Date:17/03/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/17/stories/2008031759271700.htm

Sport - Cricket

Gunawardene, Bali help Giants ground Rockets

Special Correspondent

CHANDIGARH: Avishka Gunawardene and Abhinav Bali joined hands to complete a nine-wicket drubbing of Ahmedabad Rockets and helped Delhi Giants score its second victory in the Indian Cricket League’s Edelweiss 20s Challenge at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium at Panchkula here on Sunday.

Chasing a modest target of 108, Giants never looked in trouble and made it in 15.3 overs.

Gunawardene hit a 44-ball 55 while Bali dominated the 45-run unbroken second-wicket stand with a 21-ball 34.

Bali hit three of his six boundaries in succession to put the finishing touches to the one-sided contest.

Setting the pace

Man-of-the-Match Gunawardene set the pace after choosing Rakesh Patel for special treatment.

After hitting the medium pacer for two boundaries in an over, the left-handed Sri Lankan caused more damage when Patel returned for his third over.

Gunawardene cut him for two successive sixes over third man and point and added a boundary off the last ball to step up the momentum.

The former Sri Lankan opener added a third six by hoisting S. Sriram over long-off soon after the left-arm spinner had provided the breakthrough by luring Mohnish Mishra to hole out to Patel.

But Bali’s arrival hastened the end as he toyed with the spinners.

He hit a six and two boundaries off Bhima Rao, a 20-year-old off-spinner.

Bali then went after the friendly leg-spin of Murray Goodwin to finish the match.

Early wickets

Earlier, Rockets failed to take-off after winning the toss.

The early fall of openers Sachin Dholpure and Wavell Hinds, who had raised a century stand in the opening match against Chandigarh Lions last Sunday, brought Rockets under pressure.

Dholpure (1) was bowled in the second over, Hinds (5) was run-out and so was Goodwin (1) with just nine runs on the board.

Cautious batting

Rakesh Patel’s dismissal in the ninth over brought skipper Damien Martyn (44, four 4s) and S. Sriram (31, two 4s) together.

They played cautiously and rotated the strike well but could not come up with the much-needed big hits.

Off the last two balls of the innings, Reetinder Singh Sodhi helped himself to a six and four off Jai Prakash Yadav to take the score past the 100-run mark.

The scores: Ahmedabad Rockets 107 for six in 20 overs (Damien Martyn 44, S. Sriram 31) lost to Delhi Giants 111 for one in 15.3 overs (Avishka Gunawardene 55 not out, Abhinav Bali 34 not out).