Kings XI keep their semi-final hopes alive

Brett Lee and Ashish Nehra, two of the finest exponents of the art of pace and swing bowling, were on top of their game and sought their best to reduce all else to being mere members of support cast as Kings XI Punjab shocked table toppers Delhi Daredevils by six wickets in the DLF Indian Premier League here on Friday and gave themselves the chance to making the semifinals.

Both men were hostile, bowling with the palpable intent of hassling and hustling the opposition batsmen. On a track that was not exactly conducive to their ilk, Lee and Nehra found the motivation to showcase the best of their skills but though Nehra bowled as many as 18 dot balls in a dream spell, it was Lee who caused more damage.

Lee got the dangerous Virender Sehwag nibbling a catch down the leg side in the third over of the evening. Gautam Gambhir’s run out dismissal in the next over meant that Kings XI Punjab could hold Lee back just in case Delhi Daredevils launched a fightback. In the event, Lee came back to harass Farvez Mahroof into submission in the 17th over and Rajat Bhatia with the first ball of his next over

With AB de Villiers and Tillekeratne Dilshan also falling cheaply – a rare event in IPL 2009 – Delhi Daredevils were unable to make more than 120 for nine in 20 overs. S Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan picked up two wickets each as well with some tight bowling.

The stage was set for Nehra and Sangwan to hit back but while Nehra was stupendous, Sangwan – bowling with the new ball and not first change – was expensive as Simon Katich waded into him in his first over and Irfan Pathan did likewise in the left-arm seamer’s final over to release some of the pressure that was building on Kings XI Punjab.

Kumar Sangakkara top-scored, using all his technical acumen to ensure that Kings XI Punjab would not collapse as dramatically as Delhi Daredevils. He controlled the rudder as his team crossed the line. Of course, he was helped by Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan in directing the chase from 35 for three.

Delhi Daredevils opted to make three changes to the squad that squeezed a dramatic win over Deccan Chargers in the last game. Opener David Warner, fast bowler Dirk Nannes and leg-spinner Amit Mishra were all rested. In their place, Farvez Mahroof, Mithun Manhas and Daniel Vettori were roped in. Those who came in performed creditably.

With 12 points from as many games, Kings XI Punjab leapfrogged over Mumbai Indians to the sixth place. The win gave them a lifeline to the semifinals as they can go into their matches against Deccan Chargers (Sunday) and Chennai Super Kings (Wednesday) with renewed self-belief.

Despite the defeat, Delhi Daredevils are sitting pretty at the top of the table with 16 points from 11 games. They have matches against Rajasthan Royals (Sunday), Royal Challengers Bangalore (Tuesday) and Mumbai Indians (Thursday) and are expected to retain their premier place, going into the semifinals.