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Super Kings bow to Knight Riders blitz
Tuesday, May 19 2009
Pretoria: Kolkata Knight Riders snatched a dramatic last ball win to upstage the high-flying Chennai Super Kings by seven wickets in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament, at the SuperSport Centurion here tonight.
Leading the Knight Riders from the front were skipper Brendon McCullum who smashed a brilliant 48-ball 81 and Brad Hodge (71 not out, 44 balls) as their team overhauled Super Kings’ total of 188 for three to record only their second win in 13 matches.
The Super Kings, batting first on a featherbed pitch after winning the toss, came up with a late burst through Suresh Raina (52) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (40 not out) while the Kolkata Knight Riders wilted under the onslaughts with a series of unforgiveable fielding lapses.
However, McCullum set the record straight during the chase with a spectacular display of power hitting and Hodge complemented the effort with telling blows at the finish to carry the Knight Riders over the line.
The Super Kings remain on 15 points with a game against the Kings XI Punjab in hand while the Knight Riders moved to five points from two wins and a No Result when the two teams had met in the first round.
The Super Kings lost the plot at the start of the chase when their new ball bowlers Albie Morkel and Sudeep Tyagi came in for punishment from McCullum.
The act was repeated at the death when Hodge and Wriddhiman Saha (25 not out) took Lakshmipathy Balaji to the cleaners as the paceman was hit for 40 runs in his three overs, including 19 off the 19th while Morkel went for 13 in his third over.
In the end, justice was bestowed upon the Knight Riders who the other night had lost in the final over despite McCullum’s half-century and tonight, they turned the tables on a team that tended to be rather complacent having garnered 15 points and putting up a big total.
The Knight Riders kept their nerves despite losing opener Sourav Ganguly who was bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan, again the pick of the Super Kings bowlers. The Sri Lankan off-spinner, in fact, conceded just 16 runs in his four overs to peg the Knight Riders.
However, there was not much support from the other end as Morkel and Tyagi at the start and then Balaji went for runs with McCullum and Hodge putting the attack to the sword.
The pair added 90 runs for the second wicket before McCullum departed, bowled by left-arm Shadab Jakati who was trifle unlucky not to have the batsman leg before much earlier.
However, Hodge and Saha, who came in after David Hussey was dismissed cheaply, got together in a crucial 56-run partnership for the unfinished fourth wicket to land the spoils for the Knight Riders.
Earlier, it was a gift that the Super Kings could not refuse. The Knight Riders, giving perhaps one of their worst performances, dropped catches, conceded boundaries and bowled as many as 13 wides.
In fact, in the first six overs, the Knight Riders were guilty of conceding 13 extras. Parthiv Patel and George Bailey, replacing an indisposed Matthew Hayden, made merry.
Runs flowed freely as the pair put on 60 runs for the first wicket before both left in quick succession, run out trying to steal a single.
That set the stage for Dhoni and Raina to dish out a feast of runs. Neither was troubled by the bowling and virtually did as they pleased once they settled down.
Raina unleashed some fierce hits, including two consecutive sixes off Ajanta Mendis to herald the final charge in the last five overs. He left in the next over, spooning a catch while attempting another big hit to follow the six he had just smashed.
Raina’s exit brought Albie Morkel to the crease and the South African all-rounder belted two consecutive sixes and a boundary in the last over to ensure that the Super Kings post a healthy 188 for three.
At the other end, Dhoni, dropped twice, played a shrewd game, rotating the strike and towards the end, got into the act with a six off Hussey besides a few boundaries to complete the annihilation of the Knight Riders attack.
SCORE-BOARD
Chennai Super Kings Innings:
Parthiv Patel (run out – Shukla) 25 (19b, 4 x 4)
George Bailey (run out – Shukla) 30 (26b, 4 x 4)
Suresh Raina c Shukla b Dinda 52 (37b, 3 x 6, 3 x 4)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (not out) 40 (28b, 1 x 6, 4 x 4)
Albie Morkel (not out) 21 (10b, 2 x 6, 1 x 4)
Extras (b-4, lb-3, w-13): 20
Total (for 3 wkts, 20 overs): 188
Fall of wickets: 1-60 (Patel, 6.1); 2-78 (Bailey, 8.6); 3-151 (Raina, 16.6).
Bowling: Ashok Dinda 4-0-29-1; Anureet Singh 2-0-12-0 (2w); Ajit Agarkar 4-0-45-0 (5w); Murali Karthik 3-0-27-0 (1w); Brad Hodge 2-0-12-0; Ajanta Mendis 4-0-38-0; David Hussey 2-0-18-0 (1w).
Kolkata Knight Riders Innings:
Brendon McCullum b Jakati 81 (48b, 3 x 6, 11 x 4)
Sourav Ganguly b Muralitharan 04 (15b)
Brad Hodge (not out) 71 (44b, 4 x 6, 4 x 4)
David Hussey (run out – Dhoni/Muralitharan) 03 (2b)
Wriddhiman Saha (not out) 25 (13b, 1 x 6, 2 x 4)
Extras (lb-4, nb-1): 05
Total (for 3 wkts, 20 overs): 189
Fall of wickets: 1-34 (Ganguly, 4.4); 2-124 (McCullum, 13.6); 3-133 (Hussey, 15.2).
Bowling: Albie Morkel 3-0-39-0 (1nb); Sudeep Tyagi 3-0-29-0; Muttiah Muralitharan 4-0-26-1; Shadab Jakati 4-0-36-1; Suresh Raina 3-0-25-0; Lakshmipathy Balaji 3-0-40-0.
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