Published: May 15, 2016, 12:21 AM (IST)
Edited: May 15, 2016, 02:31 AM (IST)
It was a rain-marred match and it was Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who emerged victorious in the match against Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) in match 45 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. KKR were set a target of 66 to get in nine overs after rain stopped play when RPS were 103 for 6 in 17.4 overs. The KKR openers flopped, but Yusuf Pathan and Manish Pandey did not have any trouble chasing the target down. However, it was their bowlers and fielders, who did a commendable job after RPS won the toss and elected to bat first. Here are some of the highlights of the match. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rising Pune Supergiants, IPL 2016, Match 45 at Kolkata
Poor umpiring: Usman Khawaja had a lucky break when he when he was given not out when he had clearly edged the ball to the wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa. Umpire Bruce Oxenford remained unmoved and Khawaja survived. However that did not cost KKR much as he was dismissed for a 17-ball 21 a few minutes later. It was not the only blunder of the day. Full Cricket Updates KKR vs RPS: KKR win by 8 wickets (D/L method)
MS Dhoni loses his cool: RPS were in trouble when MS Dhoni joined Irfan Pathan. George Bailey was looking in good touch, before he was dismissed by Piyush Chawla for 33, which brought Dhoni to the crease. The KKR bowlers had already frustrated the batsmen enough and Dhoni played the ball to point. He wanted a quick single, but Irfan was slow to get off the blocks. Dhoni lost his cool and yelled at Pathan, who then ran to the other side and sacrificed his wicket for his skipper.
KKR’s excellent bowling and fielding: KKR never let go of their grip throughout the match. They bowled and fielded extremely well. Piyush Chawla picked up a couple of wickets and conceded a mere 21 runs. Andre Russell and Shakib-Al-Hasan picked up one wicket apiece. Sunil Narine conceded just 10 runs in his 3.4 overs. A thoroughly professional performance from the bowlers helped KKR restrict RPS.
Rain stops play: RPS were 103 for 6 when rain stopped play. Dhoni played one of the most unusual innings, remaining unbeaten on 8 off 22 balls. Ravichandran Ashwin had just come out to bat after the dismissal of Thisara Perera. KKR as a result needed 66 of 9 overs.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s magical first over: Needing 66 to win off nine overs, Robin Uthappa struck the first ball to the fence. Uthappa however was stumped down the leg side off the very next delivery. Ashwin then removed skipper Gautam Gambhir off the very first ball he faced and should have had Yusuf Pathan leg-before off the first ball, but the umpire turned it down.
Yusuf Pathan’s blistering innings: Yusuf survuved a major scare off the very first delivery he faced, but eventually finished with an unbeaten 37 off 18 deliveries, which included four fours and three sixes. He hit Ashwin for 22 runs of one over, which set the tone for the rest of the innings. KKR eventually cruised home by eight wickets with 24 balls to spare.
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
