Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders lost six wickets in six overs and that in itself tells the sorry state of its batting performance on its home ground after Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag, who won the toss, decided to field in a rain-truncated 12-over match at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday.  Though in-form Laxmi Ratan Shukla smashed a quick-fire 26 off 17 balls, but his 31-run seventh wicket partnership with Rajat Bhatia could only take KKR to 97 runs for 9 in the stipulated overs.

M Morkel proved to be the wrecker-in-chief for the Delhi team as he not only took three wickets but also bowled miserly, giving away just 18 runs in three overs. Morkel was at his best as he scalped the prized wickets of Jacques Kallis (4), skipper Gautam Gambhir (16) and Manoj Tiwary (0) and that never let the Riders to unleash their prowess against the Daredevils. 

Earlier Sehwag had said that it was easier to chase in a shorter game. The Delhi skipper also added that it is difficult to play without some of the missing players.  Gambhir , meanwhile, was of the view that a shortened game like this is a more exciting one than normal matches.

Underachievers in the last four seasons, both Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils would look to reverse their fortunes when they kick start their IPL 5 campaign.