Howrah express runs over Delhi |
|
Wednesday May 14, 01:24 AM
Kolkata, May 13: He’s always billed himself as a shock bowler. And that is how he left the Delhi Daredevils. The one-time league leaders fell like ninepins in the face of Shoaib Akhtar’s pace fury who scythed through Delhi’s top order to leave the visitors shell-shocked at 28/4 inside the first five overs. As a contest, it was already all but over.
At the end, it was a comfortable 23-run win for Sourav Ganguly’s Knight Riders, who had been less than impressive with the bat in posting a meagre 133/6 after taking first strike at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday. Playing good support roles to Shoaib (3/11) were Laxmi Ratan Shukla (3/6) and Ashok Dinda (1/29) as Delhi subsided to 110 in 17.5 overs.
The Daredevils, in a tailspin for some time now, never recovered from the early Shoaib blows. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir had started the IPL on a great personal note but both have fallen away since. And with their fading fortunes, the Daredevils too have gone into reverse mode.
Slack running saw two key wickets fall – those of Sri Lankans Tillekaratne Dilshan and Farveez Maharoof – at a time Delhi were edging their way back into the game, Combined with Shoaib’s strikes at the top of the order, it was enough to hand the Knight Riders two very valuable points.
At only one point in the Delhi chase did they look capable of getting to the 134 needed to win here.
That was when Amit Mishra and Maharoof were at the crease. Dilshan had earlier started to look good in his 24-run sixth wicket stand with innings top scorer Amit Mishra (31) but he ran himself out.
Maharoof was giving Mishra good support too in the course of their 38-run seventh wicket partnership, but once again the Kolkata fielders were too sharp for the Delhi batsmen and those two dismissals effectively scuttled the Daredevils’ last chance. Shoaib was on a hat-trick in his second over when he removed Abraham de Villiers and local lad Manoj Tewari off successive balls but Dilshan was good enough to keep the paceman’s bouncer out. And each time he winkled out a Delhi batsman, it was the Shoaib celebration in full-blown colour, on a ground he made one of his most significant international contributions back in 1999.
It was quite a sight to see — Shoaib being hugged by Ganguly — and underlined just how the IPL has crossed all boundaries. The number of times these two have faced off as adversaries are many, and here they were now, the Indian celebrating the Pakistani’s success.
Earlier, Kolkata owed it to a series of small but significant contributions and continued sloppy fielding to built their total. Had the Delhi lads taken the two chances that came their way — Aakash Chopra spilled in the slips by Gambhir and David Hussey behind the wickets by de Villiers — the home side could well have been pegged back still further.
The Knight Riders send out Salman Butt to open alongside Chopra and the duo made heavy weather of a Delhi attack that was missing Mohammad Asif.
The Eden pitch had something in it for the bowlers and just 35 came off the first six overs in front of an increasingly frustrated crowd before Chopra fell to Pradeep Sangwan, who opened alongside Glenn McGrath in Asif’s absence.
By then, Chopra had benefited from one life and worse was to follow for Delhi. Though they did well to remove Ganguly cheaply — playing on to Yo Mahesh, for whom the Knight Riders’ skipper has become something of a bunny — Hussey was spilled when on seven . He went on to make 31, the second highest for Kolkata behind Butt’s 48, but in the light of the carnage unleashed later by Shoaib, it probably did not matter very much.
|
More Cricket News
Dhoni fan-tastic, but Tiwary not overawedFriends in need, old pace partners inspire each otherI was stressed before the match, says AkhtarKolkata owners defend disbanding of fringe playersShoaib UnbannedJaipur tie to go on as scheduledBhajji may get light ban, Sree in dock as wellHowrah express runs over DelhiRiders cut cost, send five homeEden discovers it loves Shoaib
