KKR spinners rein in Daredevils, clinch game by 13 runs

KOLKATA: Pitting brothers against each other in cricket is a bit sadistic but it can provide a spectacle too. Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir spared the Morkel brothers that duel but revealed his ruthlessness by packing the team with four spinners. With Yusuf Pathan playing, Gambhir could well have used five spinners to bowl out the 20 overs, but his main spinners were good enough to win it.

The overdose of spin was understandable though. With Sunil Narine cleared again, this time with a disclaimer, Gambhir was not going to let him warm the bench any longer. And since most Delhi Daredevils batsmen like the ball coming on the bat, fielding four spinners was Gambhir’s way of making life difficult for them. In the end, KKR won by 13 runs. KKR’s pacers made the job easier though. Umesh Yadav and Andre Russell combined well to concede 24 runs in the first four overs before Narine was introduced. The rust was evident as he went for 10 runs. Next over though, he gave just two runs. It was a cue for Gambhir to roll out the rest of his spin armoury. Piyush Chawla leaked runs but came back to get rid of home boy Manoj Tiwary, who had stitched possibly the most pointless 50-run opening stand of this IPL.

Brad Hogg too had to make his presence felt. Gambhir put down Shreyas Iyer but Hogg eventually had him playing on to the stumps. Chawla, earlier sent to bat up the order, though delivered the crucial blows. In the space of four deliveries, he got Kedhar Jadhav and the prized scalp of Yuvraj Singh before adding JP Duminy in his last over.

Delhi started horribly. Duminy made a mess an easy run out of Gambhir. Tiwary dropped a catch on the long-on boundary and Yuvraj spilt a chest-level flick by Robin Uthappa at short midwicket.

Economic bowling by Amit Mishra and Angelo Mathews allowed Delhi to rein in KKR but Pathan was at his vintage best towards the end. And with four consecutive boundaries in the last over, Johan Botha ensured KKR ended above the Eden’s average IPL first innings score of 169.