Scintillating Shreyas leads DD to thumping win
A change of guard did bring a change in fortune for Delhi Daredevils. From the justified decision to drop, not ‘rest’, Gautam Gambhir to handing out a 55-run drubbing to Kolkata Knight Riders, everything went in favour of the host.
Published : Apr 28, 2018 00:10 IST
A change of guard did bring a change in fortune for Delhi Daredevils. From the justified decision to drop, not ‘rest’, Gautam Gambhir to handing out a 55-run drubbing to Kolkata Knight Riders, everything went in favour of the host.
Asked to bat, Delhi’s start to the innings was brisk and the finish, blistering. It was indeed in the fitness of things that new skipper Shreyas Iyer laid the foundation of this much-needed victory with a clinical shredding of the rival attack.
In a way, Iyer’s contribution as a batsman – unbeaten 93 off 40 deliveries, dotted with 10 sixes and three boundaries – was so dominant that it left KKR too softened up to seriously test his little-known captaincy skills at any point of the run-chase.
In all fairness, the winner of this lop-sided contest was decided much before the final ball was bowled. Asked to bat, Daredevils hoisted its season’s highest of 219 for four after Iyer smashed four sixes and a four as the final over, by Shivam Mavi, fetched 29 runs.
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Once the chase began, KKR was soon fighting a lost cause. Losing the top four batsmen with 51 runs on the board in power-play had virtually swung the match away from KKR. The margin was confirmed after young Shubman Gill and the unpredictable Andre Russell tried desperately, but in vain, to keep KKR in the hunt. Eventually, KKR managed 164 for nine.
Through the evening, very little went wrong for the host. Karthik’s decision to field suited Delhi. Colin Munro, in for Gambhir, and Prithvi Shaw gave Delhi its highest powerplay score of 57. Shaw became the joint-youngest (with Sanju Samson) to score a half century in the competition before Iyer gained the honour of being the highest scorer on captaincy-debut after crossing the 1000-run mark in aggregate.
KKR’s bowlers were made to look most ordinary this evening. By turns, Munro, Shaw and Iyer changed gears and a hapless Karthik could little to slow down the run-rate. If Delhi managed to go well past 200, it was mainly because of the onslaught witnessed in the last four overs that produced 76 runs. During this carnage, Iyer moved from 44 to 93!
Mavi, who conceded only 11 runs in his two overs for the wicket of Munro, was in for a harsh reality check when he bowled the 17th over.
Iyer went after him as the over produced 18 runs. Sunil Narine’s next also cost 18 runs before Mitchell Johnson was hit for 11. But it was the final over by Mavi that hurt KKR the most.