Delhi v Chennai, 2nd qualifier, IPL 2012, Chennai

Chennai Super Kings 222 for 5 (Vijay 113) beat Delhi Daredevils 136 (Jayawardene 55, Ashwin 3-23) by 86 runs.

 To the surprise of many, only one Morkel took the field in the virtual semi-final clash between Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings. And the bigger shock was that it wasn’t Morne. The purple cap holder has been Delhi’s best bowler on show throughout out tournament, but was left out for reasons best known to the Delhi management. The result – Delhi’s weakened bowling attack was carted for 222 runs in 20 overs, with Varun Aaron being slammed for 63 and Morkel’s replacement, the unknown Sunny Gupta, leaking 47 runs in his three overs.

There is no guarantee that Delhi would have won had Morkel been part of the eleven, but there are no two opinions about it that they would have been in with a better chance. Yes, Delhi had to make amends for playing too many fast bowlers on a turning track against Kolkata Knight Riders. Still, leaving out Morkel made least sense. Keeping out Andre Russell would have been an equally tough decision, but why would a team keep out its best bowler on a day when they need him most? This is a question that will bafflethe Daredevil supporter.