Kolkata, May 21: Robin Uthappa started brilliantly for Kolkata in the 47th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir, who opened with him, have been in tremendous form at the top of the order for KKR.
With 40-plus scores in each of his last six innings, Uthappa has been the best Indian batsman in IPL 7. The way he started his innings, it seemed like he would add another 40 to his tally. He eventually did manage to, but not before being dropped on two occasions. In the very first over of the innings, R Ashwin dropped a simple catch at slip. He was dropped again in the third over by Suresh Raina, also at slip. He went on to compile a very good 67 off just 39 balls with 10 fours and a six.
At the other end, Gautam Gambhir gave Uthappa good support with a quiet 21. The pair added 64 for the first wicket, and all but took the match away from CSK. Even after Gambhir’s dismissal — bowled by Ishwar Pandey — Uthappa powered on. When he was finally dismissed caught by Faf du Plessis in the deep off Ravindra Jadeja, KKR needed just 57 more runs to win.
Manish Pandey was solid at his end, rotating the strike and letting first Uthappa and then Shakib al Hasan score the boundaries. Ultimately, the pair of Pandey and Shakib proved to be enough to win KKR the match comfortably. Shakib ended with a breezy unbeaten 46 off just 21 balls.
Earlier, Chennai Super Kings scored 154 for four in the first innings after KKR won the toss and elected to field first. Pat Cummins came into the KKR side in place of Morne Morkel, while David Hussey and Samuel Badree were replaced by Ben Hilfenhaus and Faf du Plessis.
Dwayne Smith started positively for CSK, hitting a boundary off the very first delivery of the match bowled by Shakib al Hasan. Pat Cummins, the young Australian pacer who shot to fame with his exploits in South African a few years ago, started off with a terrific over. After beating Dwayne Smith’s drive off the first ball, he came back to clean him up with an absolute gem that swung late and knocked the off stump out of the ground. Cummins ended up bowling a wicket maiden in his very first over in IPL.
Later in the innings, Suresh Raina hit Piyush Chawla for a six over cow corner for a six, and that signaled the start of CSK’s attack. Cummins was hit for a boundary down fine leg by new man du Plessis in the last over before the timeout. The 14th over, bowled by Piyush Chawla, was the start of a very productive spell of play for CSK. Raina hit two big sixes and a four off the last three balls of the over to bring up his half century.
Pat Cummins justified his inclusion in the line-up with impressive figures of 4-1-29-1 on IPL debut. CSK ended with 154 for four after their 20 overs. In the end, that proved far too little for a side that has now won five games in a row.
Brief scores:
Chennai Super Kings 154 for 4 in 20 overs (Brendon McCullum 28, Suresh Raina 65; Sunil Narine 1 for 24, Pat Cummins 1 for 29) lose to Kolkata Knight Riders 156 for 2 in 18 overs (Robin Uthappa 67, Shakib al Hasan 46*; Ishwar Pandey 1 for 31, Ravindra Jadeja 1 for 23) by 8 wickets.
Sunrisers Hyderabad hold nerve to defeat Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2014
Mumbai, May 21: Shikhar Dhawan the sparkling left-handed opening batsman and the equally gifted, David Warner, set the tone at top of the order, while chasing down a target of 161 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014. It helped Hyderabad to win the game by seven wickets. Both batsmen explored the nook and cranny of the ground, while facing Bangalore’s bowlers. They kept peppering the off-side field with utmost ease. Dhawan in particular, played some sumptuous shots through covers. Warner too showcased his class by essaying a switch hit off wily spinner, Muttiah Muralitharan.
Once Dhawan got out, Naman Ojha played well to take them home to a victory. For a moment or two, it seemed like it can get tough for Hyderabad, as the required run rate went over nine runs per over. Warner even gave a tough caught and bowled chance to Abu Nechim, but Nechim couldn’t take it. Warner finally got out to Varun Aaron’s bowling. It was a full toss, but Warner hit ti straight to Yuvraj fielding at covers. Ojha and Aaron Finch then played well to help them win the game. It has to be remembered that Bangalore needed to win this game desperately.
Actually, while Bangalore were batting, they lost the plot early on, against Hyderabad in IPL 7. They lost both openers, Chris Gayle, the Jamaican marauder and Parthiv Patel early in the piece. However, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and AB de Villiers at the right time looked to up the ante and that helped Bangalore to amass 160 for the loss of six wickets on the board.
The shot Kohli essayed over extra cover off the bowling of Karn Sharma was a sumptuous stroke. He also thwacked Irfan Pathan, the medium pacer over extra cover for another fine boundary during the 15th over of the innings. He compiled his fifty off just 34 balls for Bangalore. Kohli finally lost his wicket to Pathan caught by Dale Steyn.
Yuvraj on the other hand, struggled a bit for timing and precise metre of placement during the early part of his innings. He was even slightly lucky a few times, as few of his shots fell just short of fielders in the deep. Just at the right time for Hyderabad though, Parvez Rasool enticed him to play a big shot and was caught at long-on by the ever agile fielder, Steyn. It meant that de Villiers, the sparkling batsman in Bangalore setup was again up against Steyn. He too played some wondrous strokes.
De Villiers smashed Darren Sammy, the captain of Hyderabad with effortless ease for a six during the end overs. Just like Kohli, he kept peppering the extra cover region all the time. Here is a batsman who can take the game away from the opposition ranks within no time. His strike rate during his innings was hovering around 200. To make it worse for Hyderabad, Shikhar Dhawan dropped a catch off de Villiers in the deep. Even Sachin Rana played a nice little cameo right at the end of the innings.
It was Bangalore who won the toss and elected to bat in their game against Hyderabad in IPL 2014. Parthiv was the one, who opened up his shoulders and essayed a boundary through covers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar though, trapped him dead in front with the one that swung back into Parthiv.
It was Steyn, who bowled the second over for Bangalore. The pacer swung the ball away from Gayle. Kohli came into bat at No 3 position. Once they lost Parthiv, Bangalore batsmen tended to be cautious at the crease. Bhuvneshwar Kumar swung the ball into right-handed, Kohli and struggled to find his length right. Gayle then, finally got going by compiling a boundary over covers.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bangalore 160 for 6 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 67, AB de Villiers 29; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2 for 27) lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad 161 for 3 in 19.4 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 50, David Warner 59; Varun Aaron 2 for 36) by 7 wickets.
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