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On a pitch where the first ball of spin turned square, Delhi Daredevils stuck to their guns, playing three specialist fast bowlers. When Kolkata Knight Riders lumbered to 106 for 4 after 16 overs, the plan did not seem to have backfired. But Yusuf Pathan, who had done almost nothing the entire season, and Laxmi Shukla, playing in place of an unfit Manoj Tiwary, carted the quicks for 56 off the final four overs, and 36 off the final two, as Knight Riders surged to 162. The total seemed even more intimidating considering Knight Riders had an army of spinners waiting to exploit the dry pitch.
Gautam Gambhir had once again given Knight Riders a strong start, taking the fast bowlers for several boundaries. He had sped to 32 off 16 deliveries before he failed to make his ground to a direct hit from mid-off after having backed up too far. Not for the first time after Gambhir's departure, Knight Riders lost their way. Only 58 runs came off the next ten overs as Pawan Negi, the left-arm spinner, and Irfan Pathan strangled the batsmen.
Just when it seemed Knight Riders had wasted Gambhir's efforts upfront, Yusuf and Shukla launched into the quicks, who did not let up on the pace. Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav kept bowling in the late 140s with Morne Morkel not far behind. But the faster they bowled, the ball only came on better on the slow pitch.
Yusuf began the assault in the 17th over, carting a Morkel length ball for a straight six. Yadav was swung for a couple of fours over midwicket in the 18th. Shukla took the lead in the 19th, making room to loft Morkel over extra cover for four and pulling him over deep square leg for six.
It was to get worse for Daredevils in the last over. David Warner dropped Yusuf as he ran across from long-on and ended up parrying it for six. Yusuf cover-drove and flicked the last two deliveries for fours as Knight Riders surged to 162, a total which will be difficult to achieve even for Virender Sehwag and David Warner.
Gautam Gambhir had once again given Knight Riders a strong start, taking the fast bowlers for several boundaries. He had sped to 32 off 16 deliveries before he failed to make his ground to a direct hit from mid-off after having backed up too far. Not for the first time after Gambhir's departure, Knight Riders lost their way. Only 58 runs came off the next ten overs as Pawan Negi, the left-arm spinner, and Irfan Pathan strangled the batsmen.
Just when it seemed Knight Riders had wasted Gambhir's efforts upfront, Yusuf and Shukla launched into the quicks, who did not let up on the pace. Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav kept bowling in the late 140s with Morne Morkel not far behind. But the faster they bowled, the ball only came on better on the slow pitch.
Yusuf began the assault in the 17th over, carting a Morkel length ball for a straight six. Yadav was swung for a couple of fours over midwicket in the 18th. Shukla took the lead in the 19th, making room to loft Morkel over extra cover for four and pulling him over deep square leg for six.
It was to get worse for Daredevils in the last over. David Warner dropped Yusuf as he ran across from long-on and ended up parrying it for six. Yusuf cover-drove and flicked the last two deliveries for fours as Knight Riders surged to 162, a total which will be difficult to achieve even for Virender Sehwag and David Warner.