Daniel Vettori and rain gods helped Delhi Daredevils score a comprehensive 10-wicket win over extremely unlucky Kings XI Punjab.
Daniel Vettori and rain gods helped Delhi Daredevils score a comprehensive 10-wicket win over extremely unlucky Kings XI Punjab in their rain-curtailed Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.
Rain played spoilsport as it denied Kings XI Punjab a fighting chance since Duckworth-Lewis calculations tilted the match heavily in favour of the Delhi Daredevils, who were set an easy target of 30 runs from 25 balls.
The target was set when play resumed after the second rain-interruption. Earlier delayed start had reduced the match first to 14 and then to 12 overs per side.
Chasing 105 to win, Delhi raced away to 24 for no loss in 1.5 overs when skies opened yet again.
Virender Sehwag (38) and Gautam Gambhir (15) returned to crease and scored the required 30 runs without any fuss.
Thanks to a splendid start by openers Karan Goel (38) and Ravi Bopara (22), Punjab side had scored a modest 104 for seven after sent in to bat at Newlands ground.
The Yuvraj Singh side was taking huge strides towards a massive score at one stage but Vettori's exceptional bowling spell changed the complexion of the game.
It was Kiwi spinner who kept his side in the hunt as he not only stopped the run flow but dealt three huge blows to send shock-waves to the rival camp.
Even as the Kings XI Punjab were not in a commanding position yet they had a score to at least put up a fight.
Rain played hide and seek and delayed the start of the match by about 90 minutes. First the match was reduced to 14 overs from 20 but immediate rain after toss forced umpires to further reduce it to 12 overs per side.
Punjab openers Goel and Bopara provided a flying start to their side, rattling up the first 50 runs in just 4.3 overs.
The duo added 67 for the first wicket before being separated exactly at the half-way of their innings.
Vettori (3/15) bowled an exceptional spell to stem the run-flow as he accounted for three Punjab batsmen after Yo Mahesh had drawm the first blood.
The run-outs of skipper Yuvraj Singh (16) and Piyush Chawla (0) only worsened the matter for the Kings XI side as they failed to build on a brilliant start.
Left-handed Goel began with a fluent square cut boundary off Dirk Nannes and then hit Avishkar Salvi for consecutive boundaries to set the momentum.
Bopara, the England batsman, joined the party, swinging his arms to maximum effect, as he hit two massive sixes off Pradeep Sangwan's successive overs.
Hardly left with any option than to throw bat at each and everything under the conditions, Goel took Yo Mahesh for some special treatment reeling off three sixes -- two from his second over -- from his medium pace.
However, Yo Mahesh had the last laugh when Goel holed up to Vettori at mid-off in the last ball of the same over, bringing skipper Yuvraj to the crease.
Vettori trapped Bopara in the next ball, dealing the second blow to Punjab team and gave away just one run in his first over.
As the two new batsmen were at the crease run-rate suffered and Kumar Sangakkara, while attempting to break the shackles ended up edging one off Vettori at fine leg.
From an impressive 67 for none, the Punjab team was now struggling at 77 for three.
Vettori continued with his impressive spell and added the wicket of Mahela Jayawardene (6) to his kitty, giving away just 15 runs in his three overs.
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