Delhi off to a flyer against Kolkata

NEW DELHI: Kolkata pacer Jacques Kallis trapped Virender Sehwag leg before wickets after a flying start by him to give Delhi Daredevils first blow at Ferozeshah Kotla.

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Sehwag scored 23 off just nine deliveries and shared 40-run stand with David Warner for the first wicket.

Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag won the toss and elected to bat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL clash at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium on Monday.

Sehwag said that his team can play freely now, without the worry of keeping an eye on the points table. “The last time we played on this track, we got 200-odd runs against Mumbai Indians.”

Daredevils brought in pacer Varun Aaron and David Warner in place of Pawan Negi and Kevin Pietersen. On the other hand Brett Lee and local boy Pradeep Sangwan are in for KKR, in place of Marchant de Lange and Iqbal Abdulla

Kolkata Knight Riders face a big challenge against the dangerous hosts who are virtually in the play-offs. If Virender Sehwag and his men can tame Kolkata – like the way they did at the Eden Gardens at the start of IPL 5 – Delhi will be first team to ensure a place in the play-offs. Besides, Delhi would want to keep winning to maintain a good habit.

Delhi are not leaving any stone unturned. On Sunday afternoon, the team went all out as it honed its skills. To begin with, emphasis was given on fielding before the players got into other areas of the game. There was an air of excitement as the players went about the drills. It was clear they were a confident lot, enjoying their success and feeling threatened by no one.

Kolkata too have a well-equipped unit and that is why this team is doing well. Their middle-order batting may have succumbed to pressure in the past, but the overall look of the team so far has been quite satisfying.

Delhi Daredevils: David Warner, Virender Sehwag, Mahela Jayawardene, Ross Taylor, Naman Ojha, Yogesh Nagar, Irfan Pathan, Morne Morkel, S Nadeem, UT Yadav, VR Aaron

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir, Brendon McCullum, Jacques Kallis, Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, DB Das, LR Shukla, R Bhatia, B Lee, PJ Sangwan, Sunil Narine