This is just the beginning

As the rules of the game of cricket go, there has to be one winner and the other team has to end up on the losing side no matter what. This saying is not for matches that result in a tie or those games which get abandoned by no matter what once again. Most of you might not even accept the encounter between the Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils yesterday at Delhi when the Delhi team got out for just 95 runs. Should one forgive Virender Sehwag for starting the inning so brightly that even the best batsman on earth would have got scared.

One would have thought Sehwag to hit a double century rather than the entire team not even getting to the one hundred mark. A score of 95 by a team captained by a dashing opener like Sehwag and with members like David Warner and Irfan Pathan should have atleast scored runs at a rate f 6.0 runs an over. One has to wonder about the team which speaks of no other hard hitting batsman if not for their captain. There was some Venugopal Rao who makes his appearance flt only once in a year and that would be the IPL in case that happens.

Despite the fact that the entire Delhi team got bundled out for a mere total of just 95 on board, one has to no doubt appreciate the fact that the Delhi Daredevils had hit more sixes compared to the Mumbai Indians. The Delhi Daredevils' innings saw two hits out of the ground, with one of them being from the bat of Virender Sehwag and the other one being from some Naman Ojha, the profile of whom can be viewed on cricinfo if interested. On the other hand, the Mumbai Indins had just one six from Sachin Tendulkar who fell short of a half century by 4 runs.

Though not necessary, all the batsmen from the Mumbai Indians had their strike rates below hundred which can be taken the way you wish. Would it be right to suggest that the pitch was tough for batsmen? I don't think so, keeping in mind the was the Mumbai Indians played without losing their cool. Of course, who doesn't keep his cool chasing down just 96 on board? One has to appreciate the series of 0s and 8s in the Delhi Daredevils' innings with five batsmen getting out for naught and two of them scoring 8 runs. But, there is a long way to for both teams.