Kolkata, May 13: Top class bowling by Delhi bowlers restricted Kolkata Knight Riders to a modest total of 133 for 6, the second lowest total in IPL while batting first. No batsman could able to fire in T20 style as they had to content with ones and twos throughout the whole innings. Aakash Chopra (13 off 17 balls) set the tone for Riders, which was unfortunately followed by other swashbuckling batsmen in the team. Salman Butt (48 off 44 balls) and David Hussey (33 off 31 balls) tried their best, but their strike rate could not help the team to post challenging total.

Yo Mahesh (2/25) and Farveez Mahroof (2/34) bowled tightly, offering no width to the batsmen and claiming important wickets in crucial time.

Laxmiratan Shukla(10) also failed to fire as he tried to hit a Mahroof delivery out of the ground. After 18 overs, Knight Riders were 119 for 5 with Hussey playing on 24. No batsman of Riders could able to score quickly.

Salman Butt’s classy knock of 48 came to an end when he tried to slash an off-side delivery of Yo Mahesh over cover. Glen McGrath completed an easy catch at third man. Butt, who failed to make any mark in IPL so far, played some classy shots in his innings.

Ganguly also failed to repeat his IPL heroics against Delhi Daredevils as he was castled by Yo Mahesh cheaply. Ganguly(7), who declared his intention by hitting a six off the second ball he faced, tried to hit a good length delivery to leg side and missed the line completely. David Hussey joined Butt in the middle. After 8 overs Knight Riders were 54 for the loss of two wickets.

Aakash Chopra (13) again failed make his mark in IPL as he got out trying to hit an inside-out shot over mid-off. Farvez Mahroof completed an easy catch at mid-off off the bowling of Pradeep Sangwan. Chopra’s departure brought Sourav Ganguly onto the crease.

Kolkata Knight Riders got off to a steady start as they made 28 for no loss after 5 overs. Both the openers-Aakash Chopra (13 n.o) and Salman Butt (12 n.o)- are playing cautiously.

Controversial Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is making his IPL debut as Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bat first in an important IPL tie against Delhi Daredevils.

Delhi Daredevils decided to include talented young batsman Manoj Tiwari in place of wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik. The job of wicket-keeping would be shouldered by A B de Villiers. Kolkata Knight Riders has also included rookie left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdullah in place of veteran Murali Kartik.

This is a crucial match for both teams in their quest to make the Top 4 slots. Kolkata is equal on points with Delhi, but the former is ahead on Net Run Rate. Comeback King Saurav Ganguly has struck form and will be eager to lenghten their mini winning streak of two matches. The Delhi top order batsmen are in good form, but the middle-order of Karthik, de Villiers and Shoaib Malik need to find their touch quickly.

Kolkata Knight Riders innings:

Salman Butt c McGrath b Mahesh 48, A Chopra c Maharoof b Sangwan 13, SC Ganguly b Mahesh 7, DJ Hussey c Tiwary b Maharoof 31, T Taibu run out (Dilshan/de Villiers) 7, LR Shukla c Gambhir b Maharoof 10, WP Saha not out 5, Iqbal Abdulla not out 1 Extras: (lb 3, w 7, nb 1) 11Total: (6 wickets; 20 overs) 133 (6.65 runs per over) FOW: 1-35, 2-47, 3-87, 4-99, 5-119, 6-129 Bowling: GD McGrath 4-0-22-0, P Sangwan 4-0-29-1, VY Mahesh 4-0-34-2, MF Maharoof 4-0-25-2, A Mishra 3-0-13-0, V Sehwag 1-0-7-0