Russell dismissed De Kock, Iyer and Agarwal
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Kolkata Knight Riders pace bowler Andre Russell and spinner Brad Hogg sliced through the Delhi Daredevils’ batting line-up with three wickets apiece to lead their side to a nine-wicket in at Eden Gardens.
Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir would have been thrilled with his decision to bowl first as Russell ripped through the Daredevils’ top order, removing Quinton de Kock, Shreyas Iyer and Mayank Agarwal for 17, zero and nine respectively.
Once Russell had inflicted his damage, Hogg stepped up and wreaked havoc on the Daredevils’ middle and lower order. The veteran Australian claimed the wickets of Sanju Samson, Pawan Negi and Amit Mishra as the Daredevils found themselves in all sorts of trouble.
With none of the batsmen able to reach the 20-run mark, the Daredevils were skittled out for a dismal score of 98.
Russell and Hogg picked up three wickets apiece, while John Hastings and Piyush Chawla chipped in with two wickets each.
Hogg finished with figures of 3-19 off his four overs
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Chasing 99 to win, the Knight Riders got off to a superb start as Gambhir and Robin Uthappa amassed a 69-run partnership before Uthappa was dismissed off the bowling of Mishra for 35.
Gambhir and Manish Pandey mopped up the remaining runs to lead the Knight Riders to victory with 35 balls to spare.
Mishra was the only bowler to take a wicket.
Daredevils captain Zaheer Khan was disappointed with his side’s performance, and said: “You learn every day. I was trying to swing the ball too much. I was playing after a long time. I was happy to see the effort of the fast bowlers. Every team is going to have one bad game, hopefully we’ve got that out of the way. We’re just giving our young batting line-up freedom. They are quick learners, they’ve got the energy. We are happy with our plans and preparation. It’s just about letting this team express themselves on the field freely.”
Gambhir was delighted to have gotten off to a winning start, and said: “We were very professional. Russell got to Kolkata this morning. The way he started with the ball was commendable. He is a quality player. Once we restricted them to 98, it was half the job done. We aren’t used to playing on these kind of wickets, that is why we decided to bowl first. In our chase, someone had to bat through. That is what professional teams do. It was my responsibility to do that. Robin was unbelievable, to give us that kind of start was fantastic. We’ve covered most of our bases, so we are happy with whatever surfaces we get.”
Russell was named Man of the Match, and said: “We just have to adjust to any surface. That is where professionalism comes into play. It wasn’t the fastest of wickets, it wasn’t slow either. If I get a chance to bat, I’d go out there and do something destructive. When things are going your way, you need to find ways to stay up there. I thought the wicket wouldn’t spin that much, but credit to Brad Hogg and Piyush Chawla for backing me up. Well played to the captain and Uthappa as well.”