A shattering start, and a belated maximum
Plays of the day from the opening game of IPL 2013, between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils in Kolkata
Siddhartha Talya
03-Apr-2013
Unmukt Chand was bowled first ball • BCCI
The start
Unmukt Chand came in fresh from two back-to-back centuries in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament, but the first ball he received this IPL - also the first of the season - produced the worst possible result he could have imagined. Brett Lee charged in, bowled a lovely outswinger, beat Chand's attempted drive, and knocked out off stump and the microphone. For a format that is made for the batsmen to dominate, the start of IPL season six was a sign of encouragement for the bowlers. Whether that was a deceptive sign remains to be seen.
Unmukt Chand came in fresh from two back-to-back centuries in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament, but the first ball he received this IPL - also the first of the season - produced the worst possible result he could have imagined. Brett Lee charged in, bowled a lovely outswinger, beat Chand's attempted drive, and knocked out off stump and the microphone. For a format that is made for the batsmen to dominate, the start of IPL season six was a sign of encouragement for the bowlers. Whether that was a deceptive sign remains to be seen.
The ball
David Warner's woes against spin in India continued, though this time it was a West Indian who baffled him. In his first over of the new season, Knight Riders' trump card from 2012, Sunil Narine immediately had the batsman thinking. The first ball that Warner faced off Narine was a sharp offbreak that spat away from middle past off, producing an outside edge and a simple catch to first slip.
David Warner's woes against spin in India continued, though this time it was a West Indian who baffled him. In his first over of the new season, Knight Riders' trump card from 2012, Sunil Narine immediately had the batsman thinking. The first ball that Warner faced off Narine was a sharp offbreak that spat away from middle past off, producing an outside edge and a simple catch to first slip.
The six
The first six of the IPL took a while to arrive, 112 balls. The Knight Riders' bowlers had done a terrific job to contain Daredevils, the only fluent batsman from the visiting team being Mahela Jayawardene. He had handled Lee well in his first spell and took him for runs in his second, pulling him over the deep midwicket boundary. It ended the longest wait for a six in an IPL season.
The first six of the IPL took a while to arrive, 112 balls. The Knight Riders' bowlers had done a terrific job to contain Daredevils, the only fluent batsman from the visiting team being Mahela Jayawardene. He had handled Lee well in his first spell and took him for runs in his second, pulling him over the deep midwicket boundary. It ended the longest wait for a six in an IPL season.
The lapse
The Knight Riders were a superior fielding outfit on the first day of the IPL, and Daredevils reinforced that with their own performance in the field. Gautam Gambhir should have been gone on 23 when Jacques Kallis refused a single and David Warner at cover aimed at the stumps at the non-striker's end. Gambhir had given up, but Warner missed and it didn't help that there was no one backing up, not anticipating the possibility of a dismissal. It was among a series of let-ups on the field, but perhaps the costliest.
The Knight Riders were a superior fielding outfit on the first day of the IPL, and Daredevils reinforced that with their own performance in the field. Gautam Gambhir should have been gone on 23 when Jacques Kallis refused a single and David Warner at cover aimed at the stumps at the non-striker's end. Gambhir had given up, but Warner missed and it didn't help that there was no one backing up, not anticipating the possibility of a dismissal. It was among a series of let-ups on the field, but perhaps the costliest.
Siddhartha Talya is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo