Delhi faced Kolkata at Kotla today and it turned out to be a one sided contest with the local boys emerging victorious. Delhi batted first and put on 178 on the board courtesy David Warner’s hundred and a gritty knock by Paul Collingwood. Gritty is not the word often used to describe an inning in T20 but that’s how it was. There were three things that caught my attention today firstly, the pitch (The reason for the word “gritty”), secondly David Warner and thirdly David Hussey’s catch.
To start with the pitch. It was slow and low with some turn and almost no carry through to the wicketkeeper. This same ground is serving a one year ban from international cricket and is due to host a few matches of the World Cup next year. The first two games on this ground produced run fests. The pitch looked flat and full of runs. Today it just seemed too slow and the spinners were getting turn. The slower bowlers were very difficult to put away. Even during the Champions League there were problems with the wicket’s bounce. I just hope that this pitch improves and it doesn’t remain a slow and low turner. An actual sporting wicket is the one we saw at DY Patil Sports Academy yesterday. It had enough for the batsman and the bowlers. The batsmen could get runs if they really applied themselves and the fast bowlers were aided with good bounce but it was a dream for the spinners as they extracted turn and bounce. I think we ought to see more pitches like these in India. The flat tracks and the slow low turners take us nowhere. They do not help in the development of domestic cricket or even the IPL. The Delhi track looked good in the first two games and I think they should try to keep it that way and try to ensure that the bounce doesn’t get lower. Once they make a track that is a little bouncy they can probably then make it into a real sporty one.
The second highlight was David Warner. He batted really well today. He went after the fast bowlers when the powerplay was on and he played the slower bowlers sensibly later on. The pitch was slow and low and thus it was important for someone to anchor the innings. Warner did that job really well and some might say he played too slow during the slog overs but we have to give it to him as the pitch was really tricky. The Kolkata Spinners were really tough to put away today and especially when Murali Karthik is in good form, it is even tougher. Even though he slowed down we can see that his strike rate has remained high. On such a wicket you may try to swing your bat may four times to hit boundaries and connect maybe one but Warner was really sensible to pick up the ones and twos and hit the occasional boundary. With Gautam Gambhir back in the side, the Delhi top order looks really good. Sehwag and Warner have been in good form, Collingwood got runs today, De Velliers who didn’t play today has some runs, so it’s a good situation for Delhi.
During the course of the tournament we have noticed the commentators describing every other catch as a Karbonn Kamal Katch. We have actually had a few Kamal catches during the course of this tournament, De Villers boundary stunner and Tendulkar’s reflex to name a few but the one that would stand out is the catch taken by David Hussey today. He was standing on the long on boundary when Collingwood hit one fiercely over his head. Hussey got his hands to it but popped it over the boundary. He had the presence of mind to pull it back in the field of play with his feet off the ground and then he dived back to complete the stunner. What amazed me the most about this catch was Hussey’s presence of mind. He was really quick to pull it back and then dive forward to take it. I have seen many brilliant catches a similar one from Adam Voges, Stunners from Collingwood, Gibbs and Rhodhes, Dillon juggling on the boundary to hold Flintoff but nothing like this. I had written the other day that we wouldn’t see a better catch than the one taken by De Villiers but Mr. Hussey I take back my words and salute you.
Tomorrow Mumbai take one Punjab at 8 PM at the Brabourne Stadium. Punjab have to take inspiration and believe that nothing is impossible, meanwhile Mumbai have to do things the way they are. Before their previous game I was worried that their bowlers were not picking up wickets but now what worries me is the middle order. Sathish hasn’t looked in good form; it may be a good idea to try Nayar if he is fit. Pollard is yet to excel with the bat it may not be a bad idea to give Napier a game but with Pollard there is an unpredictability factor (New South Wales will vouch for that), you never know when he will strike them big. Such players are impact players and they can change the face of the game any time and it is important to have atleast one of them in your team. With Jayasuriya out it looks difficult to replace Pollard. If Napier has to be played then he can only come in place of McLaren who has done a decent job with the ball in the previous two games. Punjab will miss their captain Sangakkara tomorrow as he is banned for a match for slow over rates. It will be interesting to see if Shaun Marsh comes into the team. Bopara and Marsh will make a good opening pair, something Punjab have been looking for. I am more interested to see who will captain them. Will it be Yuvraj or last season’s vice captain Jayawerdena? All answers tomorrow.
Bye.
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