Ganguly ends Royals’ IPL
17 Apr 2010
Sourav Ganguly’s 75* pushed the Kolkata Knight Riders to an eight wicket win, knocking the Rajasthan Royals from semi-final contention.
Kamran Khan’s third over strike for Rajasthan – sending McCullum [6] and Chris Gayle [0] back to the pavilion in the space of three balls – was the only hiccup for Kolkata. Ganguly consolidated, until the twelfth over when aggression came to the fore. He and Cheteshwar Pujara [45 from 38] pushed Kolkata past their target with 23 balls to spare.
Earlier Kolkata’s bowlers put the game out of Rajasthan’s reach, limiting them to a modest 132-9 on a slowish pitch.
The home side recovered well following a belligerent start from Shane Watson, who dispatched early indiscipline from the Kolkata bowlers; too often pitching the ball short to Watson, who favors the pull. With Watson at the helm Rajasthan had raced to 57 without loss after seven.
But Kolkata’s seamers cut down on pace and used their variations well – four from the Rajasthan top five falling to the slower delivery. Laxmi Shukla removed Watson for 44 [from 26] midway through the eight and Rajasthan crumbled. Wickets subsequently fell at regular intervals and no partnership surpassed 25.
Rajasthan, in their last gasp effort, could only salvage 30 runs in the last six overs, losing five wickets in the process. Ultimately, their disappointing performance and the ensuing total were never going to be enough to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
Despite the win, ensuring knock-out qualification is no mean feat for Kolkata – the Mumbai Indians their next opposition and a big win is required to boost their net run-rate.
Rajasthan 132-9 (20 overs)
Shane Watson 44, Jaidev Unadkat 3-26, Ashok Dinda 2-24
Kolkata 133-2 (16.1 overs)
Sourav Ganguly 75*, Cheteshwar Pujara 45*, Kamran Kahn 2-13
Kolkata won by eight wickets
Click here for a full scorecard.
One Comment
18 Apr 2010, 13:21 pm
ho hum
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