Cape Town: Rain and a floodlight failure took the gloss off the second day of the Indian Premier League's double-header weekend at Newlands on Sunday.
A grey first day provided enough cricket and entertainment, including an expensive and spectacular opening ceremony, to satisfy a capacity crowd.
All the tickets for Sunday were sold out too but steady morning rain threatened to ruin the day. The match between the Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab started more than an hour and a half late.
Initially reduced to a 14-overs-a-side, it became a 12-overs game and finally was decided by the Duckworth-Lewis Method when chasing side Delhi's innings was halted by rain.
In the end they had to score 54 in six overs, which they accomplished with seven balls to spare for a 10-wicket win.New Zealand left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori took three for 15 for Delhi as Kings XI were restricted to 104 for seven.
Indian opening batsmen Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir made the revised target of 54 look easy, with Sehwag finishing the match with his fourth six in an innings of 38 not out off 16 balls.
"I think spinners are going to play a huge part in the tournament," said Vettori, referring to good performances by Harbhajan Singh, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble on Saturday.
Just before the Deccan Chargers took on the Kolkata Knight Riders, the lights on one of four floodlight towers failed. By the time the problem was solved, the schedule was again running more than an hour and a half late but a full match was played.
With the pitch proving lively in the damp conditions, the Knight Riders were bundled out for 101 and the Chargers strolled to an easy eight-wicket win.
Fast bowler RP Singh took four for 22 as Kolkata struggled to 101 all out. The Chargers needed only 13.1 overs to clinch their win, with Herschelle Gibbs hitting 43 not out and Rohit Sharma 36 not out.
It was an encouraging performance by the Deccan side, who finished last of the eight teams in 2008.
"It's a good start," said Gibbs. "We've got a new captain, a new manager and some new ideas. The team spirit is really good."
With new captain Adam Gilchrist at the helm and former Australian batsman Darren Lehmann as coach, the Chargers kept the Knight Riders under pressure almost from the time Kolkata captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and decided to bat.
Australian Brad Hodge was the only Kolkata batsman to shine, hitting 31 before falling to a stunning reflex catch by Gibbs at backward point off Scott Styris.
Delhi and Deccan joined first day winners Mumbai Indians and Bangalore Royal Challengers as pace-setters in the 37-day tournament.
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