Published: May 09, 2016, 03:44 PM (IST)
Edited: May 09, 2016, 05:00 PM (IST)
During the Match 38 of IPL 2016 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Lions (GL), skipper Suresh Raina pulled off a blinder that can be added to one of the spectacular catches in this edition of IPL. Dwayne Smith was brought into attack as the pitch had enough bounce to trouble the batsmen during the 6th over. Suryakumar Yadav was the batsman on strike and a surprise attempt by Raina with a dive to get the important wicket was the key behind the crash of the top order of KKR. Suryakumar didn’t expect this much height on the ball as he arched his back to run it down to third man. At the non-strikers end was Shakib-Al Hasan, after dismissal of Robin Uthappa in the 4th over. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Lions, IPL 2016, Match 38 at Kolkata
.@ImRaina holds onto a blinder #KKRvGL #VIVOIPLhttps://t.co/ezf27huI2L
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 8, 2016
Although KKR lost early wickets, it was their middle-order batsmen Shakib and Yusuf Pathan’s record breaking 5th wicket stand of 134-runs that lead their side to put up a competitive total of 158 for 4. Pathan is anyways known for his hard-hitting talents, surprise element was the way Shakib returned with his skills and also achieved his first fifty in this edition with a reverse forehand slap that even keeper Dinesh Karthik had no chance to stop.
Although, KKR tried their best to keep the winning momentum continuing, it was GL all the way in the second innings with Smith and Brendon McCullum going off the mark right from the 2nd over with two boundaries and sixes until Shakib broke the 42-runs partnership between the opening pair. Skipper Raina was found struggling to get the ball on to the bat but it was Karthik with his fifty making the distant target at one moment, achievable. GL sailed through with another win by 5-wickets that has raised them to the top of IPL 9 Points Table.
