A fifty from Gautam Gambhir and an unbeaten 40 from Yusuf Pathan helps the Kolkata Knight Riders hand a six-wicket defeat to the Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Chasing a modest 147 to win, KKR ran into heavy weather as Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey departed early. However, a solid Gambhir saw the Kolkata team through first with a resolute display with the bat.
Earlier, after winning the toss, Gambhir asked Delhi to bat because, he wasn't sure about the Kotla wicket. His bowlers however, knew exactly where to bowl. Led by Umesh Yadav and Morne Morkel, the Knight Riders put on a disciplined bowling effort to restrict Delhi to a modest 146/8. Although, young Shreyas Iyer played a defiant innings up top, the failure of the big guns in the middle saw Daredevils lose steam and slump in front on the trio of Yadav, Morkel and Chawla.
23:21 (IST): That's it! KKR beats Delhi Daredevils by 6 wickets.
23:18 (IST): BOWLED! Gambhir (60) tries to cut Tahir but drags it on to his stumps. Would be disappointed not to have finished the job.
23:17 (IST): SIX! Massive hit from Yusuf Pathan! Lofts Tahir straight over his head.
23:09 (IST): FOUR! FOUR! FOUR! Yusuf Pathan takes Coulter-Nile to the cleaners. 16 runs off 24 balls needed now.
22:58 (IST): FOUR! Pulled away and 26th IPL FIFTY for Gautam Gambhir off just 38 balls
22:51 (IST): FOUR more! Sublime timing from Gambhir as he glides the ball past the point boundary. KKR 96/3 after 12 overs.
22:49 (IST): FOUR! Gambhir gets another one in his half and drives it past cover. Beautiful timing from the KKR skipper.
22:46 (IST): FOUR! Short from Mishra and Pathan latches on to that. Speeds to the mid-wicket fence.
22:43 (IST): OUT! Surya Yadav (24) edges Coulter-Nile to the keeper. Short, tries to dab to third man, gets a faint edge and Jadhav does no mistake. KKR 79/3 (10)
22:40 (IST): FOUR! Smacked down the ground by Surya. Pitched up and Surya gives it a real thump.
22:32 (IST): FOUR! Dangerously close to the fielder. Surya rocks back and lifts Tahir over point.
22:28 (IST): SIX! Surya hits Duminy straight over his head and into the sight screen. KKR 62/2 after 8 overs.
22:23 (IST): Tight single. Gambhir dabs it to short third man and runs. Surya backs up well. Duminy throws in quick but a direct hit would have had him. Close call but safe.
22:19 (IST): And another FOUR! This time Mathews finds Gambhir's edge but third man too square. KKR 48/2 after 6 overs.
22:18 (IST): FOUR! Gambhir drives and finds the boundary. Played on the up.
22:13 (IST): OUT! Joseph gets a second one. Short and wide outside off stump, Pandey plays the upper cut, finds Tahir and departs for a duck. KKR 31/2 (4.4 overs)
22:11 (IST): OUT! Uthappa (13) fails to clear mid-off. Got the Caught by Duminy off Domnic Joseph. KKR 31/1 (4.1 overs)
22:05 (IST): FOUR! No problems with timing there. Down the leg from Coulter-Nile and Uthappa creames it through wide mid on. The opening partnership for the KKR look very confident. KKR 31/0 after 4 overs.
22:04 (IST): FOUR! Not timed well, bunts it over mid on but it trickles into the fence.
22:03 (IST): FOUR! Gambhir flicks Mathews through square leg.
21:58 (IST): Uppish but safe. Gambhir gets a thick edge but it flies just over Mathews at gully. KKR 13/0 after 2 overs.
21:50 (IST): FOUR! Robin Uthappa flicks the first ball of the innings to the square leg boundary. Wayward start for Domnic.
21:36 (IST): OUT! Excellent catch from Uthappa to dismiss Mathews (28). DD finish with 146/8. Brilliant last over from Umesh Yadav who ends with figures of 2 for 18 off his four overs. Chawla and Morkel too get two a piece.
21:30 (IST): OUT! Coulter-Nile sacrifices his wicket in order to get Mathews on strike.
21:29 (IST): FOUR more! 20 from the Narine over. Mathews clears his front leg and flicks it past mid-wicket. 143/6 after 19 overs.
21:28 (IST): And another SIX! Narine sails over mid wicket. Mathews with a late surge.
21:26 (IST): SIX! A mighty whack from Mathews. Delhi needs a few more here.
21:25 (IST): OUT! Jadhav (12) slices Yadav to Gambhir at point. DD 123/6 (18)
21:23 (IST): KKR bowlers tightening the noose on Daredevils. No freebies on offer. Singles won't help the Daredevils much.
21:19 (IST): FOUR! SIX! Kedar Jadhav gets hold of Narine and puts him into the crowds. Delhi needs an upsurge from here on.
21:11 (IST): Stumped! Yuvraj (21) foxed by Chawla. Goes for the sweep, misses, went out of the crease. Uthappa misses the first swipe but removes the bails on second try as Yuvraj fails to recover! DD 103/5 (15
21:08 (IST): FOUR! Chawla drops one short and Yuvraj finally gets hold of one. Pulled through mid wicket.
21:04 (IST): OUT! Manoj Tiwary (32) falls to Morkel, pulls him to Yusuf at mid-wicket. Beaten by pace, no footwork what-so-ever, never in a position to pull that. DD 95/4 (13.4 overs)
21:00 (IST): SIX! Short from Morkel and Yuvraj Singh pulls it into the crowd with absolute disdain. That made a sweet sound!
20:55 (IST): Daredevils need a move on. Yuvraj and Tiwary have stemmed the earlier slump but they need to get after the spinners to get to a competitive score. and FOUR! Yuvraj picks Chawla and hits him straight down the ground. Much needed boundary. DD 87/3 after 13 overs.
20:50 (IST): FOUR! Top shot that from Tiwary. Waiting for the short ball this time, hanging on the back foot, smashes the ball over square leg.
20:49 (IST): Up in the air...safe! Tiwary had no idea about that. Morkel digs it in, takes the shoulder of the bat, pops up but lands safely. Lucky!
20:48 (IST): FOUR! Tiwary gives Morkel the charge, uppish but evades the cover fielder to runaway into the fence.
20:46 (IST): Tiwary and Yuvraj pushing the ball into the gaps and running hard. Daredevils need a partnership here and Manoj Tiwary needs to stay with Yuvraj. DD 69/3 after 10 overs.
20:39 (IST): BOWLED! Iyer dismissed for 31. Tries to hoick Chawla over mid wicket and misses the straight one. DD 58/3 (8.4 overs)
20:35 (IST): SIX! Over long on. Shreyas Iyer is in terrific form he whacks Russell into the crowd. 50-up for the Daredevils.
20:27 (IST): FOUR! Iyer thumps Russell over mid off. This young man is in cracking form and he has no intentions of slowing down.
20:20 (IST): Narine into the attack and OUT! Bowled! Duminy goes for the sweep and the ball hits his leg stump after it deflects off his pads. This is a big blow for the Daredevils. DD 26/2 after 5 overs.
20:17 (IST): FOUR more! Sublime timing from young Iyer. Morkel sliding down leg and Iyer flicks it through mid wicket for a beautiful boundary.
20:15 (IST): FOUR! Short and wide from Morkel, Iyer pounces on it and slaps it over point.
20:14 (IST): FOUR! First boundary of the innings to Duminy. Crunched through covers. DD 12/1 after 3 overs.
20:08 (IST): OUT! Agarwal (1) top-edges Morkel to Umesh at fine leg. Was in no control of that shot. Hurried by the pace of Morkel. DD 3/1 (1.2 overs)
20:06 (IST): Morne Morkel shares the new ball after Umesh bowls the tight first over.
20:01 (IST): Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer to open for Daredevils, and Umesh Yadav to take the new ball for KKR.
19:56 (IST): The players are lining up for a minute's silence in memory of the deceased u-19 Bengal captain Ankit Keshri. (Ankit Keshri's Demise Mourned by Prime Minister)
19:35 (IST): "Don't know what's going to be a good total. Haven't seen a wicket like this at the Kotla." - Gambhir
19:30 (IST): Toss time - KKR win the toss and elect to bowl first.
19:20 (IST): Tonight's game starts on a sad note. Ankit Keshri, a promising Bengal batsman died, owing to an injury sustained during a Cricket Association of Bengal's Senior one-day knock-out match.
The Daredevils have been making news since the beginning of the IPL. First they made news by splurging cash at the auctions and then by losing their first two games. However, they got their act together with captain JP Duminy leading from the front, their key-man Yuvraj Singh wielding his willow to good effect and youngsters Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer stepping up to the plate.
Now they take on the in-form KKR.
The defending champions have been flexing their muscles in the tournament. They are high on confidence after pulling off an improbable win against Kings XI Punjab. Captain Gautam Gambhir is in good form and their fast bowling unit comprising of Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav look lethal.
However, the man of the moment for KKR has been Andre Russell. The burly West Indian all-rounder played a blinder of a knock to pull KKR out of a fix.
Kotla though, haven't been a happy hunting ground for the Daredevils. Out of the last eight games played, Delhi have managed to win none!
Can Duminy and his men turn the tide?
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