Sloppy Kolkata spanked by Delhi in IPL6

Defending champions dealt seven-wicket blow at Raipur.

Yahoo! Cricket

David Warner punished Kolkata for their sloppy ways on Tuesday.
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RAIPUR: A valiant scrape out of the bottom of the barrel was enacted on Tuesday night as determined Delhi Daredevils outclassed defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets.

David Warner’s unbeaten 66 helped the once basement-dwellers – a position now occupied by Pune Warriors – chase down Kolkata’s middling 136, a total they had been confined to by smart work on the field by the ‘home’ team.

The visitors, on the other hand, were markedly sloppy. Warner, Unmukt Chand (37) and Virender Sehwag (17) were all handed reprieves and several extra runs were conceded on account of slowness.

Coming together at 27/2, Warner and Unmukt played out the mystery spin of Sunil Narine carefully and chose to attack the seamers, particularly Kallis and Rajat Bhatia, who came in for special stick. Warner reached his fifty in 35 balls and finished things in a hurry, carting countryman Brett Lee for six as the target was attained with 13 balls remaining.

Shaky start
Delhi’s beginnings were not as assured. Gambhir dropped a sitter of Sehwag, then on 11, at short extra cover, but the unrepentant Delhi opener flashed through the off-side yet again and edged Kallis to first slip.

Captain Mahela Jayawardene (5) tasted another failure when he guided Balaji to Kallis at slip. In a crucial let-off, Manvinder Bisla missed stumping the dangerous David Warner on 22 to a Bhatia off-break. But Warner and Unmukt steadied Delhi with a 95-run stand, giving the team a much-needed win that keeps them alive to the possibility of a mathematical chance.

Super show
Delhi’s win was set up in the field after Gambhir chose to bat. Irfan Pathan ran-out the Kolkata skipper with a direct hit in his follow through without the batsman having faced a ball. Bisla was bowled by Umesh Yadav and then three good catches claimed Yusuf Pathan, Eoin Morgan and Kallis.

Desperately seeking form Yusuf Pathan (20) struck few boundaries before his brother judged a swirling skier to perfection. Morgan (10) pulled hard to Yadav at mid-wicket, while Kallis (12) was snatched at point by a jumping Ben Rohrer off Irfan Pathan.

Debabrata Das (18) and Rajat Bhatia (26) steadied the innings, before Brett Lee came in and smashed 16 in the last over. Kolkata finished with a flourish, taking 45 in the last four overs but a target of 137 was never a problem, what with Kolkata intent on squandering their chances.