Kuldeep Yadav, playing in place of Piyush Chawla, picked up two vital wickets. © BCCI
A spin choke from Kolkata Knight Riders helped them beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 22 runs in their last league game on Sunday (May 22). At the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the hosts not only sealed a spot in the eliminator of the Indian Premier League but also knocked Mumbai Indians out of contention.
Knight Riders posted 171 for 6 after crucial contributions in the middle overs by Yusuf Pathan (52 not out) and Manish Pandey (48). Sunrisers, in their reply, crawled to 149 for 8. The result meant the next game - between Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore - becomes a straight shootout for a spot in the play-offs.
At the toss, Gautam Gambhir was asked to bat first, but expressed his disappointment at having to do so. However, the decision from Sunrisers worked in his team's favour as they made first use of a fresh track while batting and then stifled the visitors with spin later on.
Chasing 172 to win, the fact that Knight Riders started with spin came as little surprise as there was a heavy dose of spinners in the side. It isn't a hidden fact that Sunrisers depend heavily on their openers. So when Sunil Narine managed to sneak past David Warner's (18) bat to bowl the captain in the fourth over, the Knight Riders had a massive wicket to celebrate.
The early blow didn't deter Shikhar Dhawan (51) as he continued to take on the spinners. Sunrisers sent in Naman Ojha (15 off 25) at No. 3 and although the right-hander didn't get off to a fluent start, he helped Dhawan to set the good launchpad for a lift-off.
At the halfway mark, the match was pretty much in the grasp of the Sunrisers. While Ojha was tied down by spin, Dhawan continued his attacking approach. The left-hander, almost flawless with his timing and approach, did well to keep his team afloat and raced to a half-century off 28 balls.
The opener fell five balls after reaching his fifty, with the score at 86 for 2. He was caught at the midwicket boundary off Kuldeep Yadav, who replaced Piyush Chawla in this clash. To some extent it was Ojha's patchy innings that played a part in Dhawan's dismissal as he felt the need to up the ante.
Sunrisers in the last seven overs needed 76 runs. The first hurdle for the Sunrisers was to cross 131 as that would keep them in contention for a top two spot, and thus, two shots at getting to the final.
The Sunrisers middle-order has not been in great form, and it showed again, today. Yuvraj Singh rose hopes for the Sunrisers with two back to back sixes off Kuldeep Yadav, but no other player in the middle-order showed the will to fight on. With the Knight Riders stacking their line-up with spinners, the likes of Kane Williamson, Deepak Hooda and Moises Henriques all struggled to get going and fell in quick succession.
After Dhawan's dismissal, there wasn't much of a fight and they nosedived to succumb to their second consecutive loss.
Earlier, Knight Riders got off to a promising start with Robin Uthappa cracking three boundaries off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the very first over. He then picked up nine runs in the second overs off Barinder Sran. All this while Gautam Gambhir watched from the other end and faced his first ball in the third over.
However, the early onslaught didn't last too long as Uthappa perished in the fourth over trying to take on Sran. The right-hander, trying to take the advantage of a hard new ball, got a leading edge while trying to hit the ball over mid-on and was caught by Williamson at point.
Knight Riders slipped further from there and, at one stage, were reduced to 57 for 3 with their top 3 - Uthappa, Gambhir (16) and Colin Munro (10) back in the hut. Warner had introduced spin in the fifth over and there was plenty of assistance for the tweakers.
With the need for a good stand dire, Pandey and Yusuf collaborated for a vital, and match-changing, 87-run stand. Their partnership not only eased the nerves in the team but also nullified Sunrisers' spinners to an extent.
The duo ensured the scoring rate never dropped. On a track that had turn and bounce, both Pandey and Yusuf took a special liking to Karn Sharma, who conceded 39 runs from his three overs.
Warner, trying to search for options, was forced to introduce Mustafizur Rahman early - in the 11th over. The Kolkata duo, till now, had done enough and were happy to take no risks against the pacer. Pandey's innings came to an end in the 16th over - by the virtue of a stunning catch from Williamson at point. The right-hander, trying to steer a low full toss towards the vacant third man region, played the ball in the air before Williamson's brilliant dive helped to pouch the chance.
Knight Riders were 144 for 4 in the 16th over and a late flourish was on the cards, with the onus on Yusuf. The hosts clearly had nosed ahead in the middle overs but failed to capitalise at the death. The pacers used the offcutters and slower balls effectively and conceded 30 runs in the last five overs - a period that saw the hosts lose three wickets.
However, the Knight Riders had ensured they had enough on the board to secure qualification.
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