After a long time, Kochi Tuskers Kerala got everything right in one evening. Following three successive defeats, the low-profile team trampled Delhi Daredevils, to avenge the loss suffered on Saturday, by displaying the kind of dominance that left the match devoid of thrills.
Those packing the galleries of the Ferozeshah Kotla ground went back disappointed after Daredevils' unpredictable streak in this season's Indian Premier League continued.
After being put in to bat on a green pitch, Daredevils could only manage 140 for six. The first six batsmen reached double digits, but could not make the most of the starts they got.
Brendon McCullum smashed a 19-ball 37 to set the early pace in the Tuskers chase. The momentum never slackened to worrying proportions with Parthiv Patel, who matched McCullum's contribution, and Brad Hodge taking the side over the line with seven wickets and five overs to spare.
Expensive bowlers
Unlike the Tuskers bowlers, Daredevils gave away far too many runs upfront. The biggest victim of McCullum's fury was Umesh Yadav, whose lone over produced two sixes and two boundaries.
The big hits kept coming even after the exit of the big-hitting opener. The blistering start made it easy for batsmen like Patel to bat without pressure and the result was never in doubt.
When Daredevils batted, the belief that it depends far too heavily on openers Virender Sehwag and David Warner stood reinforced. The duo's failure to occupy the crease for long meant the middle-order came under pressure. Once again, there were no long partnerships to raise the team's prospects of a healthy total.
Venugopala Rao top-scored with 40, but could not dominate the bowlers who had read the pitch better. Several batsmen were done in by the smart variation of pace.
The fact that Tuskers bowled 47 dot balls during the innings reflected its disciplined performance. R. Vinay Kumar and Man-of-the-Match left-arm seamer Prasanth Parameswaran picked up two wickets each at a time when Daredevils was just about threatening to step up the scoring rate.
If Parameswaran got rid of Sehwag, who started from where he had left off at Kochi two days ago, and Venugopala, the hard-working Vinay sent back Yogesh Nagar and the dangerous-looking Travis Birt.
Considering the short boundaries at this ground, a sub-150 total was never going to be challenging.
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