IPL 2018, DD vs KKR: Hits and Misses

It was a new start for Delhi Daredevils as Shreyas Iyer walked out to lead against Kolkata Knight Riders after Gautam Gambhir decided to step down. It was an excellent beginning for Iyer as captain as DD got their second win of the tournament.

After being put into bat by KKR, Colin Munro and Prithvi Shaw helped DD get off to a very good start as they added 59 for the first wicket. Prithvi Shaw struck his maiden IPL fifty but was out for a well-made 62. But it was Shreyas Iyer who stole the show with a magnificent 93 in just 40 deliveries which propelled DD to 219 in their 20 overs. Glenn Maxwell scored a quick-fire 27 as the hosts posted a mammoth total.

Chasing 220, despite a 9-ball 26 from Sunil Narine, KKR got off to the worst possible start as they lost 4 wickets in the powerplay. They never got going as despite Russell’s 44, KKR fell short by 55 runs. It was also DD’s first win at home this year.

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#5 Miss: Mitchell Johnson

Mitchell Johnson has been in and out of the KKR side this year. He’s come in whenever the team needs some extra pace and zip, otherwise, Tom Curran has been preferred.

He had identical figures of 1/30 in the two games he played. In this game, he started well as he troubled young Prithvi Shaw in his first over. But the 18-year-old opener smashed Johnson for a couple of fours and a couple of sixes in his spell. Johnson never looked threatening as after a 6-run first over, he went for more than 10 runs in the other three.

He conceded 42 in his 4 overs and failed to pick up a wicket.

#4 Hit: Andre Russell

Russell was the lone star for KKR in this game.

Andre Russell is certainly a box-office player. He is that kind of a player that grabs the attention of people. He’s been in destructive form with the bat in this season and has been decent with the ball. There have been a few injury concerns for the West Indian all-rounder but he has managed to play all the games.

In this game, he was one of the best bowlers for KKR. In fact, he was one of only two bowlers who went for under 10 runs an over as he gave away 28 runs in his three overs. He also picked up the wicket of Rishabh Pant.

With the bat, Russell was the only KKR player who looked to take the game away from DD. He came in and started in typical fashion as he struck a couple of sixes off Avesh Khan before hitting Trent Boult for a six and a four. However, with no support, Russell was getting frustrated and was eventually dismissed for 44. He was the top-scorer for KKR in a rather disappointing batting performance.

#3 Miss: Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant was out for a golden duck.

Rishabh Pant has been in very good form of late. Before this game started, he was the highest run-getter for Delhi Daredevils with 227 runs in 6 innings. After a couple of 40s, Pant (batting at No. 4) struck a superb 48-ball 85 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after the top-order had failed to fire. But in the last game, he registered his first single-digit score of this season. He managed only 4 as he was bamboozled by Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

In this game, Pant came into bat with a perfect platform. However, in a game where most of the DD batsmen made merry, he fell for a first ball duck as he was consumed by a well-directed bouncer from Andre Russell. The 20-year-old wicket-keeper batsman failed to get out of the way as the ball flew off his glove into the keeper’s hands. It was the second consecutive failure for Pant.

#2 Hit: Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw was looking in sublime touch.

Prithvi Shaw has been one of the most attractive, eye-catching and impressive young Indian batsmen in recent times. He already has scored 5 first-class tons (in addition to 4 half-centuries) in just 10 games.

The Under-19 World Cup-winning skipper finally made his IPL debut against Kings XI Punjab in the last game and struck an attractive 10-ball 22. He impressed with his stroke-play but he threw it away with an ugly slog as he was out bowled.

With Gautam Gambhir dropped, Shaw took the responsibility of providing a good start. Along with Colin Munro, he took DD to 57/0 in 6 overs. Munro was the aggressor in that partnership but after the New Zealander’s dismissal, the 18-year-old Mumbaikar took charge. He made a superb 62 in 44 deliveries as he provided DD with a perfect platform.

The 18-year-old was exquisite with his timing and placement as he struck 7 fours and 2 sixes. It has been an excellent start to Prithvi Shaw’s career.

Prithvi Shaw’s cricketing career so far.. - 5 centuries in 10 first-class matches- Won an Under-19 World Cup as captain- Fifty in just his second IPL match - Scored 546 in a school tournament in MumbaiHe’s still just 18 years of age!! #DDvKKR

— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) April 27, 2018

#1 Hit: Shreyas Iyer

On captaincy debut, Shreyas Iyer struck a magnificent 93.

Shreyas Iyer is one of the players whose performances in this IPL has gone under the radar. After a quiet start to the tournament, Iyer has just come into his own. Yes, he hasn’t converted his fifties into match-winning knocks but he has been DD’s best batsman in the tournament so far.

After hitting back-to-back fifties in the last two games, the new DD skipper made it three in a row as he struck a magnificent 93 in just 40 deliveries. He came out to bat at No. 3 after DD had got a good start. The 23-year-old started slowly as he made 7 in 9 balls before hitting a six off Kuldeep Yadav to get going. He was content in giving the strike to young Prithvi Shaw who was striking it really well.

But once the 18-year-old was dismissed, Iyer changed gears and went after the bowling. He smashed the KKR bowlers all around the Feroz Shah Kotla as he struck 3 fours and 10 sixes in his 40-ball knock. He took Shivam Mavi to the cleaners as he struck 4 sixes and a four in the final over of the innings to help DD score 219. Off his first 25 deliveries, Iyer scored 37 runs but in his next 15 balls, he struck 8 sixes and scored 56 runs.

It was his first game as captain and he showed that the pressure (or burden) of captaincy will not affect his batting.