iSport | For the Fans, by the Fans

Issac John writes of the important moments in yesterday's match between Kolkata Knightriders and Deccan Chargers.

The opening game of Season-3 of the biggest cricketing extravaganza on this planet was summed up aptly by Ravi Shastri in the first two words he spoke, “Its back!”

At the stadium, you could sense the excitement. The stadium was immaculately decked up in DC colors and yet one couldn’t hear anything Shashank Manohar said, because the crowd was still screaming, “Sachin, Sachin.” Though this was supposed to a home venue for DC, KKR supporters were clearly outnumbering their counterparts. The setting was just right for a humdinger and the match didn’t disappoint.

If you were a DC fan, you could be happy with the way the team began both the innings. And if you were a KKR fan, you would’ve been ecstatic with the way the team ended both the innings. That in a nutshell is the story of the match. In terms of quality of cricket, the fare on offer was a tad short of top-notch brilliance yet enough to make you realize that the amalgamation of fresh blood and retired faces would keep all of us hooked to IPL over the next month. Some of the defining moments were:

The opening over: First ball – crowd’s egging both the teams - wily Vaas runs up and the pitch is fever high as an innocuous delivery is half-heartedly flicked. The ball loops and the crowd’s berserk. DC draw blood even before we’ve blinked our eyes. Two deliveries later, Saurav Ganguly is seen walking back to the pavilion- it’s the start DC wouldn’t have even dreamt of.

The partnership: It took some time for DC’s weak bowling lineup to get exposed but it did soon. Mathews and Shah comfortably pummeled the bowlers in the last four overs scoring 58 runs and giving KKR the score they could fight with.  Their chanceless 130 run partnership took everyone by surprise.

The deft shots: The scoop was there. Not by Dilshan but by his country mate Angelo Mathews. In his head, there must be that told him a low full toss was on its way. Nothing else could explain that effortless touch. The ball had touched the boundary ropes way before short fine-leg could fathom what just flew overhead.

Fielding follies: Ishant Sharma missed a dolly of a run-out. Langeveldt dropped Gilchrist after getting to the ball with a run from long-off and overthrows and misfields from both sides. Both the teams could’ve done with better fielding. KKR, more so.

Sloppy shot selection: Symonds heaved off the first ball he faced and got a top-edge. The next time he tried that he got out. Laxman hoicked at a time when DC was going at over 11 runs per over. Gilly acknowledged it in far more polite words than he wished for.

Shot of the match: Gilchrist treating the ball like a child and caressing it straight over the Shukla’s head for a six. The ball was almost told to not come down until Gilchrist completed his follow through. That is the kind of shot that goes down like the smoothest Scotch in the world and leaves you with a smoky feeling in the gut for sometime. One shot- thirty thousand sighs at the stadium and then the roar.

Turning point: The dismissals of Gibbs and Gilchrist in the 12th and 13th over. That’s where KKR pulled it back and started believing they could win this.

Over of the match: Murali Karthik’s first that began with four spot-on deliveries to Gilchrist. A mis-field that resulted in a boundary should not overshadow the fact that both openers were going great guns at this stage of the match. The previous over had yielded 16 runs. Laxman got out on the fifth delivery and the over ended with 6 runs and a wicket KKR badly needed.

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