Time to tango: Carlos Braithwaite's has reason to celebrate as his lusty
blows and thrre-wicket haul helped Delhi Daredevils to a clinical win.
DD gets its sums right, tweaking the batting and trusting the Young Turks
Delhi Daredevils is not taking a false step this season.
The tactical acumen of Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan has brought about a
remarkable transformation in the team being dismissed as just one of
the teams to emerging as the team to fear. This was evident in DD’s
27–run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier
League (IPL) at the Ferozeshah Kotla here on Saturday.
Some
tweaking in the batting line-up and the faith in some of the Young
Turks meant that DD had got its calculations right. The decision to
gamble with a bowling strength of five may have left little scope for
experimentation but it worked. Carlos Brathwaite chipped in and DD
scampered to the goal even as KKR faltered at a critical stage.
“No
extra pressure,” said Brathwaite on having five bowlers. “But if you go
for runs you have to come back strongly. After my second over went for a
bit I went off the field with a slight hamstring, calmed myself and
returned to the game. Had to come back as strongly as possible,” said
the West Indian. DD plucked catches to change the course. The turning
point was Amit Mishra grasping the stinging straight drive by Andrew
Russell. His vigorous celebration was understandable since Russell had
the capacity to swing the contest.
There
were other sensational moments too when Shreyas Iyer ran in to complete
a fine effort to get rid of Suryakumar Yadav. He was also precisely
positioned at point to snap up Robin Uthappa, which was the deciding
moment in DD’s successful campaign. Uthappa had threatened to take the
game away but he failed to finish a job that he had carried on
brilliantly.
There was excitement for the home fans
when DD, put in, set a target of 187 courtesy Karun Nair and Sam
Billings, the latter making his IPL debut in style. Brathwaite swung his
bat for some telling blows that proved a treasure in hindsight. Zaheer,
proving to be the most astute captain in the competition, marshalled
the team superbly. “With Zaheer you have to be very careful. He is a
cunning bowler,” said Uthappa. The DD captain did not lose his grip on
the contest and ensured a fourth win in six matches.
DD 186/8 (20.0 Ovs)
KKR 159-all out (18.3 Ovs)
Delhi Daredevils won by 27 runs
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