New Delhi: Zaheer Khan could not have anticipated the early carnage after he opted to bowl first in this needle clash of IPL-9 at the Kotla on Wednesday. But then, he need not have worried too much either because for him, if Mishra doesn’t do it, Tahir will.
With Amit Mishra having a relatively quiet day, Imran Tahir (3/24) stepped up to deliver not just the wickets, but also a break in the momentum the Lions had built up over the first 12-odd overs. Chris Morris (2/35) was Delhi’s other go-to man as Gujarat finished on 172/6.
It looked a little different earlier as openers Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum tore into the bowling with relish, blasting their way to a century partnership in quick time.
Zaheer’s first over went for 18 blistering runs as ball flew off bat at all angles — including once between wicketkeeper and slip, with Quinton de Kock and Jean Paul Duminy left looking at each other as the white cherry clattered into the third man fence.
Zaheer was to suffer further indignity as Samju Samson let a McCullum slash slip through his fingers for six as the Lions raced to 71/0 in Powerplay, and then past the 100 mark in exactly nine overs.
But then the Daredevils have discovered great resilience this season and inevitably, clawed their way back. Smith (53, 30b, 5x4, 3x6) was trapped leg before by third change bowler Tahir at 112 and McCullum (60, 36, 6x4, 3x6) was undone by a loopy yorker from Morris.
The towering quick was back at it four balls later as the Devils capitalised on Suresh Raina’s known weakness against the short stuff, tamely turning a chest-high ball straight to Karun Nair at leg slip.
And the Devils’ South Africa connection was in full display with the quick removal of Ravindra Jadeja, caught by de Kock off the occasional spin bowling of Duminy. From 112 for no loss in the 11th over, the Lions had turned into kittens.
With the dependable Dinesh Karthik too snaffled by the Tahir-Duminy combine, it was left to Dwayne Bravo and James Faulkner to first stem the rot, and then see off the 20 overs without further damage Zaheer rotated his resources smartly after the initial battering and used all six bowlers at his disposal in shifts. It paid off not just in terms of wickets, but also in breaking the momentum of the Lions’ charge that had at one point in the innings, looked good enough for a 200-plus total.
