Sehwag shines in Delhi victory

Virender Sehwag marked a timely return to form with a blistering half-century as Delhi Daredevils defeated Mumbai Indians by four wickets in their final group match of the Indian Premier League at Centurion.

Sehwag struck 50 and put on 68 runs for the second wicket with Gautam Gambhir (47) as the Daredevils made short work of Mumbai’s target of 166.

The Indians, who were asked to bat first, lost three quick wickets at the top of the order, but Ajinkya Rahane hammered 56 and Sachin Tendulkar made 46 as they eventually posted a formidable 165 for eight.

Gambhir and opening partner David Warner (15) got the Daredevils’ chase off to a brisk start, the two smashing 30 from the first three overs.

Warner then fell while attempting an extravagant shot and the Indians sensed a chance as the out-of-form Sehwag walked to the crease.

But Sehwag merely continued where Warner left off, as he and Gambhir flayed the bowling.

Virender Sehwag returned to his brutal best with a quickfire 50 for Delhi today

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Harbhajan Singh pulled things back with a good first over in which he conceded just three, but Sehwag and Gambhir reduced the deficit to just 73 from the last 10 overs.

Gambhir fell shortly after, but Sehwag continued to plunder runs, bringing up his 50 in just 26 deliveries.

He fell off the next delivery from Harbhajan and the Daredevils wobbled with the off-spinner claiming wickets off successive deliveries in his next over.

However, the group leaders eventually secured a win with 15 deliveries to spare.

Nannes had given Delhi a strong start with the new ball, claiming wickets in successive overs.

The Victoria left-arm bowler started with a couple of wides, but trapped Sanath Jayasuriya in front with his first legal delivery.

In his second over, he dismissed JP Duminy, the Indians’ top run-scorer, immediately after being struck for consecutive boundaries.

Bangladesh skipper Mohammad Ashraful was handed his first cap in the tournament but struggled to put bat to ball during an uneasy stay at the crease before Pradeep Sangwan ended his innings.

The Indians had slipped to 28 for three at this stage, but Tendulkar, who had struck a couple of delectable boundaries at the start of his innings, rebuilt the innings together with Rahane.

The duo staged a remarkable recovery, putting on 73 runs for the fourth wicket as the Indians breached the 100-run mark.

Tendulkar was then bowled by Rajat Bhatia four runs short of a half-century just after the strategic break, but Rahane accelerated nicely, eventually falling in the final over.

The tail landed a few lusty blows to get the Indians to a fighting total.

The result had no bearing on the semi-finals as the Indians were already out of contention and the Daredevils had already secured their spot in the last-four.