World Of T20 Cricket

Each apparently content in their post-international careers, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds and Chaminda Vaas still have the ability and sheer presence to turn a team’s mood upside down in one evening, proving that the IPL is as much about cool heads and years of experience as it is about youthful exuberance. Gilchrist began by winning the toss and larruping 38 from 17 balls, becoming the first batsman in the IPL to reach 1000 runs, Symonds overcame a sluggish start to slam the game’s only half-century, and Vaas snuffed out Chennai Super Kings’ chase with three wickets in his opening burst. The result was that the defending champions Deccan Chargers smoothed over their opening-day loss to Kolkata Knight Riders with a professional win.

This win was set up by Deccan’s batsmen, namely their three big overseas imports. A frenetic burst at the start, powered by Gilchrist, was followed by a sedate period when Deccan were tied down by Chennai’s assortment of spinners and medium-pacers, but the decisive spell that followed went the visitors’ way. Herschelle Gibbs’ innings was nowhere near as manic as his captain’s but it proved far more valuable, because he saw out a tough period on a surface with variable bounce and then accelerated at the end.

Symonds proved a good ally, initially playing second fiddle to Gibbs – at one stage he was 3 off 17 balls and then soared to 50. Gibbs and Symonds fell in succession, after getting Deccan past 150, and a 22-run final over, bowled by two men due to Sudeep Tyagi’s full-toss barrage, left Chennai needing 191 to win. Chennai conceded 63 in the last five overs and that proved to be the decisive period of the match.

Gilchrist, who at the toss said matter-of-factly that he wasn’t too concerned at his team’s first loss, set the tone by smashing Sudeep Tyagi’s first over for 18 runs. Albie Morkel was also tonked for fun runs and after three overs the score was 41 for 0. A double-wicket over from R Ashwin, called on to bowl the fifth over, changed the mood in the stadium and forced Deccan to consolidate. Ashwin was taken off after that big over and from 55 for 2 Deccan added just 12 runs in the next four overs.

Match Meter DC The early onslaught: Adam Gilchrist’s assault in the second and third over off Sudeep Tyagi and Albie Morkel yielded 33 runs, leading an aggressive start DC CSK Double blow: In the fifth over, with R Ashwin bowling, Chennai fought back to remove the openers. Gilchrist was deceived in flight to be bowled, and Laxman was run-out the next ball. DC Experienced hands step it up: The 95-run stand for the second wicket which lasted 12.3 overs set the foundation for a testing Deccan score. Gibbs and Symonds began slowly but opened up in timely fashion, striking seven fours and three sixes during their partnership. DC The failed gamble: MS Dhoni’s move to bring back Tyagi for the last over proved a major miscalculation, as T Suman and Rohit Sharma smashed him for 20 runs to stretch the total to 190. DC Vaas attack: The first five overs in the Chennai chase proved decisive, as Chaminda Vaas removed three aggressive batsmen – M Vijay, Suresh Raina and, Matthew Hayden to deliver an irreparable setback to the hosts. Advantage Honours even

Upon resumption after the strategic time-out, Gibbs created a few risk-free shots to keep the runs flowing. Justin Kemp, on his IPL debut, was taken for two calculated fours, wrists rolled on both occasions, and Muttiah Muralitharan was reverse-paddled to third man. Murali didn’t offer the batsmen any room and that meant they had to try different scoring options to make runs. Symonds had been especially bogged down after failing to score off Murali, Ashwin and Kemp, who in 16 balls allowed him just three singles, but in L Balaji’s second over he carved a six and four off consecutive deliveries to move to 14 from 20 balls.

A 95-run stand off 75 balls was ended when Morkel fielded and hit the stumps off his own bowling to send back Gibbs at the start of the 18th over, and five balls later Symonds was caught a frame short of his crease for 50 off 43 balls. Chennai had a good chance to keep Deccan down, but Tyagi’s horror evening culminated with Rohit Sharma and T Suman flogging three fours and a six before a second beamer ruled him out after five deliveries. Kemp bowled the final ball and allowed just one, but Deccan went into the interval all charged up.

That drive was clearly channeled into their effort in the field. Before this tournament few outside the Deccan camp would have backed Vaas to feature heavily for the defending champions, given that he had played just seven games in the past two seasons for indifferent returns. But for the second game running, he jolted the opposition top order with a double-wicket over, and by the time he took his third wicket, that of the bulwark Matthew Hayden, Chennai were hemorrhaging at 31 for 3. It was simple stuff; pitch straight, get some cut, let the batsmen cope with the rest. As he had in Mumbai, Vaas even snuck in a maiden over. It was top stuff.

Vaas began his second over by cleaning up M Vijay with an inside edge, had Suresh Raina pull him for six, but when he pitched fuller Raina was lured into a fatal prod to Gilchrist. Much was made of Hayden’s expected use of the Mongoose bat, but he came out with a normal piece of willow and fell for just 17, paddling Vaas to RP Singh at short fine leg. Pragyan Ojha struck with his third ball to get S Badrinath miscuing an attempted inside-out drive to long-off and at the end of the Powerplay, Chennai were 37 for 4.

Even a 16-run Jaskaran Singh over, during which Dhoni and Kemp plundered boundaries, didn’t deter Deccan. Symonds came on to bowl some seam-up stuff and cleaned up Dhoni (42 from 29), and in the next over Rohit struck to leave Chennai at 115 for 7. Symonds capped a good evening with a second wicket and Chennai finished on 159, a total that owed much to Morkel’s belligerent 42.

Continue reading »

written by Swapnil \\ tags: Chennai Super Kings, Deccan Chargers, IPL

It wasn’t as resounding a thrashing as that delivered by Brendon McCullum’s ruthless innings against the same opponents in the tournament opener two years ago but it was still a massive win for Kolkata Knight Riders in front of a heaving Eden Gardens crowd. Angelo Mathews followed up his fire-fighting with the bat on Friday by starring with the ball to pin down Royal Challengers Bangalore, before fireworks from Kolkata’s openers ensured their team began their campaign with victories over both of last year’s finalists.

Kolkata were in control right from the start when Bangalore’s young batting talent failed, and the visitors were left to thank the experienced Jacques Kallis, who made a mad dash from South Africa after playing the Pro20 final on Friday evening, for holding the innings together. However, even his battling, an unbeaten 65 on a slowish track, couldn’t spare Bangalore the eventual hammering.

Their troubles began when the surprise move to open with Sreevats Goswami didn’t work out. The pint-sized Goswami was hemmed in by a series of Charl Langeveldt bouncers, and his ploy of backing away to heave the ball to the leg side didn’t come off. Nor could Manish Pandey replicate the wonderful form of his domestic season, looking tentative in his short stay before his attempt to flat-bat Mathews down the ground ended in a bottom-edge on to the stumps.

Next in Bangalore’s youth brigade was Virat Kolhi, talked up by coach Ray Jennings as a future Indian captain, who lasted four deliveries before striking a dipping delivery from Murali Kartik to deep midwicket. With two deliveries left in the Powerplay, Bangalore were down to 20 for 3.

Kolkata’s new-ball bowlers had done their job, and they were backed up by some intelligent bowling from Mathews and Kartik to put Bangalore on the mat. Mathews sent down several slower bouncers which the batsmen struggled to pick, and Kartik varied his pace and effectively used the assistance provided by the track.

It was Kartik who provided the fervent crowd their next chance to scream. Bangalore’s new signing, Eoin Morgan, had started his IPL career confidently with a sensationally-timed off-drive for six off the second delivery he faced, but he was bowled by a short, slow ball, through with his reverse-sweep before the ball arrived.

Match Meter KKR Top-order folds: Kolkata were in charge after Bangalore’s talented youngsters, Manish Pandey and Virat Kohli, fell cheaply, followed by new recruit Eoin Morgan. Bangalore were 35 for 4 after 7.2 overs. KKR RCB Old hands re-build: As they have done countless times for their national sides, Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis set about repairing the innings after a slew of cheap wickets. They raised 38 runs to lift Bangalore to 73 for 4 after 12 overs KKR Mathews double-strike: After getting his eye in, Robin Uthappa was looking to open up in the 18th over, but was dismissed by Mathews just after hitting his first boundary. Three balls later, Mathews removed van der Merwe as well, reducing Bangalore to 112 for 7 after 18 overs KKR The Tiwary and Hodge show: In a three-over period, Tiwary and Hodge dismantled each of Bangalore’s three senior bowlers – Kallis, Steyn and Kumble. That spell brought in 42 runs, and Kolkata had sprinted to 61 for 0 after six overs Advantage Honours even

All the while Kallis was starved of the strike, though he had shown glimpses of form, including a ferocious lofted cover drive. He set about rebuilding with the help of another veteran, Rahul Dravid, putting on 38 with some old-school textbook batting. Dravid was looking in fine touch before he contrived to drag a full, wide ball from Mathews on to the stumps.

There was more sedate run-gathering with Robin Uthappa after that, and it wasn’t until the 15th over that Kallis opened up, clouting Rohan Gavaskar to the extra-cover boundary. Uthappa got his first boundary in the same region, before Mathews struck twice in four balls. Kallis then started to get innovative, walking across the stumps to paddle-sweep a ball for four to bring up his fifty, and repeating the stroke in the final over. There was a sweet, straight hit for six as well, and the 14 runs in the 20th over lifted Bangalore to 135.

It was an underwhelming total on a benign track, but not as tiny a target as the Kolkata batsmen made it seem. Manoj Tiwary may not have much of a reputation as a Twenty20 player, but it was his early onslaught that made the match such a one-sided encounter.

After three steady overs, Tiwary blasted Kallis for 14 in the space of four balls in the fourth, including a powerful swipe over midwicket for six. Much of Bangalore’s chances now depended on how effective their spearhead Dale Steyn was, but Tiwary crashed his second delivery over long-off for six more, before a couple of driven boundaries from Brad Hodge made it 17 off the over.

The last major threat was Anil Kumble, who also failed to make an impact, with Tiwary picking him for two fours in his first three balls to take Kolkata 60 for 0 after 5.3 overs, effectively ending the contest.

Things were less frenetic after that, and though both openers fell the delivery after they reached their half-centuries, Kolkata eased to a victory that will reinforce the belief in the side and among their fans after the abysmal shows of last season.

Continue reading »

written by Swapnil \\ tags: Bangalore Royal Challengers, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders

In his first match as IPL captain, Gautam Gambhir followed up inspired moves in the field with an old-fashioned innings full of sensible strokeplay and saved a glittering batting line-up the blushes in a straightforward chase of 143 on a flat pitch. It was thanks to disconcerting bowling from Dirk Nannes and timely big wickets for Farveez Maharoof that Delhi were chasing a paltry total, but Gambhir had to counter the regularly falling wickets and rising required rate to take his team home.

Sreesanth, who somehow nudged and edged nine runs in the final over to give himself something to bowl at, made the most of the extra few runs at Kings XI Punjab’s disposal. He swung the ball beautifully, taking out Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan in his first over, and gave away just 15 in his first spell of three overs.

While sizeable contributions from the other end didn’t arrive, Gambhir was not going to contribute to Punjab’s cause. He ran hard, hit only one shot in the air before the six in the 19th over, never let the required rate reach unmanageable proportions, and got out with only three runs required. The main feature of the innings was the cut shot: the bat face opened at just the right time, at just the right angle, playing around with the point and third-man fieldsmen.

From 10 for 2 he took Delhi to 45 for 3 with AB de Villiers for company, and to 79 for 4 with Dinesh Karthik. By the time Karthik fell, Gambhir had paced himself to 37 off 34, but 64 required off 46 was just about entering the tricky territory. In the next over, though, Gambhir took 15 runs off five Ramesh Powar deliveries to turn the game Delhi’s way. Nine of those came off shots either side of deep point.

Match Meter DD Seamers rock Punjab top order: Dirk Nannes was fast, Farveez Maharoof was there to capitalise on the pressure exerted, and between them they consigned Kings XI Punjab to a poor start in the first six overs. Maharoof took out Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh in the same over. DD KP Experienced stars lead recovery: Ravi Bopara and Irfan Pathan batted with responsibility, adding 60 runs for the fifth wicket between the seventh and 14th overs, setting Punjab up for a possible late assault that would give them a defendable total. DD A major setback: With Irfan’s wicket in the 14th over, and regular wickets thereafter, Punjab’s hopes for a late charge went down the drain, and only 38 more runs were added. DD KP Delhi strike back: Sreesanth started the defence of the modest total by taking out Virender Sehwag and Tillakaratne Dilshan in the second over of the chase. AB de Villiers’ run-out soon after brought Punjab right back DD The captain’s sensible hand: Gautam Gambhir took the responsibility and saw his team through with a near-chanceless innings of 76, batting upto the last over. His partnerships of 34 and 61 with Dinesh Karthik and Mithun Manhas were the key. Advantage Honours even

A two-run 17th over by Yuvraj Singh gave Punjab an outside chance, with 26 required off the last three, but when Irfan Pathan dropped Mithun Manhas in the 19th over, it was all over for Punjab. That Gambhir batted through the innings meant he ran up and down the pitch 71 times. A cramping Gambhir towards the end wasn’t what Delhi would have envisaged after a commendable fielding effort.

Nannes was too quick, Maharoof too opportunistic, and Delhi’s fielders too alert for Ravi Bopara’s 48-ball 56. Regular wickets punctuated Punjab’s innings. Nannes went for just 12 runs in his four overs, and Maharoof claimed the big scalps of Kumar Sangakkara and Yuvraj Singh.

Bopara got support from Irfan – out of India’s preliminary squad for World Twenty20 but fit enough to start for Punjab – during a 60-run fifth-wicket partnership, but they would have always felt it not enough.

Sharp fielding, Nannes’ awkward bounce, and Maharoof’s capitalising on the pressure left the lower middle order with too much to do. Manhas started Punjab’s slide with a direct hit to remove Manvinder Bisla. Sangakkara, Punjab’s new captain, came out counterattacking, but Gambhir persisted with Maharoof despite his 18-run fourth over.

Maharoof repaid the faith by removing Sangakkara and Yuvraj in his next over, both to softish dismissals. Sangakkara flicked him straight to short fine leg, and Gambhir himself took a back-pedalling catch at mid-off to get rid of Yuvraj.

That it was the last delivery of the Powerplay could have had something to do with Yuvraj’s shot selection. Mahela Jayawardene, though, edged the first delivery after the Powerplay, a straight angling delivery from Pradeep Sangwan.

Bopara and Irfan applied themselves, also enjoyed some good fortune through edged boundaries to the third-man area, but another inspired move from Gambhir started the second collapse for Punjab. Tillakaratne Dilshan was given the ball in the 14th over, and Irfan – responsible until then – jumped out of the crease and missed a straight delivery.

Mohammad Kaif was stumped to a wide flighted delivery from Amit Mishra, and Bopara hit a low full toss straight to deep square leg. At 113 for 7 in the 16th over, Nannes and Maharoof against the tail was always going to be an unfair contest.

Continue reading »

written by Swapnil \\ tags: Delhi Daredevils, IPL, Kings XI Punjab

The second-fastest Twenty20 hundred, a 37-ball assault from Yusuf Pathan, as delicate as it was brutal, wasn’t enough on a day in which precious little was contributed by the other Rajasthan Royals players. Despite Mumbai Indians piling on their biggest score in the IPL, it required special death bowling from Zaheer Khan and Lasith Malinga to deny Rajasthan 19 runs in the last two overs.

Yusuf’s onslaught came after Mumbai’s youngsters Ambati Rayudu, considered unlucky to have not played for India yet, and Saurabh Tiwary powered the home side to what seemed a massive total, but it turned out to be one that just about dodged the Yusuf-shaped bullet.

The it’s-good-to-be-back ad campaign of the IPL could well have been meant exclusively for Yusuf. In his first innings back in India, he shook a dying match up and gave Mumbai a right scare. The Yusuf show began when Rajasthan needed 143 off 57. He scored 54 off the next 11 balls he faced, 26 other deliveries got him 46, and when he finally got out he left Rajasthan 40 to get off 17 deliveries.

Of the nine fours and eight sixes he hit in a frenetic period of play, three shots stood out – and they were not sixes. The length deliveries and full tosses were all murdered, but in the 13th over – he was 57 off 22 by then – Ryan McLaren bowled a decent enough yorker to him. Yusuf opened the face late, beautifully late, and guided it for four. The next ball was not more than a couple of inches short of being a yorker, but on the stumps, and he managed to get under it, and still hit it to long-off for four. The third yorker of the over was neither wide nor straight, in between, and he leaned back to make space and steered it even later than the one before. More brutal hits preceded a moment of inspiration for Mumbai.

Arguably the best fielder in India, R Satish, returning from ICL, followed up his direct-hit run-out and a terrific caught-and-bowled with Yusuf’s dismissal. He bowled full and straight to Paras Dogra, the other batsman, then dived in his follow through to field the ball, and reverse-flicked to catch a backing-up Yusuf short.

Dogra, who had scored 18 off 20 in the 107-run stand until then, opened up in the same over, and hit two fours and two sixes to bring down the target to 19 off 12.

Zaheer and Malinga, though, with Harbhajan Singh injured and not available to bowl, performed like champs. Eleven near-yorkers from the duo in the last two overs meant even the two wides they bowled were not enough for Rajasthan.

Match Meter MI RR An action-packed beginning: Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar started off purposefully, followed by Aditya Tare’s quick cameo. Rajasthan Royals, though, came back to take three wickets in three overs to reduce Mumbai Indians to 70 for 3 in 6.3 overs. MI Youngsters to the fore: Ambati Rayudu and Saurabh Tiwary added 110 runs in 63 balls to help Mumbai recover from the triple-strike. Both of them lashed stroke-filled half-centuries to power Mumbai to their highest total. MI Fantastic fielding: Defending 212, Mumbai fielders and bowlers were on the top of their games, never letting Rajasthan even think of an improbable win. After 10 overs, Rajasthan were 69 for 4. RR Yusuf goes berserk: Yusuf Pathan unleashed an assault, as delicate as it was brutal, hitting nine fours and eight-sixes in a 37-ball hundred. From needing 143 off 57, Yusuf brought them down to needing 40 off 17. MI Mumbai hold nerve: R Sathish came up with a superb bowling-and-fielding effort to get rid of Yusuf, and Lasith Malinga and Zaheer Khan bowled two yorker-filled overs to deny Rajasthan 19 runs in the last two overs. Advantage Honours even

It was fitting for Mumbai that Indian cricketers helped them come back at crucial times: they had become the first team in the three seasons of IPL to play with only three overseas players. Kapil Dev and friends could afford a wee smile too. Rayudu, Sathish and Ali Murtaza – who took a wicket with his first ball – are all returning from the ICL.

Rayudu and Tiwary added 110 runs in 63 balls to help Mumbai Indians recover from a triple-strike in the first third of the innings. Shane Warne didn’t have to wait too long to find out if Tendulkar “will open and face [Shaun] Tait”, with Tendulkar walking out to open with Sanath Jayasuriya.

Jayasuriya took apart Dimitri Mascarenhas, and Tendulkar did the honours for Tait, taking 10 runs from the four balls that Tait bowled to him. Mascarenhas hit back with two wickets in one over, and at 70 for 3 in 6.3 overs, the onus was on the Indian batsmen.

Rayudu immediately showed glimpses of what made observers talk of him as a potential international. He wristily flicked the first ball he faced for four, lest anybody forget he’s from Hyderabad.

It was just as well that Tendulkar didn’t survive long enough to give the viewers the much-awaited contest against Warne: the latter was off colour, going for 29 runs in three overs. There was no turn for Warne, and he bowled too many half-volleys. Tiwary took full toll, and hit him down the ground for two fours and a six. By the time Warne took himself off, Mumbai had reached 121 in 12 overs. Tiwary had reached 26, and Rayudu 23, off 17 balls each.

Part-time offbreaks from Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Yusuf went for full-time hitting. Rayudu hit three successive Jhunjhunwala deliveries for a huge six and fours either side of long-on. When he next smacked a six off Yusuf, he had reached 53 off just 30 deliveries, and Mumbai had rocketed to 166 in 16.3.

Tiwary reached his fifty by hitting Amit Uniyal, whose change-up delivery was the quicker one, to the long-on boundary. In fact it was all clean hitting down the ground from the two: out of the 108 they scored between them, only 16 came behind square.

Rayudu and Tiwary didn’t see the innings to the close, but Harbhajan Singh and Ryan McLaren contributed to Tait’s horror day, taking 22 off his last two overs. Each one of those runs mattered in the end.

Continue reading »

written by Swapnil \\ tags: IPL, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals

Kolkata Knight Riders showed more character than perhaps the first two seasons put together to survive early blows by veterans Chaminda Vaas and Adam Gilchrist at the start of each innings. First Angelo Mathews and Owais Shah added 130 runs from 31 for 4 to put up a fighting total. Their effort was going in vain with Gilchrist rushing towards the target, but their bowlers picked up their game to take regular wickets and allow Deccan Chargers only 51 runs in the last nine overs. Kolkata scored 58 in their last four.

It was as much Deccan throwing it away as Kolkata pulling it back. Gilchrist, who had been dropped twice on his way to fifty, started the turnaround by pulling Brad Hodge straight to deep square leg. In the next over Herschelle Gibbs holed out to long-off. Two overs later Andrew Symonds went to slog the first delivery he faced from Ishant Sharma and top-edged. Two more overs later Rohit Sharma was fooled by a Mathews slower bouncer, and 99 for 1 had become 128 for 5. All that with the required run-rate never going too much past eight per over.

Kolkata were there to accept the gifts with aggressive field placings and good bowling changes. If bowling Hodge was an inspired move, return spells for Karthik, Langeveldt and Ishant were positive decisions by a captain who knew only wickets could win him the match. The diving saves returned, Ganguly looked charged and Kolkata somehow looked like the team that was going to win even with the required rate reaching the improbable only in the last over.

Match Meter DC Chaminda Vaas began the third season by swinging it like it was the nineties. The first ball got Manoj Tiwary, and Sourav Ganguly edged another swinging delivery three balls later. Nought for 2 DC IPL debutant Cheteshwar Pujara and the most prolific Twenty20 batsman refused to get bogged down, and went after loose deliveries, before Hodge followed Pujara. Kolkata were 31 for 4 after 5.1 overs DC KKR Angelo Mathews and Owais Shah took their time, and brought out the big hits towards the end. Both scored fifties, spoiled figures of all the bowlers, and took 58 runs of the last four overs. Kolkata made 161 DC Adam Gilchrist came out swinging, hitting everything hittable. Three sixes, three fours, two dropped catches, and Gilchrist reached 54 off 34, taking Deccan to 99 for 1 in 11 overs KKR The choke started in the 12th over, with Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma throwing their wickets away. Only 51 runs came in the last nine overs, and the champions lost to the wooden spoons Advantage Honours even

Thirty-four off 22 balls with only Indian domestic batsmen and the tail to follow was always going to be a tight finish, and Mathews, Laxmi Shukla, Langeveldt and Ishant completed the choke for Deccan with a good mix of yorkers, bouncers and slower ones.

If they had a target that wasn’t blown away by the Gilchrist start, it was only thanks to Mathews himself and Shah. Vaas had dutifully adopted the essence of the previous IPL – first-ball wickets, and gone on to make it a double-wicket maiden. A double-strike followed soon, and memories of Kolkata’s horror 2009 came rushing back. Mathews and Shah, however, averted a one-sided start to the tournament with a partnership that seamlessly went from sensible to sizzling.

One cute paddle over fine leg excepting, Mathews employed strong hitting down the ground. Shah, on the other hand, employed the pick-up shot, almost a sweep of the fast bowlers, to good effect, hitting Symonds, Vaas and Jaskaran for sixes.

The tournament began with the class of Vaas. He started on target, swinging the ball late, and Manoj Tiwary fell over playing the first ball, and lobbed it straight to midwicket. Captain Sourav Ganguly edged to first slip in that double-wicket maiden, and Cheteshwar Pujara and Brad Hodge too departed after a 31-run stand.

Pragyan Ojha and Symonds initially managed to keep Mathews and Shah in check. In eight overs between them, their accurate and smart mid-innings bowling went for 45 runs despite expensive last overs that went for 21.

That was just the momentum the stumbling innings needed, taking Kolkata to 103 for 4 after 16 overs. During that period, Mathews had moved from starting with a top-edged six to attacking youngster Jaskaran Singh in a calculated manner.

Shah, who had been quiet until then, went after the returning Vaas, hitting him for a six and four. Mathews followed it up and launched his countryman over long-off, and 2-1-4-2 became 3-1-22-2.

With the score reading 121 for 4 after 17 overs, Gilchrist made two bold moves. T Suman bowled the 18th over, and was punished by Mathews, who reached his fifty in that over. He carried the momentum into the 19th over, hurting RP Singh too with straight, powerful hitting. Jaskaran, preferred to Vaas for the last over, bowled three yorkers and a good slower delivery, but still went for 10. It left the Kolkata bowlers with a target to bowl at.

The up-and-down match, with at least four swings in fortunes, and featuring good old-fashioned swing bowling, orthodox and unorthodox hitting, was a much-needed and much-denied relief from a rather unwatchable opening ceremony – featuring faded stars and a fading tribute band – that delayed the toss by 27 minutes.

Continue reading »

written by Swapnil \\ tags: Deccan Chargers, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders