Speaking to media reporters at the post-match press conference, the Delhi captain Virender Sehwag said his bowlers set the platform for a comfortable eight-wicket win over the star-studded KKR.
"Boys did very well, bowlers bowled brilliantly after we won the toss. We also fielded very well," Sehwag said after a convincing eight-wicket win at the Eden Gardens.
Rain at the start of the match forced the encounter to be restricted to 12 overs each, and Sehwag after winning the toss put KKR into bat, favouring his bowlers in the overcast conditions. Morne Morkel led Delhi attack welcomed their skipper’s decision and did not let the formidable KKR batting line up break free right from the start.
Morkel accounted for Jacques Kallis, Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary as the Knight Riders were reeling at 55 for six in the seventh over. Some late blitz from Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Debabrata Das helped the home side amass a respectable total of 97 for 9 from their allotted quota of 12 overs.
The South African pacer returned with impressive figures of 3 for 18 in his spell of three overs. Roelof van der Merwe and Umesh Yadav shared two wickets apiece.
In reply, an explosive Irfan Pathan batting onslaught which was well complimented by Aaron Finch took the tourists home with eight wickets and five balls to spare. Finch scored a quick 30 off 27 balls while Pathan blasted a 20-ball 42, which was laced with three sixes and two boundaries.
The Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Gautam Gambhir, also lauded Morne Morkel and Irfan Pathan for their match winning performances, with ball and bat respectively.
"The way Morne bowled, he bowled some quality stuff,” said Gambhir. “The total we had was a quality total in the end, but they batted well. [Irfan] Pathan was excellent with his batting," he added.
Daredevils will play the Royal Challengers Bangalore next on April 7 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium Bangalore, while Kolkata will take on the Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium the next day.
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