Delhi Daredevils were stunned in a very close contest by the Rajasthan Royals at Feroze Shah Kotla on Saturday. Delhi fell short of five runs. David warner did bat really well and brought Delhi very close to their maiden win of this season but he ran himself out at a very crucial moment. Later Kevin Cooper turned the tables as he gave just three runs and picked up two wickets in the last over to win the opening match for his team.

Here we bring before you the hits and flops from the match.

HITS

David Warner: Warner finally came in to the party and smashed the ball all over the park. He scored 77 runs off just 55 balls and took the Delhi to a score of 150 plus. He played a very steady knock and took calculated risks. He scored nine fours and just one six. He batted till the 19th over of the inning and got run out while trying to take a single as Brad Hodge had a last laugh with his accurate throw.

Umesh Yadav: Umesh Yadav bowled really well and added a new weapon to his armoury. His slower balls were much more effective and fetched him two wickets. In total, he bamboozled the Rajasthan batsmen as he picked up four crucial wickets to bring the total score of Rajasthan Royals down by15-20 runs.

Rahul Dravid: “THE WALL”, Dravid did justice to his reputation and played a sensational knock. He scored 65 off just 51 balls. He smashed five fours and two sixes to lead his side to a very competitive total of 164. He rotated the strike really well and gave Ajinkya Rahane the chance to score quick runs and played his role of sheath-anchor really well. He stayed on the crease for good 16 overs and got out at the penultimate over of the innings.

Stuart Binny: Stuart Binny played a brilliant cameo to give the Rajasthan a much needed momentum and ensured that they would surpass the score of 150 quite easily. He scored two fours and three sixes to score those lightning fast 40 runs off just 20 balls. He was undone by Umesh Yadav.

S Sreesanth: Sreesanth bowled brilliantly and gave away just 18 runs in his quota of four overs. He kept the line and length very tight and forced the batsmen to play the ball. He picked up the wicket of Unmukt Chand, who was looking really dangerous with his back to back big-hits. He was looking in a good rhythm and is surely looking as a player to make a remarkable difference to the Rajasthan’s performance this season.

Kevin Cooper: Cooper bowled a stunning final over and gave away just three runs. His confidence of bowling back to back yorkers to keep the batsman quiet and steal away the match for Rajasthan Royals was commendable. With nine runs needed of the last over, he bowled brilliantly. He was a bit expensive in his first three overs as he gave away 27 runs but he came back well and picked up two wickets in his final over.

FLOPS

Samuel Badree: Samuel Badree was smacked all over the park and he ended up going wicket-less. He gave away 34 runs in his four overs. Duo of Unmukt Chand and David Warner scored three fours and one six off his bowling. His performance did hurted Rajasthan very badly.

Andre Russell: Andre Russell was looking out of the rhythm while bowling. His inconsistent line and length cost him 31 runs in his three overs. Russell has not proved his worth with the ball and it’s a high time for Delhi that they should go to any Indian bowler who can be much handy with his variation in medium pace.

Irfan Pathan: A lot was expected from Irfan but he wasn’t up to the mark and conceded too many runs in his spell of four overs. He was smashed for 31 runs. Player of his stature should at least pick up couple of wickets in every match but he had failed to do so. Chances are quite high that he can be replaced by Ajit Agarkar who had a decent run last season.

Johan Botha: Botha’s level of performance had gone from bad to worse. First, he failed to impress with his bowling skills and gave away 19 runs in just one over. While batting, he played some senseless shots to put his team in to the all sorts of trouble.

Siddharth Trivedi: He was thrashed miserably by David Warner in his last two overs. He didn’t bowl that bad but Warner and Mahela Jayawardena picked more of ones and twos to keep the pressure on him. He gave away 35 runs in his three overs.