Sharmas defy Daredevils with end-overs cunning

There's a reason why, going into Saturday night, that teams defending totals had won only nine times in the 35 previous matches. Batting while chasing has gone to the next level, and bowlers are struggling to keep up. It seemed Kings XI Punjab would continue the trend when they had only 53 runs in the bag in the last six overs. Their fielding was coming apart a little. There was dew around. Delhi Daredevils had eight wickets in hand. Only excellent death bowling - a commodity that is becoming rarer every day with heavy bats and short outfields everywhere - could prevent Daredevils from winning. It came from two of the best bowlers in this IPL, Mohit and Sandeep Sharma, with Marcus Stoinis and KC Cariappa contributing an over each.

Mohit and Sandeep have arguably been the biggest delight of this otherwise predictable IPL. Sandeep has used the width of both the creases to make his yorkers less predictable. Mohit has added a yorker and an offcutter to his one big trick, the back-of-the-hand slower legcutter. The two have played a big role in all three wins for Kings XI this season.

This comeback began with Mohit, who conceded only four runs in the 15th over, although it should have really only been two. He began with a slower legcutter, followed it with a quick bouncer, then the slower offcutter bouncer, and gave Karun Nair the yorker fourth ball. There was no room on the bouncers, the yorker was accurate, and Nair had now faced three dot balls. He had fallen behind a run a ball. The pressure showed in how he didn't pick the next slower legcutter, only to watch David Miller drop it at wide long-on. Miller, running to his right, dropped the ball because he took his eyes off the ball momentarily to check if there was any danger of Glenn Maxwell, stationed at deep midwicket, was going to collide into him.going for the catch. Maxwell, who had earlier failed to dive for a ball not more than six feet away from him, was nowhere near him. That would have hurt more than the drop.

The pressure on Nair, though, didn't lift, and he lofted one towards Miller in the next over too. Cariappa benefited this time. His over went for just six, and Daredevils now needed 44 in the last three overs. With seven wickets in hand, two of them being Carlos Brathwaite and Chris Morris, Daredevils were still the favourites. The big decision for Kings XI was to be made now. Mohit had one over left, Sandeep had two. If they didn't bowl Sandeep now, he would have to bowl 18 and 20. They trusted him enough to do so, and asked Stoinis to bowl the 17th.

Now Stoinis knew the batsmen had to go after him. He knew the batsmen couldn't afford to leave too much for the other two bowlers' overs because they were in good form, and also because Mohali is a big playing field. Stoinis had already gone for 37 in three overs. If he kept up the rate, it would be difficult for the Sharmas to defend. He had to do better. He was up against the in-from Sam Billings and Brathwaite. Billings is dextrous, Brathwaite had hit seven sixes in 23 balls faced before this match. Stoinis gave it away that he was going to bowl slower balls by bringing third man and fine leg up. He wanted the batsmen to hit towards the bigger square boundaries. Brathwaite started cleverly with a bunted two, but Stoinis managed three perfect slower balls to Billings later in the over. The third was a bouncer, which Billings edged to the keeper as he looked to cut him over short third man.

Now it was muscle v muscle. Brathwaite and Morris in, 40 to get off three overs, and the first of them would be bowled by a youngster they were hoping to bully. Sandeep bowls yorkers. He doesn't do slower balls. But his yorkers can be wide, at the stumps, angling across the batsman from round the wicket or at the toes from that angle. On this day he chose to go round the wicket, asking Brathwaite to hit against the angle and into the bigger square boundary on the leg side.

Sandeep's first yorker to Brathwaite was a little short, perhaps by six inches, and Brathwaite whipped it through midwicket with a top-handed grip. Four. Still, Brathwaite knew if Sandeep got the yorker right it would be difficult to keep hitting there. Sandeep followed it with a short-of-a-length slower ball. Brathwaite tried the cute reverse shot over short third man, and missed. It might have looked strange, but Sandeep had executed his plan, bowling into the pitch with a strong leg-side field. Sandeep erred again next ball with Brathwaite biffing the low full toss way back into the stands.

This can be demoralising for a young Indian bowler, who would have watched with awe as Brathwaite dismantled Ben Stokes in the World T20 final, but Sandeep didn't budge from his plan. The next ball was a bouncer, which gave no room, and Brathwaite top-edged it to the deep fielder on the leg side.

With 27 to defend in the last two, Mohit delivered the final blow. Four yorkers, a slower legcutter, and an offcutting slower bouncer handcuffed Morris and Rishabh Pant to leave Sandeep 24 to defend. This was excellent defensive bowling without mystery balls or unorthodox actions. This was just good plans and good execution of those plans. In a game with little room for error, this was one performance to cherish.