Gambhir's diamond duck and drop
Plays of the Day from the IPL game between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur
Devashish Fuloria
01-May-2013
Gautam Gambhir had only himself to blame for a risky call for single • BCCI
The diamond duck
Gautam Gambhir is not a slow runner between wickets, but his poor judgment of a run has often ended his or his partner's innings. Today, he paid the price for a bad call. The second ball of the match from Irfan Pathan hit Manvinder Bisla on the pad and dropped in front of the batsman. Gambhir, however, started charging towards the striker's end and Bisla responded belatedly. Pathan got to the ball quickly and flicked it on to the stumps to catch Gambhir short by a big margin. It was Gambhir's eighth run out in the IPL, his 15th in Twenty20s, and it earned him his first diamond duck in T20 cricket.
Gautam Gambhir is not a slow runner between wickets, but his poor judgment of a run has often ended his or his partner's innings. Today, he paid the price for a bad call. The second ball of the match from Irfan Pathan hit Manvinder Bisla on the pad and dropped in front of the batsman. Gambhir, however, started charging towards the striker's end and Bisla responded belatedly. Pathan got to the ball quickly and flicked it on to the stumps to catch Gambhir short by a big margin. It was Gambhir's eighth run out in the IPL, his 15th in Twenty20s, and it earned him his first diamond duck in T20 cricket.
The celebration
Before the start of the match, brothers Irfan and Yusuf Pathan were seen sharing a laugh, but once on the field, they got on with their jobs. Yusuf, who came in early, was in a hurry to maximise the Powerplay score. He smoked a six off Morne Morkel in the sixth over but when he tried to repeat the shot, it went high instead of long. Really high. Irfan, at square leg, had to run backwards while keeping an eye on the swirler. All this while, captain Mahela Jayawardene, possibly not expecting the catch to be completed, had a neutral look on his face. But Irfan stretched his hands out, wrapped his palms around the ball but didn't celebrate the outstanding effort. His team-mates, though, came charging towards him in delight, their reactions more in line with the quality of that catch.
Before the start of the match, brothers Irfan and Yusuf Pathan were seen sharing a laugh, but once on the field, they got on with their jobs. Yusuf, who came in early, was in a hurry to maximise the Powerplay score. He smoked a six off Morne Morkel in the sixth over but when he tried to repeat the shot, it went high instead of long. Really high. Irfan, at square leg, had to run backwards while keeping an eye on the swirler. All this while, captain Mahela Jayawardene, possibly not expecting the catch to be completed, had a neutral look on his face. But Irfan stretched his hands out, wrapped his palms around the ball but didn't celebrate the outstanding effort. His team-mates, though, came charging towards him in delight, their reactions more in line with the quality of that catch.
The catch
Kolkata Knight Riders had already been stung by some excellent work in the field by Daredevils and were tottering on 50 for 4 in the ninth over. At that stage, Jacques Kallis, who was left with the responsibility of reviving the innings, got a harmless delivery outside off, which nine out of ten times he would have crashed to the boundary. The shot, when it left the bat, seemed to be one of those 90 per cent success-rate hits, but Ben Rohrer at point leapt high in the air, intercepted the ball with his outstretched left hand and plucked it out of nowhere.
Kolkata Knight Riders had already been stung by some excellent work in the field by Daredevils and were tottering on 50 for 4 in the ninth over. At that stage, Jacques Kallis, who was left with the responsibility of reviving the innings, got a harmless delivery outside off, which nine out of ten times he would have crashed to the boundary. The shot, when it left the bat, seemed to be one of those 90 per cent success-rate hits, but Ben Rohrer at point leapt high in the air, intercepted the ball with his outstretched left hand and plucked it out of nowhere.
The drop
Daredevils had set the benchmark in the field by converting half-chances into wickets, but Knight Riders started in a completely opposite fashion. Brett Lee was generating pace and movement and he got Virender Sehwag to play a loose drive in the air. The ball flew straight to Gambhir, who had placed himself at short cover for the shot, at a comfortable height, but the captain was off balance and ended up fluffing it.
Daredevils had set the benchmark in the field by converting half-chances into wickets, but Knight Riders started in a completely opposite fashion. Brett Lee was generating pace and movement and he got Virender Sehwag to play a loose drive in the air. The ball flew straight to Gambhir, who had placed himself at short cover for the shot, at a comfortable height, but the captain was off balance and ended up fluffing it.
The heavy bail
For the second time in the day, the ball hit the stumps and the bail didn't budge. It had happened when Shikhar Dhawan was batting against Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad and it happened again in Raipur, to a 145 kph delivery from Morne Morkel. Rajat Bhatia was struggling to deal with the pace and was beaten by a delivery that straightened past his bat, then flicked the off stump en route to the keeper. The noise was loud enough for everyone in the field to notice, but surprisingly, the bail didn't even wobble in the groove.
For the second time in the day, the ball hit the stumps and the bail didn't budge. It had happened when Shikhar Dhawan was batting against Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad and it happened again in Raipur, to a 145 kph delivery from Morne Morkel. Rajat Bhatia was struggling to deal with the pace and was beaten by a delivery that straightened past his bat, then flicked the off stump en route to the keeper. The noise was loud enough for everyone in the field to notice, but surprisingly, the bail didn't even wobble in the groove.
Devashish Fuloria is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo