IPL 6: Kallis, Yusuf pull off an emphatic win for Kolkata

Kolkata Knight Riders 133/2 beat (Yusuf Pathan 49*) Rajasthan Royals 132/6 (Samson 40, Watson 35) by 8 wickets.

For scorecard and ball by ball details click here.

Rajasthan Royals don’t have power hitters who can blow away the opposition. But they have performed brilliantly in this season’s IPL. Rahul Dravid has led from the front and he also made some interesting moves against the Knight Riders. Rajasthan had picked a perfect squad for the conditions, but 132 was always a tough task to defend, especially against Kolkata Knight Riders. Bisla has been in magnificent form for the Knight Riders. Perhaps, he knew that net run-rate could be the deciding factor for the play-off berth. He, therefore, attacked the Rajasthan bowlers and exploited the first six overs. When the ball is hard and new, it usually comes onto the bat nicely and Bisla made full use of it. At last, Kallis and Yusuf Pathan finished the job for the Knight Riders in most grand fashion.

Gambhir had to think out of the box as this was an important game for the Knight Riders. He made a couple of interesting changes that eventually worked out. Kolkata were pretty decent with the ball as they never allowed Rajasthan batsmen to settle down. Rajasthan, on two occasions, looked like setting a formidable score, but on both occasions Narine stymied their task. Shane Watson and Samson weren’t able to take the aerial route as the ball was skidding off the surface. You would not see this kind of innings from Watson as he managed only 35 runs off 35 balls. Samson managed to last till the 18th over, but he was removed by Bhatia.

After the departure of Rahane in the third over, Faulkner was promoted up the order to up the ante. He didn’t last too long as he was dismissed for 1. Shane Watson was clueless against Narine as he attempted unorthodox shots. Narine was constantly bowling the length deliveries and was attacking the stumps. He tried to sweep the ball from middle stump on two occasions, but he was eventually trapped in front when he tried it again.

Rajasthan were never able to boost the scoring rate as Kolkata’s medium pacers were on top. They found it extremely difficult to play the shots as the ball was not coming onto the bat. Rajasthan did not exploit the first six overs and consequently, they struggled in the later part of the innings. Shah, Yagnik and Samson managed to rotate the strike and the boundaries were hard to combine. Surprisingly, Rahul Dravid came with three balls left in the Royals innings. He struck a beautiful cover drive off Kallis for a boundary. Perhaps, he should have walked in at number five as he would have had a little bit of time to settle down. He is an excellent player of spin bowling and has the ability to clear the fence.

Rajasthan desperately needed early wickets and more importantly, the wicket of Bisla. But they conceded 48 runs in the Power Play. They bowled too many loose deliveries and also provided too much room for Bisla to free his arms. Bisla and Gambhir provided the start that was required at the top of the order. KKR were well in ahead of the run-rate right from the start of the innings. Even the wicket of Gambhir and Bisla didn’t halt the scoring rate as Kallis and Yusuf Pathan kept the scoreboard ticking. Yusuf Pathan finally found his form as he played some delightful shots. Jacques Kallis played a very good innings together with Yusuf Pathan to give the Knight Riders an outside chance of qualifying for the play-offs