The Rawalpindi Express exorcised the ghosts of a controversial past, shrugged off fitness blues, came back from the wilderness, and ruthlessly grabbed four wickets to guide the Kolkata Knight Riders to a pulsating 23-run win that has suddenly made them strong semi-final contenders again. When the dust settled, with the Delhi batsmen blown to shreds, the Pakistani speedsters figures read a phenomenal four wickets for 11 runs off 3 overs, not the best figures in the IPL so far but certainly the most entertaining.

In an uneventful first session, Kolkata had set Delhi what seemed a paltry 134 for victory. But, soon after Akhtar started bowling at blinding speed, the target seemed to swell up to twice its size. Bowling at a well over 145km per hour — his faster delivery clocked 151.1 on the speed gun — Akhtar struck in just the third ball of his first over. The Pakistani had the in-form Virender Sehwag (0) edge a snorter to wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha. Then, Gautam Gambhir (10), the tournament’s top-scorer, was brilliantly caught at point by David Hussey in his next over. The paceman came back with even more fizz in his third over, packing off AB De Villiers (7) and Manoj Tiwary (9) off successive balls. Suddenly, Delhi were tottering at 28 for 4 and the crowd, including team owner Shah Rukh Khan, had gone wild.

The Delhi team could never recover from the shock as wickets fell in a flurry against the energised Kolkata team. Delhi folded up for 110 off 17.5 overs, with Laxmi Ratan Shukla finishing off the proceedings with a three-wicket burst.

Earlier, the Knight Riders would have been kicking themselves for failing to step on the gas after winning the toss and electing to bat. On an Eden Gardens wicket that didn’t have any devils, the team boys got their approach all wrong — scoring at no more than a run-a-ball almost throughout the 20-over phase.