By IANS,
Mohali : Kings XI Punjab’s four-pronged pace attack stifled Delhi Daredevils’ batsmen, helping the hosts win by four wickets in an Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match here Sunday.
Kings XI pacers bowled a disciplined line to restrict Daredevils for 158 for eight before their batsmen romped home in 19.3 overs.
Man of the Match Simon Katich struck a belligerent 75 off 52 balls with the help of 11 boundaries and one six while his captain Yuvraj Singh chipped in with unbeaten 40 off 29 balls with three boundaries and two sixes to help Kings XI register their second win from four matches.
After electing to bat, Daredevils’ top-order suffered a collapse. Their leading batsmen have performed well so far but taking first strike for the first time in the tournament, they failed to click against the Kings XI pace attack on a seamer-friendly pitch at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium.
Daredevils found themselves in dire straits when they were reduced to four for 54. Manoj Tiwari (39) and Dinesh Kaarthick (24) held the slide with a 34-run stand. The lower order then contributed crucial runs to put up a challenging total. Rajat Bhatia scored 17 while Farvez Mahroof chipped in with 18.
The Kings XI bowlers were disciplined in their line and length and Vikram Raj Vir Singh was the pick of them with three wickets for 29 runs. Brett Lee (1/33) and Irfan Pathan (2/26) got the important breakthroughs at the start. Young leg-spinner Piyush Chawla was impressive and conceded a little over seven an over.
Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag, who hit a blistering 94 in their previous match, was trapped in the front by Pathan. Shikhar Dhawan and Gautam Gambhir followed him soon.
Dhawan had been in a fine nick in the tournament and was involved in two century-partnerships in the first two games. He was unlucky to be given out to a Lee bouncer that struck on the shoulder. Singh then removed Gambhir. Kaarthick and Tiwari then joined forces to bring some respectability to the score.
While chasing, the home team suffered some early setbacks. Daredevils’ bowling line-up has been the best in the tournament so far and once again they lost no time in making early inroads. Two wickets fell in the first two overs.
Glenn McGrath (1/29) found his line and length upfront and grabbed a wicket in the very first over. The veteran Australian trapped Karan Goel with a delivery that nipped back sharply to hit the pads. Goel, though, was unlucky as the ball hit him at a good height.
Mohammad Asif (2/39), known for his nagging line and length, struck in the next over getting rid of dangerous Kumar Sangakkara who is also the highest scorer in the tournament so far.
Sangakkara nicked a delivery that bounced and seamed away and wicketkeeper Kaarthick made no mistake in puching it.
Katich joined in and changed into an attacking gear right from the start. The Australian took McGrath and Asif to cleaners in the next few overs. Katich blasted McGrath for two successive fours in the next over. The first one was a thick outside edge while the second one, a short ball, was dispatched through fine leg. Katich carried on his attacking style and struck three successive boundaries to Asif.
Two more exquisitely hit boundaries came in the next over of McGrath and both from Katich’s blade.
Mahela Jayawerdena joined the party and freed his arm against Mahroof with two boundaries before Shoaib Malik removed the Sri Lankan with a brilliant caught-and-bowl effort diving low to his left.
Skipper Yuvraj and Katich then kept the scoreboard moving at a good pace and entertained the packed house with some clean hits.
Katich finally was run out after a misjudgement between the pair. Tanmay Srivastav and Pathan fell cheaply but Yuvraj stood solid at the other end and brought up the second victory for Kings XI in the company of Lee.