Manoj Tiwary scored an unbeaten half-century to set up a thrilling 17-run win for Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League match against Delhi Daredevils on Thursday. Tiwary hit three sixes and two fours in his 47-ball knock to take Kolkata to 148-7 before Delhi were restricted to 131-9 in 20 overs at a packed Feroz Shah Kotla ground.
Delhi fancied their chances with 26 runs needed off 12 balls but Australian paceman Brett Lee effected two brilliant run outs in two balls to tilt the scale in Kolkata’s favour. The win, Kolkata’s fourth from seven outings, propelled them to joint second place in the points table while Delhi continued to languish at the bottom after their fifth defeat in the Twenty20 competition. Delhi now need to win five of their remaining seven matches if they are to make it to the playoffs.
Delhi captain Virender Sehwag made a typically aggressive 34 with five fours and one six after losing his opening partner David Warner (14) in the second over to paceman Laxmipathy Balaji. But Sehwag’s dismissal triggered a collpase with Delhi losing their next seven wickets for 87 runs. Kolkata owed their competitive total to Tiwary who played a responsible innings despite losing his partners at regular intervals at the other end.
Jacques Kallis (11) and Shreevats Goswami (22) shared 42 runs for the opening wicket before falling in quick succession to Delhi fast bowlers Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar. Skipper Gautam Gambhir, who was bought for a record $2.4 million by Kolkata after Delhi deciding against retaining the left-hander, was caught at deep midwicket off Australian James Hopes for 19. Fast bowler Umesh Yadav then picked two wickets in two balls, removing Yusuf Pathan, who was caught by his younger brother Irfan Pathan, and England’s Eoin Morgan in the 15th over.
Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 148-7 in 20 overs (M. Tiwary 61 not out; U. Yadav 2-29) beat Delhi Daredevils 131-9 in 20 overs (V. Sehwag 34, J. Hopes 25; Iqbal Abdullah 3-25, L. Balaji 2-38) by 17 runs.
