Warner century gives Delhi big win

David Warner smashed an unbeaten century as Delhi Daredevils crushed Kolkata Knight Riders by 40 runs in the Indian Premier League match at the Ferozshah Kotla, in Delhi, on Monday.

Andrew McDonald claimed two for 37 and Umesh Yadav two for 27 as Kolkata were restricted to 137 for nine in their 20 overs.

Warner was at his devastating best, smashing 107 to lift Delhi Daredevils to a huge 177 for four in their 20 overs. The left-hander hit nine boundaries and five sixes in his 69-ball knock as the Delhi side registered only the second century of IPL 3.

Debutant Paul Collingwood gave Warner good company with a mature innings of 53 from 45 balls as the two batsmen put on 128 runs in 98 balls for the fourth wicket.

For Kolkata, Chris Gayle top-scored with 30 as the the top batsmen once again failed to deliver.

Kolkata sprang a surprise by getting Gayle to open the bowling to counter Delhi's dangerous opening duo of Virender Sehwag and David Warner.

Sehwag was gifted a couple of freebies to start with as Gayle bowled two full toss deliveries that were hit for boundaries through the off-side. But the West Indian had his revenge the very next delivery as Sehwag charged down the wicket; this time he was beaten by the wide delivery and stumped for eight from three balls.

Warner was positive right from the start as he lifted Charl Langeveldt over the off-side for a boundary and followed it with another one through the mid-on region. But Kolkata grabbed another big wicket in that over when Langeveldt trapped Gambhir leg before wicket for 1. Delhi were reduced to 21 for two after two overs.

But Warner was desperate to take on the bowlers and went after Ishant Sharma in his first over, hitting him for a couple of boundaries through the off-side and despatching one over midwicket for a huge six.

However, Ishant gave his team some relief when he struck with the wicket of Dinesh Karthik, who got an inside edge that went back on to his stumps; he was out for a duck.

Interestingly, Delhi lost a wicket in the final delivery of the first three overs and were reduced to 38 for three after three overs.

Despite the loss of early wickets Warner though did not change his approach. He lofted Langeveldt over the mid-off fielder for a boundary and a couple of deliveries later hit it even further for his second six.

The left-hander completed his half-century from 29 balls when he hit Murali Kartik for a boundary through the long-on region, in the eighth over.

Warner then went after Karthik in his second over, slamming the left-arm spinner for a huge six over deep square leg as Delhi reached 91 for three after ten overs.

After a good first over, Agarkar went for two boundaries and a six in his second, giving away 18 runs in that over. Warner took him to the cleaners, slamming him for a straight boundary and following it with another maximum down the ground to race to 88 from 52 balls. Delhi were 128 for three after 14 overs.

There was some drama as Warner, on 96, walked back after Kartik claimed a difficult catch off his own bowling and then had to sprint back. After closer look at the replays, the Aussie left-hander had to make his way back into the middle after the third umpire ruled that the ball had touched the ground before Kartik caught it.

Even though Warner was blasting the bowlers around, the spinners kept Kolkata in the game with tight overs in the middle. Hussey bowled a wonderful spell, giving away just 24 runs in four overs, while Kartik conceded 26 runs in his four, drying up the boundaries.

Collingwood broke the shackles by hitting Gayle for his first six and first boundary after five overs. The England right-hander then slammed Gayle straight down the ground for the second six of the over that also completed his half-century from 43 balls.

Warner completed his century from 66 balls with a single off Langeveldt in the final over of the innings. He became the second centurion of IPL 3 after Yusuf Pathan, and the tenth centurion in the three editions of the IPL.

Collingwood, who smashed 53 from 45 balls, was dismissed off the next ball to a brilliant catch by Hussey. The right-hander lofted Langeveldt over the long-on region and just when it looked the ball had gone past Hussey on the boundary, he showed great presence of mind to pull it back before coming back inside the ropes to take the catch.

Warner then despatched the next delivery straight down the ground for another six and Kedar Jadhav finished the innings in style by hitting the final delivery for a boundary straight down the ground.

Warner finished unbeaten on a splendid innings of 107 from 69 balls, having hit nine boundaries and five sixes, to help Delhi post 177 for four in their 20 overs.

While the spinners managed to exert some control with tight overs in the middle overs, the pacers were for plenty. Langeveldt gave away 35 runs in three overs while taking two wickets and Ishant Sharma bowled just one over in which he was hit for 17 runs but took the wicket of Dinesh Karthik.

Kolkata Knight Riders:

After just two runs in the first over, Gayle made amends by hitting Andrew McDonald for a boundary and six through the leg side in the second over

Sourav Ganguly again struggled with the bat, scoring five from 10 balls, before his leg stump was uprooted by Dirk Nannes as he shuffled across the stumps in the third over.

Amit Mishra struck in his first over, getting Mandeep Singh stumped for a duck with a perfect leg spinner that turned miles as Kolkata were reduced to 20 for two after four overs.

The in-form Manoj Tiwary also failed with the bat; he was bowled for a duck by McDonald with one that swung in sharply and kept a bit low.

In that same over, Gayle hit a straight six and followed it up with boundary over mid-on as Kolkata reached 32 for three after five overs.

In the next over, Gayle (24) got a lifeline when Sehwag dropped an easy catch at square leg as the Kolkata opener top edged an attempted sweep.

Mishra was proving to be quite a difficult customer with the ball for the Kolkata batsmen as he conceded just nine runs in his first three overs, while taking one wicket.

West Indies captain Gayle could not make the most of his reprieve and was dismissed a few overs later when he holed out to Mishra at deep midwicket off Rajat Bhatia after scoring 30 from 21 balls.

Pacer Umesh Yadav started off with a tight over, giving away just three runs, as Kolkata reached 55 for four at the halfway stage, needing to score 123 from the last ten overs.

The Delhi pacer then claimed the wickets of David Hussey (29 from 32 balls) and Angelo Mathews (24 from 18 balls) in successive overs to reduce the visitors to 108 for six after 16 overs.

Ajit Agarkar made 17 from 13 balls before Collingwood completed a sharp return catch on his follow through in the penultimate over of the match.

It turned out to be a disastrous outing for Kolkata and it ended the same way when they lost wickets off the last two deliveries of the match.

Murali Kartik was run out for 1 by wicketkeeper Karthik and Langeveldt was bowled off the final delivery.

Kolkata finished on a disappointing 137 for nine in their 20 overs and lost by a huge margin of 40 runs.

Yadav once again excelled with the ball, claiming two for 27 in four overs, while McDonald took two for 37, and Mishra finished with one for 18 in four overs.