Sourav Ganguly - The Ultimate Fighter

              All-round Ganguly the star as Warriors beat Daredevils

Pune Warriors recovered from two successive defeats to beat the form team this IPL thus far, thanks to an impressive all-round effort. Sourav Ganguly, their captain, played a significant role with bat and ball, together with some exciting shot-making from Jesse Ryder and Steven Smith, who helped post a total that proved beyond the might of Delhi Daredevils' power-packed batting line-up. At the Ferozshah Kotla, the hosts were well on track when Virender Sehwag and Kevin Pietersen were going strong in a threatening partnership but the chase ran out of steam when a couple of bowling changes proved decisive by accounting for both.

20 overs Pune Warriors 192 for 3 (Ryder 86, Ganguly 41) v Delhi Daredevils

Pune Warriors left Delhi Daredevils with a challenging task at the Ferozshah Kotla, scoring 192 in good batting conditions and giving themselves a good chance of recovering from two straight losses. The highlights of their innings were a 93-run stand between Jesse Ryder and Sourav Ganguly, who laid the platform with some exciting shot-making, before a late onslaught from Steven Smith boosted them to their highest score this season.

Irfan Pathan started with a maiden, and Shahbaz Nadeem began tidily as well but the most successful bowler this IPL, Morne Morkel, proved expensive and may have put Virender Sehwag's plans off track. Eager to open up after a quiet start, Ryder targeted Morkel and was lucky, his first two boundaries - a six over third man and then a four past fine leg - coming off edges. Ganguly, who joined Ryder after the early loss of Robin Uthappa, too began in the same fashion, picking up his first boundary over slip.

The fortuitous onslaught by the Warriors did its job, unsettling Morkel, who Ryder struck - convincingly this time - for two more fours, before he was taken off the attack, having conceded 31 in two overs. Sehwag had the option of using Umesh Yadav then, or left-arm spinner Pawan Negi, who replaced Ajit Agarkar for this match. Instead, he brought himself on and was swept for fours by Ryder and Ganguly, before Kevin Pietersen was smashed over extra cover and long-off for a four and a six respectively. Twenty-six came off overs eight and nine and the pair was well set by the time the regulars returned.

The pair faltered in its running, failing to convert several singles into twos, but the boundaries compensated for that lethargy. Both Ryder and Ganguly indulged in power-play, but also the sweep, to good effect. Ganguly scooped Nadeem over short fine before hammering him down the ground, and Ryder stepped up when he was joined by Smith once Ganguly went. He cracked Irfan over extra cover and swung Yadav over the square leg and midwicket for sixes. As the seamers struggled with their lengths, either bowling too short or on a length, the otherwise miserly Nadeem too came in for some punishment. Smith launched him for sixes over his head and midwicket, and dispatched him for two fours, one off a reverse-sweep, to pick 23 in the 18th over.

Morkel eventually dismissed Ryder in the final over after a full toss was dismissed past fine leg, but the Daredevils' premier fast bowler ended with figures of 3 for 50 in four overs.
(The Original Writer of the above article is Siddhartha Talya,sub editor at ESPNcricinfo)