Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Daredevils
Shoaib blows up Daredevils

Kolkata—Shoaib Akhtar made a dramatic IPL debut taking four wickets in a blistering new-ball spell to condemn the Delhi Daredevils to their fourth straight defeat. In what could be a key match in the scramble for a spot in the semi-finals, the Kolkata Knight Riders batting fizzled and they posted only 133 but Shoaib and an inspired fielding effort vindicated captain Sourav Ganguly’s decision to bat first and saw them through to a 23-run win, their third successive triumph.
Unable to break the shackles put by the Delhi Daredevils’ battery of medium-pacers, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ batsmen posted only 133 on a good batting pitch. Kolkata’s batting has been their weakness through the tournament and it failed again with only Salman Butt and David Hussey making more than 13.
In what could be a key match in the scramble for a spot in the semi-finals, Kolkata opted to bat first backing their formidable bowling line-up to defend the runs. Their attack was bolstered by Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who made his IPL debut after his five-year ban was suspended for one month, coming in place of Umar Gul.
Glenn McGrath was typically miserly with the new ball and Pradeep Sangwan also didn’t offer too many loose balls as Kolkata struggled to inject momentum to their batting. Aakash Chopra’s troubles with the bat continued and he managed only 13, despite being reprieved early on by Gautam Gambhir at wide slip.
His dismissal was greeted with a roar by the Eden Gardens crowd as Kolkata’s captain Sourav Ganguly strode out. They had more to cheer as he imperiously slammed his second ball, a free hit, over the bowler’s head for six, but were silenced two deliveries later when he was bowled by Yo Mahesh after his attempted pull failed to make contact with the ball.
With Kolkata at 47 for 2 after seven, Salman Butt and David Hussey tried to rebuild and while they strung together a 40-run stand, they were unable to provide the acceleration the innings desperately needed. Besides Butt’s two powerful drives through cover off Mahesh, there weren’t too many boundaries and the runs came mainly in the form of singles. Just as they were giving Kolkata a platform from which they could take off, Butt perished for 48, slicing a Mahesh delivery to McGrath at mid-off.
Hussey then had to play his by-now-familiar role of trying to rescue Kolkata from the top order’s failings. He is the world’s leading six-hitter in Twenty20s but even he failed to provide the necessary fireworks; there were a couple of huge sixes on the leg side but he fell attempting another for a run-a-ball 31, lobbing a catch to midwicket.
Three of Delhi’s big wins have come chasing, and they will fancy their chances of getting their campaign back on track after three consecutive losses saw them slipping from first to fifth. The silver lining for Kolkata is that their total is above-par, given that the average batting first at the Eden Gardens so far is 125.
Summarized Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 133 for 6 (Butt 48, Maharoof 2-25) beat Delhi Daredevils 110 (Shoaib 4-11, Shukla 3-6) by 23 runs.

—Agencies