Delhi Daredevils emerged victorious in Match 2 of IPL 5 2012 between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders. The match was cut short to 12 over each due to rains.
A packed Eden Gardens was looking forward to an enthralling competition between the two sides. But as it turned out, the match was rather one sided with Delhi Daredevils romping home easily with eight wickets to spare.
Batting first, Kolkata Knight Riders were blown away by some feisty fast bowling by South African pace bowler Morne Morkel. He claimed two wickets off two successive deliveries to leave the Kolkata Knight Riders reeling. Both the balls bowled by Morkel were yorkers which fetched him wickets. They were virtually unplayable and this was evident in the late reaction of Manoj Tiwary to the Yorker which cost him his wicket. It was a statement of sorts made to all those critics who claim T20 to be a batsmen’s game. Here was one bowler who with his sheer pace and accuracy dented the prospects of an entire side.
Watch the unplayable yorkers from Mornie Morkel here – KKR vs DD IPL 5 2012 Match 2 KKR Wickets:
Kolkata Knight Riders could never recover from these two losses of Jacques Kallis and Manoj Tiwary and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Even though captain Gautam Gambhir tried to dictate terms, his innings too was cut short by a injudicious shot played to a good delivery that got the inside edge of his bat and bowled him. The only glimmer of hope was a blitzkrieg which came from Laxmi Ratan Shukla who hit two sixes and one four and ensured that the Knight Riders had a respectable total to defend. A similar knock was played by Debabrata Das but he too fell to some great fielding effort by the Delhi Daredevils.
Delhi Daredevils made a quite start with both Sehwag and Finch setting a good platform for the rest of the batsmen. However, both the batsmen departed within quick time to leave a small hole for the opposition. But Irfan Pathan with some lusty hitting ensured that all the anxieties were laid to rest and his side romped home in emphatic manner. Pathan struck three sixes and two boundaries and ended up scoring 42 runs which in the rain curtailed match proved valuable in the end.
He also sent a message to the selectors that here is a man waiting to prove his worth again for his county! Also, the bowling display of Delhi Daredevils suggested that a couple of genuine quick bowlers in the side could make a huge difference to the prospects of a team. And it is high time the BCCI realised this aspect and scouted for talented genuine ‘fast’ bowlers who do not break down after a couple of performances.
Kolkata Knight Riders put up an insipid performance and carried their tag of being under-performers in this match as well despite having a good side. In the end, Delhi daredevils side looked far more accomplished than their counterparts in all the three departments which won them the match eventually.
Watch the full highlights of Match 2 between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders here – IPL 2012 Match 2 KKR Vs DD 5 April 2012 Full Highlights Toss