13 April,2019 09:05 AM IST | Kolkata | Arup Chatterjee
Delhi Capitals' Shikhar Dhawan celebrates his 50 v KKR. Pic/PTI
Aggression found two distinct tenors at the Eden Gardens yesterday. If Andre Russell muscled to a 21-ball 45 to take Kolkata Knight Riders to a challenging 178 for seven, Shikhar Dhawan took over after the interval with an innings that was mostly about caressing the ball between fielders as he guided the Sourav Ganguly-mentored Delhi Capitals to their second win over the Knights this season.
Dhawan was unbeaten on 97 when the visitors crossed the line with seven wickets and seven deliveries to spare. It came off 63 balls, 11 boundaries and a couple of sixes.
KKR's Shubman Gill en route his 39-ball 65 v DC yesterday. Pic/AFP
His partnership with Rishabh Pant produced 105 off 69 balls for the third wicket, the young wicketkeeper abandoning his devil-may-care approach for a more controlled one this night. He fell to a catch on the boundary, four short of a fifty.
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Earlier, Russell hit three boundaries and four sixes to power KKR after 19-year-old Shubman Gill and Robin Uthappa had the Knights tide over an early setback with a 63-run partnership for the second wicket. Gill, promoted to the opener's slot as Sunil Narine sat out to accommodate an extra seamer, helped himself to his first fifty of the season, his 65 coming off just 30 deliveries with seven boundaries, a couple of sixes and a calm demeanour that belied his age.
The match got off to a dramatic start with debutant Joe Denly, filling in for an indisposed Chris Lynn, bowled off the first ball as Ishant Sharma delivered a lovely inswinger. Shubman Gill, promoted to an opener's slot with KKR dropping Sunil Narine, and Robin Uthappa put the Knights back on rail with a 63-run partnership for the second wicket.
Uthappa fell to a fine catch by Pant and new man Nitish Rana to a tinge of desperation, sadly just as he was beginning to blossom. But the roar that rose from the terraces signaled Russell's entry, and the show began soon enough. It was not the most clinical of hitting that the big spectators have come to expect from the big West Indian after his string of incredible innings this season but it was still a show.
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