Kolkata Knight Riders beat Titans by 99 runs

Champions League Twenty20 2012 in South Africa

Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Titans, Group A,

Newlands, Cape Town,

South Africa

21 October, 2012

Debabrat Das Unbeaten 43 off just 19 balls and Balaji's 4-19 guided Kolkata Knight Riders to beat Titans by 99 runs in the Champions League T20 2012 at Cape Town on Sunday. 

Scorecard:

Titans won the toss and elected to field first

Kolakata Knight Riders 188/5 in 20 overs

Gautam Gambhir          44

Debabratat Das            43*

B McCullun                  36

Roelof Van der Merwe     2-18

Target 189 Runs from 20 overs

Titans 89/10 in 16.4 overs

Jacques Rudolph          25

Henry Davids               13

Heino Kuhn                 10

L Balaji          4-19

M Tiwary       2-8

Kolkata Knight Riders won by 99 runs

Man of the Match - Debabrata Das

IPL 5: KKR close in on playoffs with win over MI

Kolkata Knight Riders put one foot in IPL 5 playoffs with a 32-run win over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. It was their ninth win in 15 matches and took them to the second spot in the table ahead of Mumbai, who despite the loss can advance to the next stage if they win their last game against Rajasthan Royals on May 20.

Chasing 141 to win, Mumbai openers Herschelle Gibbs and Sachin Tendulkar got off to a very slow start before the former was sent back by Iqbal Abdulla for 13 in the sixth over with only 26 runs on the board. Karthik joined Tendulkar but the scoring rate remained a concern with both scoffing a lot of balls.

Tendulkar however played a few delightful strokes during his innings of 27 off 24 balls, one upper cut in particular that sailed over the wicketkeeper’s head for a six. Just when he was getting ready to cut loose, West Indian spinner Sunil Narine cleaned him up in the 11th over with an unplayable off-break. Karthik (21 off 26 balls) followed suit two overs later with just 66 runs on the board. Last-match hero Ambati Rayudu took on an aggressive approach straight away with the required run-rate creeping up but he could not contribute much and fell for 11.

Jacques Kallis turned the match absolutely in Kolkata’s favour with back-to-back wickets of the dangerous Kieron Pollard (8) and Dwayne Smith (0) in the 17th over - the visitors still needing 44 to win. Narine soon disposed of Harbhajan Singh and Rohit Sharma to put them out of the contest. Last year's runners-up folded for 108 in the 20th over with Narine returning with figures of 4 for 15.

Earlier, after being put into bat, KKR started their innings on the wrong foot with Brendon McCullum (1) and Kallis (0) back in the hut inside two overs. RP Singh accounted for both batsmen on back-to-back deliveries in the second over of the innings. The Kiwi was trapped lbw, while the South African allrounder was bowled neck and crop. Gambhir (27) kept on playing some good shots at the other end but was out before long, with Pollard getting through his defences with only 44 runs on the board.

Manoj Tiwary and Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan then began the repair work and added 45 runs for the fourth wicket to bring some semblance of normalcy to the Kolkata innings. Tiwary did the bulk of the scoring in the partnership, but the visitors gained the upper hand again with the departure of both batsmen in the space of five balls. Smith cleaned up Shakib for 13, while Tiwary holed out to Lasith Malinga off the bowling of Munaf Patel after scoring 41.

Next batsman Debabrata Das did his team no good as he ran himself out for 2. Yusuf Pathan remained unbeaten on 21 and with his 29-run stand with Rajat Bhatia (12), he ensured the hosts got to a fighting 140 for 7 on a pitch conducive to spinners.

IPL 5: Bravo's last-ball six pulls CSK through

Dwayne Bravo struck a six from the final delivery as the Chennai Super Kings kept alive their play-off hopes in the Indian Premier League with a tense five-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday. The West Indian allrounder struck Rajat Bhatia over the long-on fence. Chasing a modest score of 159, openers got Chennai off to a flying start as Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay stitched 97-run opening stand.

Mystery spinner Sunil Narine then struck twice in the tenth over to end the Hussey-Vijay partnership. Narine double-strike helped Kolkata reduce Chennai to 97 for 2 in 9.4 overs. Soon a terrible mix-up saw Suresh Raina perish for eight. Faf du Plessis and MS Dhoni then got down to the task of guiding Chennai to victory. Dhoni (28 off 21) set up the match nicely, taking 18 runs from the penultimate over bowled by Marchant de Lange

But the captain fell off the second ball in the last over, with just three coming from the next four, before Bravo's last-ball maximum stunned the home crowd into silence.

Earlier, Chennai bowlers put on a inspired show to restrict Kolkata for 158 for 6. Put into bat, Gautam Gambhir struck an aggressive half-century but then watched his team falter thanks to some brilliant bowling by Chennai bowlers. Gambhir blasted 62 off just 43 deliveries and put on a 99 run opening partnership with Brendon McCullum (37 off 29).

From 99 for no loss in the 12th over, the KKR were reduced to 128 for 5 in the 18th over as Jacques Kallis (4), Manoj Tiwary (12) and Yusuf Pathan (11) failed to make any impact. McCullum was the first to go courtesy of a needless run out. Then in the very next over Shahdab Jakati got one to slip one through Gambhir's defence to have his stumps castled.

Kallis (4) fell attempting to reverse-sweep to Jakati, while Pathan started explosively for a huge six over long-on but his run of woeful form continued as he mistimed a delivery in the very next over as he fell to R Ashwin. Soon Tiwary was caught in the deep off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja. The hosts were struggling at 128 for 5 at that stage.

In the end, late charge by Debabrata Das (19 not out off 10 balls) make sure that the hosts set a competitive target for the defending champions. Das hit a six and two fours in his late blast.

IPL 5: Rohit's hundred makes Mumbai Indians No. 3

Rohit Sharma hammered a whirlwind century as the Mumbai Indians beat the Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs at Eden Gardens in their Indian Premier League match on Saturday. Chasing a mammoth total of 183, the hosts managed 155 for 4 in their quota of overs.

Kolkata's innings got off to a disastrous start when they lost captain Gautam Gambhir and Manvinder Bisla in the first two overs. Munaf Patel and Pragyan Ojha dismissed Gambhir and Bisla respectively to give KKR early jitters. Jacques Kallis and Manoj Tiwary then got down to rebuilding the with a half-century stand.

Then, Kolkata lost their third wicket in the form of Tiwary (27) when Kieron Pollard scalped for him. Then Kallis and Yusuf Pathan continued to push KKR towards the target but, with the increasing run-rate defeat looked inevitable. The duo's 91-run stand for the fourth wicket was not enough for Kolkata to their seventh consecutive victory in the tournament.

Earlier, Rohit racked up a quickfire ton and Herschelle Gibbs a half-century as the Mumbai Indians reached a formidable total of 182 for 1. Rohit scored 60-ball unbeaten 109 which included twelve boundaries and five sixes. He was ably supported by Gibbs who notched a 58-ball 66. The duo also added 167 off 106 deliveries for the second wicket.

Opting to bat, Mumbai recovered brilliantly after the early loss of Sachin Tendulkar with Sharma in murderous mood while Gibbs made a fine debut in Mumbai colours. Tendulkar was drawn forward to drive, but the left-arm spinner Shakib al-Hasan managed to get enough away movement from a quicker delivery to beat the bat and wicketkeeper Manvinder Bisla had the bails off in a flash.

But the mighty blow hardly affected the Mumbai with Gibbs and Sharma taking charge of the proceedings. Gibbs smashed three beautiful boundaries off Brett Lee's first over, and Rohit quickly marked himself as the star of the show. He hit Shakib for two fours and a six in his third over as Mumbai reached 50 in 6.1 overs. Sharma notched his half-century in 29 balls and MI past the 100-mark in just 12 overs.

The duo were also sensible in their approach as they negotiated mystery spinner Sunil Narine watchfully while attacking the other bowlers. Sharma brought on his maiden IPL century off just 52 balls. Gibbs went to his fifty, off 48 deliveries, off the next delivery as Mumbai went to 156 for 1 after 17 overs. But they managed to score just 26 runs off the last three overs as Lee and Kallis conceded just 12 runs in the last two overs.

IPL 5: Kolkata hold nerve to beat Ganguly's Pune

Marchant de lange picked up three wickets to help Kolkata Knight Riders beat Pune Warriors India by seven runs in their Indian Premier League match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday. Chasing a competitive target of 151 runs to win, Pune managed only 143 for 8 to hand KKR their seventh win this year's IPL.

Pune made a disastrous start losing opener Michael Clarke in the second over, who fell to the de Lange for just one. de Lange struck in his very next over to send backs Robin Uthappa for 17, which put the KKR on top. And then Sunil Narine accounted for the in-form Steven Smith when he had the Australian controversially adjudged lbw

Struggling at 55 for 5, Pune were in deep trouble, but Sourav Ganguly and Angelo Mathews shared a 73-run stand to put the visitors back on track. However Rajat Bhatia's dismissal of Ganguly sparked another collapse, and Narine allowed just 13 runs from his four overs to leave Pune needing 18 from the final over. De Lange ensured that wouldn't happen as he claimed the wicket of Mathews, leaving Pune 143 for 8 at the end of their 20 overs.

Earlier, Kolkata squandered a brilliant start provided by openers Gautam Gambhir and Brendon McCullum as they were restricted to 150 for 5 by Pune Warriors India. The hosts raced to 98 for 0 after ten overs and a surely 200 were on the cards. The pressure was clearly palpable in the Pune camp as Dinda dropped an easy sitter, giving McCullum a reprieve on 28

Gambhir smashed 56 off 36 balls that included four fours and two sixes and his opening partner, McCullum, scored a patient 42 off 43 deliveries with five fours and a six as they powered the hosts to 113 in the thirteenth over. But from then some brilliant fielding and great bowling by Angelo Mathews inspired a magnificent comeback.

IPL 5: Clinical KKR cruise to easy win over Punjab

Gautam Gambhir scored an unbeaten 66 while Jacques Kallis remained not out on 30 as clinical Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets in an IPL 5 match at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday. A disciplined bowling and fielding performance helped Kolkata restrict Punjab to just 124 for 7 and then skipper Gambhir led from the front to make sure Kolkata reached the target with 3.3 overs to spare.

Gambhir's match-winning innings included seven fours and one six. Brendon McCullum looked dangerous early on but failed to capitalise on the good start as he fell cheaply to Chawla scoring 15. Chawla also picked up his second wicket four overs later when Manvinder Bisla (11) dragged a delivery on to his stumps.

Soon, Kallis joined the captain in the middle to finish off things and did it in style with a huge six. He stayed unbeaten by scoring 30 off 23 balls. The duo shared an unbeaten 53-run stand as KKR cruised to an easy win.

Earlier, Punjab won the toss and elected to bat, but the home team lost Paul Valthaty in the third over, as Brett Lee made early inroads for Kolkata. Shaun Marsh (33) then joined Adam Gilchrist in the middle, but the latter was forced to leave the field due to a hamstring pull when he was on 28.

After six overs, Punjab were well placed at 45 for 1 with Marsh and Mandeep Singh (6) in the middle. After Gilchrist's exit Punjab struggled to score freely and Mandeep was the second man to fall as he gave away his wicket to Laxmipathy Balaji who had him caught at the third man. Soon he was joined by Marsh in the middle when Lee struck to get him caught behind. Though, Marsh's dismissal in the 14th over, however, turned out to be a little controversial.

Punjab then lost David Hussey (10) immediately in the next over for a poor judgement of a run and to leave the team reeling at 87 for 4 in the 15th over. Punjab failed to get a substantial partnership after that as Dimitri Mascarenhas (9) and Paras Dogra (6) departed in quick succession. Gilchirst returned in the 19th over to try and add some late runs, but by then the Kolkata bowlers had already done the damage. The Punjab skipper clubbed a six in the final over to take his team to 124 and remained unbeaten on 40.

For Kolkata, wily West Indian offspinner Sunil Narine (2 for 24) and Brett Lee (2 for 26) starred with the ball. Laxmipathy Balaji and Rajat Bhatia also picked up a wicket each for the visitors.

Irfan Pathan blitz helps Delhi beat Kolkata

Kolkata: Irfan Pathan's batting blitz got Delhi Daredevils off to a winning start in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as Virender Sehwag's team beat Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets in a rain-curtailed game here at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.

The match was reduced to a 12-over affair after two-and-a-half hours of play was lost due to wet conditions following a spell of rain. However, the capacity crowd didn't go home disappointed and was treated with a close contest in the end as Delhi scored the winning runs in the last over of their chase

Chasing 98 to win, Sehwag (20) and Aaron Finch (30) raced to a 49-run start, laying a solid foundation for Pathan (42 not out off 20 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (3 not out) to score the remaining runs after the openers left in quick succession. Pathan hit three sixes and two fours in his match-winning knock.

After electing to bowl first, Delhi bowlers Morne Morkel (3 for 18), Umesh Yadav (2 for 9) and Roelof van der Merwe (2 for 28) didn't disappoint their skipper as the visitors restricted the hosts to 97 for 9. Allrounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla (26 off 17 balls) was the top-scorer for Kolkata.

Earlier, Morkel rocked Kolkata's top order with back-to-back wickets. He first bowled Jacques Kallis (4) and Manoj Tiwary (0) in successive deliveries and then followed it up with the wicket of Kolkata's skipper Gautam Gambhir, who played a short ball by the tall South African pacer onto his stumps. And the home side was in a real spot of bother when Yusuf Pathan was caught behind off Yadav.

But young Bengal batsman Debabrata Das (18) took the attack to the opposition with two lusty sixes, though his innings was cut short when he got run out after a terrible mix-up with Rajat Bhatia. A Shukla cameo late in the innings took Kolkata to a decent total; however, it was not enough in the end.

In reply, Delhi raced to 48 for no loss in six overs, with Finch and Sehwag swatting the ball hard. But the wickets of Finch, who was clean-bowled by Kallis, and Sehwag, who was caught brilliantly at the long-on fence by Iqbal Abdulla off Bhatia, in quick succession put the match in balance until Pathan's blitz blew away the opposition.