Kolkata: In a match that went right down to the wire, the climax seemed to be lifted straight from one of Kolkata Knight Riders' owner Shah Rukh Khan's blockbusters.
Locked in battle in an evenly matched, star-studded contest, the Deccan Chargers from Hyderabad were skittled out for 110 before they came back only to lose to out to some David Hussey brilliance on a wicket which appeared to have been exposed to at least eight days of continuous cricket.
If the Kanpur minefield in the recent India-South Africa Test was made to favour the home side, this particular track at the Eden was just that, enough for the Knight Riders to bundle out the visitors for 110 inside 20 overs. That there were any favours attached to it, is however unknown.
However, chasing the lowest total in the tournament so far, this one wasn't going to be a walk in the park. The Knight Riders were 89-5 after 16.4 overs. So bad was the pitch that it was almost embarrassing for Indian cricket's grandest stage — the Eden Gardens — that one of the light towers at the stadium went out.
Needing a solid opening stand, not necessarily by way of the runs on the board, the Knight Riders lost Brendon McCullum early, before Chaminda Vaas trapped Ricky Ponting leg before for his second successive failure.
Sourav Ganguly and David Hussey gutsed it out with the former taking a fierce blow on the rib as the duo ambled to their target. But Ganguly's dismissal not only spurred the visitors to stage an excellent fightback, but created a deafening silence at the packed Eden.
Had it been a blackout, the abrupt end couldn't have dented the tournament's spectacular progress, as the hosts were 89-5, exactly their cut-off score where they should have been. However, the lights were back on as David Hussey hit two mammoth sixes to guide the Knight Riders to their second straight win in the competition.
As VVS Laxman put it during the toss, this one was the "keen contest" everyone was looking forward to, as his Deccan Chargers Hydebarad outfit elected to bat here on Sunday.
Locked in battle in an evenly matched, star-studded contest, the Deccan Chargers from Hyderabad were skittled out for 110 before they came back only to lose to out to some David Hussey brilliance on a wicket which appeared to have been exposed to at least eight days of continuous cricket.
If the Kanpur minefield in the recent India-South Africa Test was made to favour the home side, this particular track at the Eden was just that, enough for the Knight Riders to bundle out the visitors for 110 inside 20 overs. That there were any favours attached to it, is however unknown.
However, chasing the lowest total in the tournament so far, this one wasn't going to be a walk in the park. The Knight Riders were 89-5 after 16.4 overs. So bad was the pitch that it was almost embarrassing for Indian cricket's grandest stage — the Eden Gardens — that one of the light towers at the stadium went out.
Needing a solid opening stand, not necessarily by way of the runs on the board, the Knight Riders lost Brendon McCullum early, before Chaminda Vaas trapped Ricky Ponting leg before for his second successive failure.
Sourav Ganguly and David Hussey gutsed it out with the former taking a fierce blow on the rib as the duo ambled to their target. But Ganguly's dismissal not only spurred the visitors to stage an excellent fightback, but created a deafening silence at the packed Eden.
Had it been a blackout, the abrupt end couldn't have dented the tournament's spectacular progress, as the hosts were 89-5, exactly their cut-off score where they should have been. However, the lights were back on as David Hussey hit two mammoth sixes to guide the Knight Riders to their second straight win in the competition.
As VVS Laxman put it during the toss, this one was the "keen contest" everyone was looking forward to, as his Deccan Chargers Hydebarad outfit elected to bat here on Sunday.
Egged on by a vociferous Kolkata crowd, the game marked the return of the game's original daredevil, Adam Gilchrist taking first strike but it was not until the second over from Ishant Sharma that the devils underneath came to surface.
Massive puffs of dust, uneven bounce greeted the Hyderabad batsmen as Venugopal Rao perished to Ishant Sharma, before VVS Laxman miscued a pull shot straight to mid on after being wrapped on the knuckles.
The Deccan Chargers were in for more trouble with the introducion of spinners, as Gilchrist (23), Rohit Sharma (0) and Scott Styris (6) all fell trying to force the situation against the viciously turning ball.
A 39-ball 32 isn't the kind of knock you would associate Andrew Symonds to play in a Twenty20 game, but the Australian's hard grind was the top score on a minefield at the Eden.
Home hero Sourav Ganguly-led Kokata Knight Riders chose to retain the same side that trumped the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the tournament opener.
But their opponents were no small fry either, with the combination boasting of the explosive Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds and Scott Styris, coupled with the Indian elegance of VVS Laxman and Rohit Sharma.
Deccan Chargers Hyderabad: VVS Laxman (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Arjun Yadav, Andrew Symonds, Scott Styris, Rohit Sharma, Venugopal Rao, Chaminda Vaas, Sanjay Bangar, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Brendon McCullum, Ricky Ponting, David Hussey, Mohammad Hafeez, Laxmi Rattan Shukla, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajit Agarkar, Ashok Dinda, Murali Kartik, Ishant Sharma.
Massive puffs of dust, uneven bounce greeted the Hyderabad batsmen as Venugopal Rao perished to Ishant Sharma, before VVS Laxman miscued a pull shot straight to mid on after being wrapped on the knuckles.
The Deccan Chargers were in for more trouble with the introducion of spinners, as Gilchrist (23), Rohit Sharma (0) and Scott Styris (6) all fell trying to force the situation against the viciously turning ball.
A 39-ball 32 isn't the kind of knock you would associate Andrew Symonds to play in a Twenty20 game, but the Australian's hard grind was the top score on a minefield at the Eden.
Home hero Sourav Ganguly-led Kokata Knight Riders chose to retain the same side that trumped the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the tournament opener.
But their opponents were no small fry either, with the combination boasting of the explosive Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds and Scott Styris, coupled with the Indian elegance of VVS Laxman and Rohit Sharma.
Deccan Chargers Hyderabad: VVS Laxman (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Arjun Yadav, Andrew Symonds, Scott Styris, Rohit Sharma, Venugopal Rao, Chaminda Vaas, Sanjay Bangar, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Brendon McCullum, Ricky Ponting, David Hussey, Mohammad Hafeez, Laxmi Rattan Shukla, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajit Agarkar, Ashok Dinda, Murali Kartik, Ishant Sharma.
No comments:
Post a Comment