NEW DELHI, India, CMC – Twenty20 World Cup hero Carlos Brathwaite once again put his all-round qualities on display with a superb Man-of-the-Match effort as Delhi Daredevils trounced Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in the Indian Premier League here yesterday.
In his first game in two weeks, Brathwaite belted a whirlwind 34 from a mere 11 deliveries as Delhi stormed to 186 for eight off 20 overs after being asked to bat at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
The West Indies all-rounder then returned with his medium pace to claim three for 47 as KKR were restricted to 159 all out off 18.3 overs.
For Delhi, the victory was their fourth in six outings and it moved them into second spot on eight points while KKR lost their third in seven games and slipped to third, remaining on eight points.
Brathwaite was a vital part of Delhi’s revival after the hosts slipped to 32 for three in the fifth over.
Karun Nair top-scored with 68 from 50 deliveries, adding 105 for the fourth wicket with Englishman Sam Billings whose 54 came from 34 balls and included three fours and two sixes.
When Nair and Chris Morris (0) fell in the space of three deliveries in the 17th over, Delhi were stuttering on 137 for five but Brathwaite and Billings put on a frenetic 37 off just 12 balls to give the innings impetus.
The first two deliveries Brathwaite faced disappeared for boundaries and he followed up by smashing left-arm spinner Brad Hogg over square leg for six in the next over which leaked 18 runs.
In the final over, he smote the first ball from West Indies teammate Andre Russell over mid-wicket for six but fell to the next delivery, caught at short fine leg off a slower ball.
Seamer Russell conceded only four runs from the remaining four deliveries to finish with the excellent figures of three for 26 from his four overs.
Off-spinner Sunil Narine, meanwhile, claimed three for 22 from three overs.
West Indies Test and one-day captain, Jason Holder, finished with none for 35 from four overs, in his first game of the season.
In reply, opener Robin Uthappa stroked 72 from 52 balls but Suryakumar Yadav with 21 was the only other batsman to pass 20, as KKR collapsed.
Brathwaite proved the architect of their demise, slicing through the middle order with a potent spell. He removed the dangerous Yusuf Pathan for 10 in his first over – the eighth of the innings – before accounting for Yadav in his third over and Rajagopal Satish for 17 in his final over.
