A magnificent 94 from Virender Sehwag powered the Delhi DareDevils to an emphatic 9-wicket victory over the Deccan Chargers at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
Sehwag scored a scintillating undefeated 94 off 41 deliveries, with ten fours and six sixes. He was the aggressor in a partnership of 112 runs for the second wicket with Shikhar Dhawan, who managed 25 off 28 deliveries, with three fours as they catapulted the Daredevils to 143/1 in only thirteen overs.
Earlier, the star-studded Deccan Chargers could manage only 142/8 in their innings.
They were denied a proper platform by the guile of Mohammad Asif, who took 2/19 in four overs, and the accuracy of Glenn McGrath, who conceded 0/22 in 4 overs.
Sehwag was unstoppable, phenomenal, beautiful to watch, and brutal, if you were on the receiving end of a drubbing, as Andrew Symonds was.
Symonds conceded 30 runs in the thirteenth over, with compliments from Sehwag, as he climbed into the Australian all-rounder with three fours and three sixes.
Sehwag and Dhawan completed their 100-run partnership off only 55 deliveries.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma hit an amazing 26 runs in the 18th over, by Farveez Maharoof ,as he ruined the Sri Lankan’s respectable 2/10 after three overs and resurrected the wobbly innings by a strangely out-of-sorts Chargers.
Sharma (66, 36 balls, 6x4, 4x6) was sensational and added 41 runs in 2.3 overs with Arjun Yadav for the seventh wicket as he took them from 82/6 to 123/7 when falling to a superb outfield-catch by McGrath.
The Chargers lost their three most prized possessions, Adam Gilchrist (8), VVS Laxman (2) and Andrew Symonds (12, 13 balls, 2x4), before the conclusion of the tenth over as they tottered on the brink on 45/4.
Sharma tried vailiantly, but 142/8 was probably fifty runs short.