Published: Sep 29, 2014, 11:49 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 29, 2014, 11:55 PM (IST)
By Freddie Wilde
Sep 29, 2014
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) extended their winning streak to thirteen matches—a record for an Indian team—with a routine 36-run victory over the Dolphins who end their Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) campaign winless.
The Knight Riders’ total of 187 for two proved just slightly too much for the Dolphins whose admirable run chase flickered and sparked but never ignited.
Earlier on Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey’s record KKR partnership laid the platform for the victory—their 153 runs together coming off just 15 overs with the pair having come together with the Knight Riders struggling at 34 for two. Indeed, not only was it a record stand, but it was a hugely impressive one as well as the pair did not try to over-hit the ball—simply timing it sweetly and turning over the scoreboard efficiently.
KKR were admirably experimental in what was essentially a dead game with top place in Group A and a space in the semi-finals already guaranteed. They elected to bat first—an unusual choice for any team in T20 cricket before Gautam Gambhir shuffled his bowlers regularly and surprisingly, affording overs to Suryakumar Yadav and Ryan ten Doeschate who haven’t bowled so far in the Champions League.
KKR were right to experiment but could have gone further, selecting players who they haven’t picked so far such as Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Pat Cummins, but still something is better than nothing. KKR will meet the Hobart Hurricanes in the semi-final—certainly the easier side of the draw, with Chennai Super Kings or Lahore Lions awaiting the Kings XI Punjab in the other semifinal.
Meanwhile the Dolphins join the Southern Express and potentially the Barbados Tridents in leaving India without a victory. The Dolphins possessed one of the weakest squads in the tournament even before they lost David Miller to the Kings XI Punjab and have, similarly to fellow South Africans Cape Cobras, the Barbados Tridents and Southern Express looked well out of their depth against the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Big Bash League (BBL) teams. They weren’t helped by some poor returns from their more experienced players, Vaughan van Jaarsveld and Morne van Wyk not making a score of over 36.
That Robbie Frylinck’s blitzkrieg 27-ball 63 that narrowed the Dolphins defeat to the Lahore Lions on Saturday was probably the highlight of their campaign says a lot about the rest of the cricket they played. Although the silver lining is that Frylinck will certainly be hopeful of picking up an IPL contract for his efforts this season in which he also took seven wickets.
Elsewhere, the batting of 18-year old Andile Phehlukwayo was also encouraging. Phehlukwayo struck the world’s leading T20 bowler Sunil Narine for a couple of boundaries in his cameo of 37 today, while Khaya Zondo also played a very promising innings against the Scorchers, striking an unbeaten 63 not out. That such performances came from the Dolphins young players illustrates where the Dolphins went wrong. With an already weak squad, the experienced men didn’t stand up and as a result it is of little surprise that they return home winless.
Complete coverage of Champions League T20 (CLT20) 2014 here
(Freddie Wilde is a freelance cricket writer. You can follow him @fwildecricket)
