IPL 6: KXIP vs KKR – The Quick Flicks

As cricket aficionados, we yearn for epic on-field climaxes, where the splendored moments of the game will be etched in one’s memory forever. Those heart pounding moments right at the end of the game send the delirious crowd in a jam-packed stadium into a tizzy. The game between Kings X1 Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders didn’t exactly go right down to the wire, as KKR won the match rather comfortably. But the Punjab team made a good fist of it, and gave KKR a run for their money for most part of the game.

Some snapshots from today’s match:

Danny Morrison should win a cricket Oscar

To start with, cricketers and the capacity crowd at Eden Gardens participated in Farhan Akthar’s campaign to spread awareness about gender inequality by sporting moustaches. On a lighter note, Danny Morrison should get an Oscar just for being the best moustachioed cricketer at the Eden Gardens stadium today.

Punjab’s top-order erects a solid platform

One of Punjab’s major problems in this IPL has been that their top-order has flopped miserably. For once, against Kolkata Knight Riders, the top-order batsmen erected a solid platform for the middle-order to come into play. The experienced David Hussey’s well-measured knock, and Gurkeerat Singh’s pyrotechnics in the last over against Balaji helped Punjab to make a reasonable score on a track that was on the slower side.

The old warhorse outfoxes Punjab’s batsmen

Just to describe King Kallis, a new word has to be found in the dictionary. It is amazing that even at the age of 37, Jacques Kallis continues to churn out impressive performances day-in and day-out. In today’s game, he showed his wares with a virtuoso exhibition of bowling. The way he outfoxed the experienced David Hussey with a well disguised slower delivery was a sight to behold.

The quicker delivery is the surprise weapon

As kids growing up in the 90′s, we used to marvel at South African pacer Fanie De Villiers’ ability to deceive the best in the business with slower deliveries. Those days, it was used as a surprise weapon to keep the batsman on tenterhooks. But nowadays, it seems like the slower ball has become more of a stock delivery for the quicker bowlers. It certainly has been the case on the slow track at Eden Gardens, as the bowlers from both sides used it frequently.

The emperor of T/20 cricket strikes vital blows upfront

With indefatigable zest and energetic industrious stamina, Azhar Mahmood has bowled some incisive spells in this tournament. Unfortunately, all those good performances as a bowler have been juxtaposed by him being poor with a willow in hand. Today, in his first over itself, he sent Gambhir’s stumps cartwheeling with a booming inswinger. He followed that up by sending Yusuf Pathan back to the pavilion with the one that shaped away from him.

Morgan and Bisla guide Kolkata Knight Riders’s chase

Both batsmen rode their luck, but credit has to go to Morgan as well as Bisla for not losing the plot, and taking KKR to a facile win. Bisla used his pyrotechnics to good effect, and made a fine half century. On the other hand, Morgan, with his precise metre of timing and supple wrists, was able to penetrate every crevice in the field set set by Gilchrist. He also has powerful forearms that help him to smash the bowling to smithereens. Morgan is a bowler’s nightmare in T/20 cricket, as with preternatural hand-eye co-ordination, he can play shots in a 360 degree arc. It makes one wonder whether as a kid, he was gifted a magic bat by Santa Claus.

Finally, it can be said that catches win you matches. The sitter that Mandeep Singh dropped off Azhar Mahmood’s bowling was perhaps the turning point of the game, as Bisla went onto make a half century.