Warner inspires Daredevils

The Australian opener punishes poor effort by Kolkata bowlers with a 69-ball 107 as Delhi win by 40 runs.

David Warner hits another boundary on his way to a personal innings of 107. His partnership with Paul Collingwood helped the Daredevils post a score of 177 for four.

A magnificent David Warner century and a mediocre Kolkata Knight Riders show gave the Delhi Daredevils an emphatic 40-run win last night, their biggest triumph in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after batting first. Warner hauled the Daredevils out from a difficult 38 for three with an unbeaten 69-ball 107. It was the second century of this year's IPL and his 128-run partnership with Paul Collingwood allowed the home team to post a healthy 177 for four.

The Knight Riders made a mess of the chase, losing wickets cheaply at the top of the order. They had no Warner or Collingwood to aid them after a laboured, Test-like start. The visitors were 20 for two from their first four overs and 55 for four from 10, with Sourav Ganguly, Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh and Manoj Tiwary all back in the pavilion. Eventually, they finished second-best by a long distance and their efforts deserved no better. They were never in the game, not even in the first three overs of the match when the Daredevils had lost three quick wickets earlier.

Virender Sehwag smacked Chris Gayle for two boundaries but was out on the third delivery he faced, stumped as he charged the big Jamaican. Gautam Gambhir, returning to lead the team after missing the last four games, lasted just two deliveries while Dinesh Karthik was out first ball. The Daredevils, however, had 38 runs on the board in those three overs, courtesy an unstoppable Warner. By the end of the six-over powerplay, the home side had put 62 on the board, with Collingwood playing an ideal foil for his Australian partner.

The England Twenty20 captain and Warner consolidated on the swift but shaky start, feasting on an ordinary Knight Riders attack. Ganguly was forced to use seven bowlers as the likes of Ishant Sharma and Ajit Agarkar gifted Warner and Collingwood with juicy half-volleys or slower deliveries pitched halfway down the pitch. The two stayed together until the 20th over, adding 128 runs from 98 balls before a magnificent, juggling catch by David Hussey at long-on sent Collingwood (53 from 46 balls) back.

The ball bounced off Hussey's palm at the first attempt, but, airborne, he punched it back in from across the boundary and then jumped back inside to hold on to the catch. That was the only moment worth remembering for the Kolkata fans. Collingwood, who was playing his first game after missing the start of the IPL as he was with the England team on their tour of Bangladesh, enjoyed his time out in the middle as well as Warner's batting exploits.

"It was fantastic batting with Warner," said Collingwood. "He takes the pressure right off. He is a strong hitter of the ball and gets plenty of boundaries. "I was just trying to build a partnership after losing a few early wickets, trying to get to the 15th over. He obviously played an absolute gem of an innings. On a wicket that was pretty difficult to score on, he struck the ball beautifully. "It is a very slow wicket and it is gripping for the spinners as well. So we thought we've put a decent total on the board." @Email:[e-mail]

Delhi Daredevils: David Warner not out 107 Virender Sehwag st Saha b Gayle 8 Gautam Gambhir lbw b Langeveldt 1 Dinesh Karthik b Sharma 0 Paul Collingwood c Hussey b Langeveldt 53 Kedar Jadhav not out 4 Extras (w 3, nb 1) 4 Total (for 4 wickets in 20 overs) 177 Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-21, 3-38, 4-166 Bowling Chris Gayle 4-0-38-1 Charl Langeveldt 3-0-35-2 Ishant Sharma 1-0-17-1 David Hussey 4-0-24-0 Angelo Mathews 2-0-11-0 Murali Kartik 4-0-26-0 Ajit Agarkar 2-0-26-0 Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Gayle c Mishra b Bhatia 30 Sourav Ganguly b Nannes 5 Mandeep Singh st Karthik b Mishra 0 Manoj Tiwary b McDonald 0 David Hussey c Gambhir b Yadav 29 Angelo Mathews b Yadav 24 Wriddhiman Saha not out 20 Ajit Agarkar c & b Collingwood 17 Murali Kartik st Karthik b McDonald 1 Charl Langeveldt b McDonald 0 Extras (b 2, lb 3, w 5, nb 1) 11 Total (for 9 wickets in 20 overs) 137 Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-20, 3-21, 4-50, 5-85, 6-102, 7-134, 8-137, 9-137 Bowling Dirk Nannes 3.1-0-15-1 Andrew McDonald 4-0-37-3 Amit Mishra 4-0-18-1 Rajat Bhatia 4-0-28-1 Umesh Yadav 4-0-27-2 Paul Collingwood 0.5-0-7-1