There was a note of caution issued in general interest before the start of play. But while the Ferozeshah Kotla pitch seemed almost ridiculous with its low, variable bounce, the Delhi Daredevils batting took the cake on Friday night by appearing totally sub-standard in their opening match of the Champions League T20.

Insisting on playing their strokes without taking lessons from the afternoon match between Diamond Eagles and New South Wales — which showed that application and not aggression was the key to victory at this venue — the Daredevils became the second Indian team to be defeated in the first two days of the tournament.

Delhi first failed to reach the three-figure mark with the bat and were then able to grab just three wickets with the ball as Victoria batsmen made easy work of the 99-run target, winning by seven wickets with 20 deliveries to spare, to move a step closer to the next round. It also left the home side with a must-win match on Sunday to survive in the tournament. 

The Australian openers made use of the hard ball as their team raced to 32 without loss inside the first five overs. Rob Quiney hit three clean sixes — one off Ashish Nehra and two off Amit Mishra — and though there was a slight stutter when Brad Hodge and David Hussey fell cheaply, skipper Cameron White and Aiden Blizzard ensured there were no further mishaps. Blizzard ending the proceedings with a straight six over the bowler’s head, saving the unkindest cut for the last ball of the match to highlight the kind of day Delhi had had.

... contd.