A blow by blow account of how Kagiso Rabada sealed a nail-biting win
A blow by blow account of how Kagiso Rabada sealed a nail-biting win for his Indian T20 League franchise Delhi on Saturday night in front of a packed Ferioz Shah Kotla stadium.
Delhi to bat first: Captain Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant are their two batsmen
BALL 1: 1 run, Pant pulls the short ball to deep mid-wicket. A single to begin.
BALL 2: FOUR! Poor bowling. Short and down the leg side, Iyer gets across and just helps it to the fine leg fence!
BALL 3: OUT! In the air.. taken! Iyer holes out. Prasidh corrects his line and length as he bowls it full and on off. The ball was there to be hit but Iyer does not get the timing behind it. Ends up hitting it high up in the air towards long off. Chawla settles under it and takes it.
BALL 4: 2 runs. Full and wide outside off, Pant reaches out and slices it over cover. Chawla gets across from wide long off and keeps the batsmen to a couple.
BALL 5: 2 runs, Slower and shorter in length. Pant gets no timing behind it as he pulls it through mid-wicket and runs two.
BALL 6: 1 run. DELHI FINISH ON 10/1. Terrific bowling from Prasidh Krishna. Full and outside off, pretty wide and slower in pace, Pant looks to play the reverse sweep but only gets a top edge. The ball lands in front of Dinesh Karthik.
10 runs is what Delhi have managed! Kolkata will surely be the happier side now. Just the one bad ball bowled by Prasidh Krishna which was hit for a boundary, on the rest of the deliveries, he was spot on with his variation. Pant never got hit timing right and the question can surely be raised, why wasn’t Shaw sent out to bat. Now though it is on their bowlers to defend this but it will be the visitors who would be the favorites. It is a no-brainier as Russell is the one walking out, the question is who would partner him? Dinesh Karthik? Chris Lynn? Well, it is the former, the skipper is leading from the front and taken the onus onto him. The West Indian will be on strike and he will face Rabada.
BALL 1: FOUR. A good delivery but an excellent shot. A boundary to begin with. A low full toss on the pads, it is flicked through square leg for a boundary.
BALL 2: DOT BALL. Brilliant yorker on leg, Russell cannot do anything but just jam it out. Perfect execution from Rabada.
BALL 3: OUT! BOWLED! The middle stump has gone for a walk! 4/1, 3 balls. 7 needed. What a ball. A perfect yorker, at the base of middle, Russell backs away, aiming to go off side but misses. The LED bails illuminate and Delhi are a wicket away from a win!
Robbie Uthappa comes out to bat.
BALL 4: 1 run. Not a lot you can do with that. A yorker on off, Uthappa jams it out towards point for a run. 6 in 2.
BALL 5: 1 run. A very low full toss on middle and off, Karthik paddles it but there is man at fine leg who runs to his right and saves the boundary with a slide. 5 needed from the final ball. Even if it is a boundary, Kolkata will win because they scored 26 boundaries overall, as compared to Delhi’s 25.
BALL 6: 1 run. DELHI WIN BY 3 RUNS! Shreyas Iyer is pumped up. So is Rabada. A full toss, outside off, Uthappa can only punch it down to long off for a single!
Rabada has done it! The Delhi players are pumped up. What a bowler, what an over. When 11 was needed you surely would have backed Kolkata with the fire power they had but it was Rabada who held his nerves, showed why he is one of the best going around and has ensured the home fans will go home with a smile on their face.
