A masterful century from Kevin Pietersen ensured that the Delhi Daredevils kept their winning run going. They registered a five-wicket win over the winless Deccan Chargers at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.
Chasing 158 to win, the Daredevils lost opener Naman Ojha (1) in the very first over. 19-year-oldVeer Pratap Singh got the better of the right-hander. DD skipper Virender Sehwag (7) was the next to go as he nicked one straight into first slip’s welcoming hands off a Dale Steyn delivery. The Chargers were rampant in the early overs, and it only got better for the winless visitors.
Mahela Jayawardene (6) couldn’t quite get his innings going as Daniel Christian got the Sri Lankan veteran to mistime one straight to Kumar Sangakkara at wide mid-off. Ross Taylor’s 13-run stint in the middle was abruptly halted by a direct hit from Shikhar Dhawan.
At 65 for four, the Daredevils were desperately searching for some inspiration. And it came in the form of Kevin Pietersen. The dashing right-hander was the lone man standing between victory and defeat for the Chargers; and Bharat Chipli was eventually made to rue dropping Pietersen on seven. The aggressive Englishman’s brilliant 103* along with Yogesh Nagar’s 23* ensured that the Daredevils won with five wickets in hand.
Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara’s luck with the coin continued as he won the toss and elected to bat. But unfortunately, the Sri Lankan’s good fortune didn’t extend to the game. The left-hander edged a Morne Morkel delivery straight up in the air to leave the Chargers on 10 for one in the third over. But fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan continued his good form with the bat to blunt the home side’s bowling attack. Parthiv Patel too exuded confidence as his quick fire 45 helped the Chargers grab the early advantage.
Dhawan’s (44) confidence got the better of him after he tried an audacious reverse sweep only to be caught plumb in front off a Shahbaz Nadeem delivery. The young left-arm spinner was at it again after he dismissed Parthiv, who found the fielder at deep square-leg. JP Duminy (4) couldn’t continue his good form as he eased one into the short mid-wicket fielder’s hands to give Nadeem his third wicket. The Daredevils slowly got back in the contest with those quick wickets and some good bowling from Morne Morkel. Bharat Chipli was the last man standing; his 17-ball 25* pushed the Chargers to a reasonable 157 for eight in 20 overs.
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