Dharmasala beautiful ground : Gilchrist




"It is the most stunning part of India and one of the most beautiful grounds in the world" said Adam Gilchrist about the scenic Dharmasala, the cricket capital of Himachal Pradesh.

Situated at the face of the Dhalaudhar ranges, the snow kissed mountains arranged a magnificent view, as the 20 K stadium was full for the Sunday feast.

Punjab beat Delhi yesterday. Valthaty smashed the Delhi bowlers to all parts of the field in a blistering 62 and took the orange Cap from Gayle.

Shaun Marsh scored 46 and helped Valthaty to lay the foundation of a massive score, 170/6.

Delhi could only score 141/8 and fell short of the target. Thoug a 50 plus stand by Delhi openers, Ojha and Warner gave a false indication , none of the other batsmen impressed and Delhi lost the game.

Asked about luck, Gilchrist said "I dont believe in luck. You create opportunities or miss them. We pounced upon ours. Delhi didn't".

Punjab produced a clinical all round performance to score this 29 run victory, keeping their play off hopes alive.

Chasing 171 to win, Delhi felt the absence of Sehwag, who left the team due to a shoulder injury.

Chawla, dropped for the WI tour, grabbed the attention of the 2 billion viewes, when he put in an impressive performance, 3/16. Srivastava took 2/39 and Valthaty, P Kumar and R Harris took one wicket each.

Ojha and Warner, despite their half century stand, could only hit a four and a six in the first five overs, though the formed hit two sixes and a four off Srivastava in the sixth over, clobbering 17 runs in the process.

Warner perished in the next over, trying to accelerate the scoring rate. The Kangaroo danced down the pitch to hit Srivastava, but only succeeded in a ballooning a catch to Gilchrist.

Chawla bowled Sriram with a googly. V Rao holed out to Chawla and Irfan fell to Valthaty. Hopes was removed by Chawla. And when Hopes was out, the scoring rate had shot up to more than 17 an over. Delhi needed an impossible 43 off the last two overs and even though M Morkel hit Srivastava for 13 runs, it was not enough to facilitate a win !

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