Deccan Chargers dropped Kevin Pietersen three times on his way to 103, the second century of IPL 2012. It was an innings that condemned Chargers to their fourth defeat this season and left them winless at the bottom of the table. After taking three early wickets in defense of a below-par 157, Chargers were on course to turn their fortunes around, but Pietersen denied them. He took Delhi Daredevils to the top of the table with his authoritative knock, his highest score in Twenty20 cricket and hit most sixes in an IPL innings this season – nine.
Daredevils held the advantage from the halfway mark. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and Morne Morkel took three wickets apiece to keep to pull Chargers back from 101 for 2 after 11 overs. Despite another spell of fury from Dale Steyn, Chargers were unable to keep Daredevils from joining Rajasthan Royals at the top of the table, with a game in hand.
Chargers began strongly in the field when Naman Ojha looked to launch IPL debutant Veer Pratap Singh over the off side but was caught by JP Duminy. It brought Pietersen to the crease earlier than expected and he could have been sent back off the second ball he faced. Steyn bowled an inswinger that cut Pietersen in half as it beat him but Pietersen responded by flicking Steyn for four through midwicket. The next over Pietersen pulled Steyn to short midwicket where Bharat Chipli should have taken the catch to send him on his way for six, but spilled it.
Chipli would have felt a little better to see Virender Sehwag caught at second slip off the next ball and Mahela Jayawardene caught by Kumar Sangakkara in the next over. His relief was short-lived though, as he misfielded when Pietersen drilled a ball through the covers for four soon after.
Sangakarra brought on a slew of spinners – JP Duminy, Amit Mishra and Ankit Sharma – and Pietersen feasted on all of them. His first six came off Mishra, who he charged before smacking over his head, in an over in which he scored 14 runs.
When Ross Taylor was run out, Chargers had Daredevils cornered on 83 for 4 after 13 overs but Pietersen turned things around by mauling Duminy. Two full-tosses were clubbed over the leg side for six and a third delivery was dispatched over the sightscreen. Duminy’s over cost 21 runs and he dropped a return chance off the last ball.
In that over, the required run-rate plummeted to a manageable 7.71 from a worrying 9.31 and Pietersen had all but done the job. He went on punish Mishra again, taught Veer not to bowl short and wide by smashing him for six and launch Daniel Christian over long-off.
With eight to get off the last two overs and Pietersen on 95, Yogesh Nagar, who played a good supporting role, blocked the last ball to give Pietersen a chance to bring up three-figures. Ankit bowled the first ball of the 20th over and Pietersen hit him over his head to win the match and complete his century, leaving Chargers in no doubt that they were at least 15 short.
Chargers’ innings was built on one impressive stand, 71 runs in 6.5 overs, between Shikhar Dhawan and Parthiv Patel. But, none of the other batsmen built on their start and they stuttered after the pair was dismissed. Nadeem had Dhawan trapped lbw when he tried the reverse-sweep and Parthiv caught at deep square leg after he pulled one too many.
Nadeem took three wickets in three overs and was responsible for dragging Chargers’ run-rate back. He also had Duminy caught at mid-on before he had been able to get stuck in. Although Nadeem did not take a wicket in his fourth over, he completed the catch that dismissed Christian the ball after Nadeem’s spell ended. By then, Chargers’ run-rate had been pulled back from 9 runs to the over, to 7.8.
Scores: Delhi Daredevils 162 for 5 (Pietersen 103*, Steyn 2-19) beat Deccan Chargers 157 for 8 (Parthiv 45*, Nadeem 3-16) by five wickets.
Clinical Kolkata trounce Punjab: In one of the more one-sided games of the tournament, Kolkata Knight Riders breezed to an eight-wicket win and made amends for fluffing a chase against the same opponents, Kings XI Punjab, three days ago. A deflated Kings XI limped to 124 on their home surface after winning the toss but there were no twists as Knight Riders, led by Gautam Gambhir, attained the target with a risk-free approach.
The pitch had a layer of grass and offered movement off the seam, but it didn’t have the kind of moisture that gave the bowlers an edge in the previous Mohali game, against Pune Warriors. Nevertheless, the batsmen didn’t have the freedom to hit through the line – a staple fare in the plenty of games so far in the IPL.
None of the Kings XI batsmen could bat through. Adam Gilchrist kept the momentum going with a couple of boundaries through the on side, but pulled a hamstring while completing a quick single. He had to retire, and his untimely departure in the sixth over dented the run-rate.
Kings XI were going along at 7.50 but post-Gilchrist, it had declined to as low as 5.93. The Knight Riders bowlers didn’t allow any big partnerships to develop, nothing higher than 24.
Much depended on Marsh to give the team momentum, but he departed for 33, albeit in controversial circumstances. He chased a wide delivery from Lee shaping away and got a thick outside edge which dipped to the wicketkeeper, but Manvinder Bisla immediately claimed the catch. The umpires conferred and took Bisla’s word, but replays couldn’t confirm if he had his gloves underneath the ball. Marsh accepted the ruling, but the team owner Preity Zinta didn’t appear too pleased with the decision, querying one of the match officials before Gilchrist stepped in to restore calm.
Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 127 for 2 (Gambhir 66*) beat Kings XI Punjab 124 for 7 (Gilchrist 40*, Lee 2-26, Narine 2-24) by eight wickets.
Pietersen ton keeps Deccan winless
