that's it, Delhi have held on to win a thriller, Vijaykumar pulls the last ball towards deep midwicket for only a single
11.29 pm local time: Amit Mishra is the man of the moment for Delhi. He had 15 runs to defend in the final over and he responded with a hat-trick. Mishra finished with 5 for 17, fantastic performance under pressure. He even took the crucial wickets at the top of the order - dismissing Afridi and Gibbs.
Gambhir and Dhawan set up Delhi's total with half-centuries but Deccan were on course during their run-chase when Afridi was going berserk. Then they lost a few wickets but got back on track when Sharma played a crisp cameo. They once again looked out of the contest when Sharma got out and Styris struggled to build momentum but Rao's burst brought them within striking distance. McGrath returned to dismiss Rao in the penultimate over and that was the blow that knocked Deccan out.
The Man of the Match is Amit Mishra for two crucial wickets in his first spell and his last-over hat-trick to win the game for Delhi. He finished with figures of 5 for 17. Delhi have broken their four-match losing streak with a close win. Deccan are virtually out of the semi-finals. It will need a mathematical miracle for them to make it now.
Thank you for tuning in to Cricinfo's coverage today, and for all your emails. This is George Binoy signing off, I'll see you all tomorrow. Cheers.
Sarvesh pulls the ball on to his pad for a single
he could have had four in four! Sarvesh charges and misses but Karthik fails to collect the ball, imagine that he could have had four wickets in a row
he's got the hat-trick! RP charges down the track and swings wildly, Mishra bowls the flatter, faster and straighter ball, RP misses and Karthik breaks the stumps with the batsman well short, Mishra loves sit, he's a hero , the Kotla cheers itself hoarse
That should be it for Deccan, but stranger things have happened! Mishra's on a hat-trick.
caught again! Mishra's got his fourth, Ojha charges down the pitch and tries to heave down the ground, Mishra slips in the goodly and Ojha slices the ball high in the air towards cover where Dilshan takes a simple catch
Ojha's the new batsman, 15 needed off 5. That was so close to being six.
he's cleared the boundary! No he hasn't, Malik's taken the catch at long off! Mishra bowled the flatter and faster ball outside off stump, Teja made room and hit it with a flat bat towards long off where Malik moved to his left and held on to a hard catch
Deccan need 15 off the last over. Teja's on strike, he's an opening batsman mind you. Mishra's the man in the hot seat. Sehwag's make a lot of field changes.
full and straight from McGrath, Teja drives towards long off for the single
that's cleared the boundary! Teja made room by backing away towards the leg side, got down on one knee and sliced the low full toss over the backward point boudnary, terrific shot
full ball outside off stump, driven off the front foot towards the off side for a single
full and in the blockhole, Teja digs it out on the leg side for a single
RP Singh is the new batsman.
caught! Rao's gone and have Deccan's hopes gone with him? McGrath bowled a fuller length and angled it into the right-hander, Rao got under it and lofted the ball high in the air, it's gone miles in the air but doesn't have enough distance to clear the boudnary, Shoaib Malik settles under the catch at long on and takes it comfortably
Sehwag's come all the way from the boundary to have a word with umpire Jerling. I wonder what that is about. There was a sizable delay but I don't know what caused it for they cut to an ad break immediately. They're ready to begin again ...
Teja moves back and guides the ball towards third man to give Rao the strike, sensible batting
McGrath's back for his final over. Deccan need 25 off 12 balls. That's very manageable.
Rao you beauty! He's swung the last ball of the over superbly over deep midwicket, the ball was a bit too full and Rao got nicely under it, 18 runs off the over
he's got a four now! Rao backs away once again, Maharoof bowls the slower ball but the length is a bit short, Rao smashes the ball over extra cover for a one bounce four
Rao's hammered it on to the second tier! He backed away to a slower ball, swung his bat hard and hit the ball straight over the bowler's head for a massive six, Deccan need a few more like that
Ravi Teja is the new batsman.
caught! Nothing gets past de Villiers! Styris backs away to make room and lofts a short of a length ball off the front foot, he's hit it high in the air towards long-on, de Villiers runs in at pace and times his slide perfectly and holds on to a well-judged catch
Rao backs away towards leg and Maharoof follows him, he tries to hit the ball past the fielder at short fine leg but can't do it
the slower ball on a good length on middle stump, Styris waits in his crease and pulls the ball towards deep backward square leg
43 needed off the last three overs.
Rao cuts the ball between backward point and short third man for the third boundary of the over, they've got the runs they needed off this over, can they maintain the tempo?
driven towards long off this time for a single
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi | |
Toss | Deccan Chargers, elected to field first |
Series | |
Season | 2007/08 |
Player Of The Match | |
Hours of play (local time) | 20.00 start, First Session 20.00-21.20, Interval 21.20-21.40, Second Session 21.40-23.00 |
Match days | 15 May 2008 - night (20-over match) |
T20 debut | PM Sarvesh Kumar |
Umpires | |
TV Umpire | |
Match Referee | |
Points | Delhi Daredevils 2, Deccan Chargers 0 |
Over 20 • DC 182/9