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Eight-wicket win for Tigers

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: Kolkata Tigers cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Ahmedabad Rockets in a rain-truncated match of the Indian Cricket League’s Edelweiss 20s Challenge at the Lal Bahadur Stadium here on Saturday.

Set a target of 85 runs in 10 overs under the V. Jayadevan (VJD) method, the Tigers rustled up the required tally with eight wickets and eight balls to spare.

Earlier, opting to bat, the Ahmedabad Rockets registered a total of 156 for six.

Not unduly perturbed by the intervention of the elements, Kolkata Tigers got down to business in right earnest. Subhomoy Das’ blistering assault on new ball bowler Jason Gillespie, shorn of his famous locks, set the tone, the former cracking three boundaries, while the latter conceded 14 runs in the over.

Getting on top

Capitalising on the bounce generated by the Aussie speedster, Das simply ploughed into the deliveries, the first two boundaries despatched to the point region and third over cover. Another pull off Abhishek Tamarkar followed but the tall paceman had the last laugh, castling Das with a yorker.

Abhishek Jhunjhunwala continued the good work, with non-striker Lance Klusener yet to get into action. The hard-hitting South African strangely got his first boundary with a tickle off Wavell Hinds that raced to the ropes. The West Indian’s over-pitched offerings subsequently became a tad too saucy for the Tigers to resist.

The second boundary saw an even stranger happening. Klusener’s lofted hit to long-on bounced once before sailing into Gillespie’s cupped hands, which suddenly seemed to spring a leak as the ball slipped into the fence. No one seemed more perplexed by the occurrence than Gillespie himself.

A dozen boundaries to the innings and the Tigers seemed well on their way. A revised run-out verdict saw Klusener and McMillan safely take the eastern side to victory.

Earlier, Sridharan Sriram’s breezy and unconquered 52 (three 4s, one 6) in association with Anshu Jain saw the Rockets recouping to five for 123 from four for 57. Off successive balls, Sriram drove Klusener for a boundary and six through cover and square respectively.

The scores: Ahmedabad Rockets 156 for six (S. Sriram 52, P. Aziz 27) lost to Kolkata Tigers 86 for two (L. Klusener 30 not out).

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