Classy Karthik sparkles

Dinesh Karthik hit a delightful half-century on a dry slow difficult pitch to charge Delhi Daredevils to a match-winning total at Feroz Shah Kotla. Delhi were wobbling at 67 for 4 but Karthik added 79 runs with Gautam Gambhir to stablise the innings before he exploded in some style in the end to provide the perfect finish.

Karthik looked in good touch right from the start and never allowed any run-scoring opportunity to go waste. What stood out was how well he paced his innings and the thought he put into it. He played Shane Warne with caution, realising that he can always take his chances against the other bowlers. He blasted Tait to the straight boundary and unfurled a delightful pick-up shot over square-leg against Trivedi but it was in the 17th over that he really shifted a gear. He swung Sumit Narwal for a straight six on a bent knee and followed it up with a six over long-on next ball.

However, he reserved his best for Tait in the 18th over with an hat-trick of fours - a drilled straight boundary, a skilfully whipped on drive and a deliciously timed cover drive. And he wasn't done yet with Tait. In the final over, he pulled him for a six before he holed out to long-on in the last delivery but by then he had done his job.