Tidy Deccan overwhelm Kolkata
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Could the script have been any different from last year's start for the Kolkata Knight Riders? Brendon McCullum's intoxicating 158 had taken them to an enormous victory a year ago, but they were outplayed by an efficient Deccan Chargers outfit on a juicy pitch in Cape Town, reports Cricinfo.
It has been a weekend to savour for bowlers, and each member of Deccan's attack did their bit to leave Kolkata scrambling to reach triple-digits. Herschelle Gibbs, coming off a triumphant series against Australia, and Rohit Sharma, back in the country where he made his name in 2007, then made sure Deccan's campaign didn't begin in the dismal way last season's had.
Kolkata had packed their batting with foreign players, but it wasn't enough to prevent a hapless batting performance. Their formidable top order was handcuffed by Deccan's new-ball bowlers.
Fidel Edwards was fast and frugal - consistently around the 140kph mark, he gave away only six runs, the lowest conceded in a completed IPL spell - and RP Singh evicted the Kolkata openers early.
Everything went right for Deccan. With Kolkata on 2 for 1 after three overs, Gayle broke free with a crash past point for four and a mow over midwicket for six. Then Adam Gilchrist pushed a fielder back to long-on, where Gayle promptly holed out next ball.
Sourav Ganguly had a short-lived and uncomfortable stay, beaten several times, and was unable to find the gap through the off side when he connected.
Even fans protesting his removal from the captaincy can't defend the shot that brought about his dismissal - backing away and then stabbing at a wide, full delivery, only to nick it to slip.
Despite rain and a floodlight failure causing the game to be delayed by nearly an hour-and-a-half, the organisers decided to have the seven-and-a-half-minute interval after the tenth over. Aakash Chopra and Brad Hodge had dragged Kolkata to 31 for 3 by then, but also found Pragyan Ojha's left-arm spin a handful.
Both Chopra and Laxmi Shukla perished giving Ojha the charge, only to be undone by the turn.
Deccan Chargers 104 for 2 (Gibbs 43*, Rohit 36*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 101 (RP Singh 4-22) by eight wickets
It has been a weekend to savour for bowlers, and each member of Deccan's attack did their bit to leave Kolkata scrambling to reach triple-digits. Herschelle Gibbs, coming off a triumphant series against Australia, and Rohit Sharma, back in the country where he made his name in 2007, then made sure Deccan's campaign didn't begin in the dismal way last season's had.
Kolkata had packed their batting with foreign players, but it wasn't enough to prevent a hapless batting performance. Their formidable top order was handcuffed by Deccan's new-ball bowlers.
Fidel Edwards was fast and frugal - consistently around the 140kph mark, he gave away only six runs, the lowest conceded in a completed IPL spell - and RP Singh evicted the Kolkata openers early.
Everything went right for Deccan. With Kolkata on 2 for 1 after three overs, Gayle broke free with a crash past point for four and a mow over midwicket for six. Then Adam Gilchrist pushed a fielder back to long-on, where Gayle promptly holed out next ball.
Sourav Ganguly had a short-lived and uncomfortable stay, beaten several times, and was unable to find the gap through the off side when he connected.
Even fans protesting his removal from the captaincy can't defend the shot that brought about his dismissal - backing away and then stabbing at a wide, full delivery, only to nick it to slip.
Despite rain and a floodlight failure causing the game to be delayed by nearly an hour-and-a-half, the organisers decided to have the seven-and-a-half-minute interval after the tenth over. Aakash Chopra and Brad Hodge had dragged Kolkata to 31 for 3 by then, but also found Pragyan Ojha's left-arm spin a handful.
Both Chopra and Laxmi Shukla perished giving Ojha the charge, only to be undone by the turn.
Deccan Chargers 104 for 2 (Gibbs 43*, Rohit 36*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 101 (RP Singh 4-22) by eight wickets