The edge no one heard
Plays of the Day from the match between Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils at the DY Patil Stadium
George Binoy
17-Apr-2011
Jesse Ryder began in six-hitting mode at the DY Patil Stadium • AFP
Costly change of mind
Ashok Dinda had the new ball. He was all set to bowl the first over of the match when Virender Sehwag, spying two left-hand overseas opening batsmen, changed his mind and gave the ball to the offspinner Venugopal Rao. The spinner-with-new-ball ploy had worked wonders during the World Cup, but Ryder was a world-class batsman, and Venugopal was not a world-class bowler. Three deliveries later, Ryder leaned forward and nonchalantly chipped the ball over the long-on boundary. The next one was more emphatic - a powerful swing, down on one knee, over long-on once again.
Ashok Dinda had the new ball. He was all set to bowl the first over of the match when Virender Sehwag, spying two left-hand overseas opening batsmen, changed his mind and gave the ball to the offspinner Venugopal Rao. The spinner-with-new-ball ploy had worked wonders during the World Cup, but Ryder was a world-class batsman, and Venugopal was not a world-class bowler. Three deliveries later, Ryder leaned forward and nonchalantly chipped the ball over the long-on boundary. The next one was more emphatic - a powerful swing, down on one knee, over long-on once again.
The edge no one heard
Graeme Smith smashed his first ball, absolutely smashed it, straight to the wicketkeeper, who caught it. Curiously neither the bowler, Dinda, nor the keeper, Naman Ojha, made strong appeals. The umpire was Amiesh Saheba and he wasn't convinced either. Smith kept his poker face, took strike again, and whipped the next ball off his pads for four.
Graeme Smith smashed his first ball, absolutely smashed it, straight to the wicketkeeper, who caught it. Curiously neither the bowler, Dinda, nor the keeper, Naman Ojha, made strong appeals. The umpire was Amiesh Saheba and he wasn't convinced either. Smith kept his poker face, took strike again, and whipped the next ball off his pads for four.
The shot at redemption
Ryder had just been dropped at deep midwicket - Dinda had grassed a sitter - after which he clubbed Shabaz Nadeem over the long-on boundary. And then he slog-swept with power and Aaron Finch mis-fielded at deep square leg to allow four. Dinda didn't get a chance to make amends, but Finch did. A ball later, Ryder swept again, this time in the air, and Finch held it safely at deep-backward square leg.
Ryder had just been dropped at deep midwicket - Dinda had grassed a sitter - after which he clubbed Shabaz Nadeem over the long-on boundary. And then he slog-swept with power and Aaron Finch mis-fielded at deep square leg to allow four. Dinda didn't get a chance to make amends, but Finch did. A ball later, Ryder swept again, this time in the air, and Finch held it safely at deep-backward square leg.
The hat-trick
Three balls, three sixes. Yuvraj Singh ended Pune's innings by destroying Dinda with three powerful clubs that sailed into the stands between midwicket and long-on. All three times he cleared his front foot to create hitting space, all three times the lengths were different, but the result the same. Yuvraj was on a hat-trick with the ball too, but that one escaped him.
Three balls, three sixes. Yuvraj Singh ended Pune's innings by destroying Dinda with three powerful clubs that sailed into the stands between midwicket and long-on. All three times he cleared his front foot to create hitting space, all three times the lengths were different, but the result the same. Yuvraj was on a hat-trick with the ball too, but that one escaped him.
The near collision
Sehwag had skied the ball and gravity was bringing it down in the region between mid-on and long-on. It was long-on's catch, and so Mohnish Mishra sprinted in from the boundary towards the ball. And as he approached the catch, he saw Yuvraj had run back from midwicket, eyes fixed on the ball. Mishra hesitated and then bailed out of the attempt, averting a high-speed collision. Yuvraj lunged, got hands to the ball, but spilled it.
Sehwag had skied the ball and gravity was bringing it down in the region between mid-on and long-on. It was long-on's catch, and so Mohnish Mishra sprinted in from the boundary towards the ball. And as he approached the catch, he saw Yuvraj had run back from midwicket, eyes fixed on the ball. Mishra hesitated and then bailed out of the attempt, averting a high-speed collision. Yuvraj lunged, got hands to the ball, but spilled it.
George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo