Kolkata Knight Riders’ focussed approach with an eye on the playoffs contrasted with disarray in the Pune Warriors camp, diluting a contest between sides brimming with talent to a mismatch.
Gautam Gambhir’s controlled 54 not out off 46 balls set up a seven-wicket victory for the visitors in DLF IPL4, with 20 balls to spare. Yusuf Pathan kept pace with a subdued 29 off 25 balls as KKR chased down a timid 118 target in 16.4 overs (119-3) for its eight win and 16 points. Burdened by captaincy and forced to prop up a struggling side, Yuvraj Singh watched haplessly as the home advantage slipped away from his fingers once again at the DYP stadium.
The loss of opener Sreevats Goswami did not deter KKR from focussing on smaller targets in the run chase. Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary put away loose balls and survived anxious moments against swing bowlers Alfonso Thomas and Wayne Parnell. Six overs fetched 50 runs, the captain rotated the strike, in between frontfoot drives through extra cover, to allow Pathan more attacking opportunities. Three off-side shots along the turf against Rahul Sharma showed the big-hitter in different light. He was named ‘man of match’ for a useful 29 off 25 balls (3x4, 1x6) following two wickets with off-cutters.
A fiery first over from Brett Lee tested Ryder, following Gambhir decision to chase after winning the toss. The Aussie pacer had the opener leaping with a snorter collected by keeper Goswami stretching to the fullest, then held his head in anguish when an edge flew over the slip fielder. Manish Pandey feasted on the bounce with two back-to-back boundaries, a stunning pull to mid-wicket and a drive off his pads wide off mid-on saw the ball racing away along the green carpet.
KKR challenged the openers with spin, in no time both were back in the dugout. Pathan got Ryder to swing and miss first ball, next time lured the burly batsman into attempting the aerial route but did not get past Tiwary at long-on. Abdulla deceived Pandey with a ball straightening on pitching to strike the pads. Shakib Al Hasan came on with slow left-arm, Pathan changed ends as KKR opted for a diet of spin to force batsmen into frustration.
Ferguson bit the bait, was drawn forward and stranded for Goswami to complete the stumping in style. The young Aussie had fallen for the oldest trick in the book. Shakib bowled with a silly point in catching range, a rare sight in T20. PW went through a period of consolidation as Ganguly teamed up with Uttappa. The experienced left-hander displayed his mastery at tackling spin with a straight six off Abdulla, showcasing elegance and timing. Uttappa stuck to his patented reverse sweeps against slow bowlers.
Ganguly swept a ball from Shakib on the leg-stump within range of Pathan at square leg, Uttappa gifted away his wicket with a hit across the line against Pathan for Lee to complete a superbly-judged catch on the mid-wicket fence. Yuvraj was left to mount a rescue operation all alone in the last five overs, let down by his specialist batsmen once again. PW’s tragedy of batting failures was being repeated in front of home supporters at DY Patil stadium.
Pandey (16 runs off 12), Ferguson (16 off 19), Ganguly (18 off 22) and Uttappa (12 off 19) cooled their heels in the dugout, leaving Yuvraj to produce miracles. Uttappa’s refusal to cut down on risky shots when in position to dominate raises questions if the ex- India batsman has forgotten conventional strokeplay. PW face-saving recovery began with Sachin Rana supporting captain Yuvraj in sixth wicket stand worth 34 runs. Rana overcame batting limitations with grit, sharp singles and bold shot to his value to the side with 18 off 16 balls at the death.
Balaji chipped in with two wickets in the 20th over, completing the work done by slow bowlers earlier in the innings. Shakib impressed with 2-11 in four overs, Abdulla kept the pot boiling with 1-11 in three overs of tantalizing spin bowling. Pathan’s off-cutters fetched him 2-23. Yuvraj top-scored with 24 off 26 balls, bogged down by the situation and showing flashes of flowing strokeplay in a lost cause.
Scoreboard
Pune Warriors: J Ryder c Tiwary b Pathan 1 (6b); M Pandey lbw b Abdulla 16 (12b, 3x4); C Ferguson st Goswami b Shakib 16 (19b,2x4); S Ganguly c Pathan b Shakib 18 (22b, 1x6); R Uttappa c Lee b Pathan 12 (19b, 1x4); Y Singh c Goswami b Balaji 24 (26b, 2x4); S Rana b Balaji 18 (16b, 2x4); W Parnell (no) 1 (1b); Extras (lb3, nb1, w8), Total (seven wkts, 20 overs) 118
Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-1, 3-44, 4-71, 5-79, 6-113
KKR bowling: B Lee 4-0-28-0; Y Pathan 4-0-23-2; I Abdulla 3-0-12-1; J Kallis 2-0-18-0; Shakib 4-0-16-2; R Bhatia 2-0-11-0; L Balaji 1-0-7-2
Kolkata Knight Riders: G Gambhir (no) 54 (46b, 7x4); S Goswami c Uttappa b Thomas 6 (3b, 1x4); M Tiwary b Kumar 24 (24b, 1x4, 1x6); Y Pathan c Ganguly b Parnell 29 (25b, 3x4, 1x6); R Bhatia (no) 1 (3b); Extras (lb1, nb1, w3) 5. Total (three wkts, 16.4 overs)
Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-53, 3-117
PW bowling: A Thomas 3-0-29-1; W Parnell 4-0-27-1; R Sharma 4-0-25-0; B Kumar 3-0-19-0; Y Singh 2-0-12-0; S Rana 0.4-0-2-0
