IPL 2018, KKR vs DD: Hits and Misses

The trend of bowling first continued as Delhi Daredevils won the toss and opted to field first.

Hosts, Kolkata Knight Riders didn’t get off to the best of starts as they lost Sunil Narine in the 3rd over. Trent Boult got the initial breakthrough but Robin Uthappa looked in great touch as he raced away to 35 in no time before he was dismissed. Lynn looked scratchy and was eventually out for a 29-ball 31. Dinesh Karthik came and scored a breezy 19 before Andre Russell got stuck into the DD bowling attack. He scored 41 in just 12 deliveries while Nitish Rana scored 59 in 33 balls to propel KKR to 200.

Chasing a huge score, Delhi lost their first three wickets inside 3 overs. But Rishabh Pant and Glenn Maxwell tried to counter-attack but both fell in their 40s as DD were bowled out for 129 as all KKR bowlers chipped in with wickets. This win helped KKR get their second win and go to the second place in the table, thanks to a superior net run-rate.

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#5 Hit: Trent Boult

Boult was superb at the start and then picked up the key wicket of Russell at the death.

Despite being a little expensive, Trent Boult has picked up 4 wickets in 3 games. After having played for KKR last year, Boult would know how the pitch behaves at the Eden Gardens.

Boult started off really well as he picked up a wicket and did not give a run in his first 10 deliveries. He was taken for 13 runs in his 3rd over. But he came back to complete his quota when Andre Russell and Nitish Rana were going hammer and tongs. Boult brought an end to Russell’s stay at the crease with a terrific yorker. Russell who was batting on 41 at that stage could’ve made a huge difference to the final score had he batted through the last 15 deliveries but Boult ensured the West Indian all-rounder was kept away.

Boult finished with figures 2/29 in his fours on a day when KKR scored 200. It was one of the few positives for DD from this game as their batsmen failed to get going as well.

#4 Miss: Mohammed Shami

Shami was very expensive in his last two overs.

Mohammed Shami has had a couple of very good games. He was excellent at the death against Mumbai Indians as he conceded only 22 runs in his last 3 overs. However, the Bengal pacer was taken for aplenty in this game.

Shami came on to bowl in the 11th over of the innings and dismissed Chris Lynn in his first over and conceded just 5 runs. He bowled another decent over where he gave away only 6 runs. He had figures of 1/11 after two overs but those went haywire when Andre Russell walked out to the middle.

The 29-year-old West Indian all-rounder hit Shami for 6 sixes in the span of two overs. Shami, who was playing at a ground which he knows quite well (plays for Bengal in domestic cricket) was hit for 42 runs in his last couple of overs as his figures went from 1/11 to 1/53. Shami kept bowling length and Russell kept depositing the ball in the stands.

#3 Hit: Nitish Rana

Rana batted for about 11 overs and ensured KKR posted a good score.

Nitish Rana has been getting starts in this IPL but hasn’t converted them into substantial scores. He was guilty of throwing it away in the previous three games, but in this game, he was very good.

He walked out to bat at No. 4 when KKR had lost an in-form Robin Uthappa for 35. With Chris Lynn struggling, Rana took the responsibility of getting the scoreboard moving. He found the fence at regular intervals. He scored a superb 59 in 33 balls as he was one of the reasons why KKR reached 200.

When Russell came in and started hitting those sixes, Rana took a step back and kept feeding him the strike. And when the West Indian was dismissed, the 24-year-old batsmen from Delhi started opening his shoulders and helped KKR finish with a flourish. His splendid innings won him the Man of the Match as well.

#2 Miss: DD openers

It was Gambhir's second consecutive failure.

Chasing in excess of 200, you always want a good start by the openers. Delhi Daredevils got a good start in their last game, but both Gautam Gambhir and Jason Roy fell quite early.

Jason Roy who is fresh of a splendid unbeaten 91 took a single off his second delivery to get off the mark. But in the very first over, the English opener was out stumped. Roy looked to glance a leg-stump delivery and missed. The momentum took him forward and hence, he was stumped off Piyush Chawla.

Gautam Gambhir started with a good fifty in Delhi’s opening game. But he didn’t bat in the second game and struggled in the third against Mumbai Indians. He was once again dismissed cheaply as the DD skipper dragged a short of length delivery back on to his stumps. It gave youngster Shivam Mavi his maiden IPL wicket as well.

#1 Hit: Andre Russell

Russell had a stunning strike-rate of 341.67 in his 12-ball innings.

When Andre Russell gets going, it’s a nightmare for the opposition team. Chennai Super Kings found that last week (when he scored 88 in 36 balls) and Delhi Daredevils in this game.

Russell came out to bat in the 14th over and started off with a bang. Off his second delivery, he hit Mohammed Shami for a six as he hit an uppercut to a short delivery. He got lucky off his third delivery when Jason Roy dropped a difficult chance. He celebrated that life with a couple of sixes to Shami and raced off to 22 in 5 deliveries. Shami once again bore the brunt as the West Indian all-rounder struck three more sixes in his next over.

Batting on 41 off 12 deliveries, the fastest IPL fifty (KL Rahul’s 14-ball record) was under threat. But Trent Boult ended Russell’s stay at the crease. However, Russell had done his job. He struck 6 sixes in 12 balls and provided impetus to KKR’s innings.

With the ball, he bowled the second over and dismissed Shreyas Iyer in his very first over. He also chipped in with a couple of catches to cap off a good game.