McGrath not out 4

EXTRAS (LB-3, W-4) 7

TOTAL (all out, 16.1 overs) 87

FALL OF WKTS: 1-10, 2-23, 3-24, 4-28, 5-55, 6-75, 7-76, 8-77, 9-82.

BOWLING: Sohail Tanvir 2-0-16-0 (2w); Watson 3-0-10-3 (1w); Patel 4-0-17-3; Trivedi 3-0-20-1; Warne 4-0-21-2; Jadeja 0.1-0-0-0.

RESULT: Rajasthan Royals won by 105 runs.

UMPIRES: B.F. Bowden (New Zealand) and R.E. Koertzen (South Africa).

TV UMPIRE: B.R. Doctrove (West Indies).

MATCH REFEREE: J. Srinath (India).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Shane Watson.

—Agencies