Clean slate for Kolkata Knight Riders
Knight Riders capitalise on strong batting show to charge into semis
By : moses kondety
Update: 2014-09-30 03:39 GMT
Hyderabad: Kolkata Knight Riders marched emphatically into the semifinals of the Oppo Champions League Twenty20 with a crushing 36-run win over hapless Dolphins that kept their slate clean in Group ‘A’ here on Monday night.
Chasing 187, the South African side huffed and puffed to 151 for 8 in their stipulated overs. Barring a 63-run stand between Khayelihle Zondo (32) and Andile Phehlukwayo (37) for the fifth wicket and Morne van Wyk smashing enigmatic spinner Sunil Narine for three boundaries in his very first over, there is nothing much to write about the Dolphins innings which sank without a trace.
Narine for his part, came back strongly though. He finished with figures of 4-0-33-3 and was also on a hat-trick. Earlier, it was a Karnataka bash for the Kolkata Knight Riders as statemates Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey punished the Dolphins with a century stand to lift their side to a strong total. Robin was on song, striking a handsome unbeaten 85 that was embellished with 13 boundaries. He looked in complete command during his 55-ball knock.
Pandey, who has not been in good nick of late, found his mojo at the right time to tune up for the October 2 semifinals with a fine half-century that had the KKR dugout smiling. Pandey exhibited some brutal hitting – the five fours and five sixes stood testimony to his supreme effort with the bat. He was particularly harsh on paceman Kyle Abbott in the 18th over, slamming two fours and two sixes as KKR took 22 runs off it to step on the accelerator. Pandey’s whirlwind 76 not out came off just 47 balls.
The Bangalore boys were involved in 153-run stand for the unbroken third wicket to leave the dazed Dolphins dancing to their tunes. KKR needed the commanding show badly. They had been performing in fits and starts in the tournament. Captain Gautam Gambhir and veteran Jacques Kallis flattered to deceive.
The former timed two sweet boundaries in his 11-ball 12 before being bowled by a Robert Frylinck thunderbolt. Kallis carted Craig Alexander for the first six of the innings in the fifth over before the bowler exacted revenge next ball by shattering his stumps. That was the South African allrounder’s only scoring shot in the seven balls he faced in the middle.
Scoreboard
Kolkata Knight Riders: R. Uthappa (not out) 85, G. Gambhir b Frylinck 12, J. Kallis b Alexander 6, M. Pandey (not out) 76. Extras (lb2, w6) 8. Total (for two wickets in 20 overs) 187.
FoW: 1-25, 2-34.
Bowling: Abbott 4-0-39-0, Alexander 4-0-36-1, Frylinck 4-0-29-1, Delport 2-0-19-0, Phehlukwayo 1-0-17-0, Subrayen 4-0-30-0, Zondo 1-0-15-0.
Dolphins: M. van Wyk c Pandey b Pathan 34, C.S. Delport c Gambhir b Pathan 0, C. Chetty c Narine b Russell 1, V.B. van Jaarsveld st Uthappa b Chawla 19, K. Zondo c Chawla b Narine 32, A.L. Phehlukwayo b Narine 37, R. Frylinck c Chawla b Narine 11, JD Vandiar c Yadav b Kuldeep Yadav 1, K.J. Abbott (not out) 5, P. Subrayen (not out) 7. Extras (lb2, w2). Total (for eight wickets in 20 overs) 151.
FoW: 1-5, 2-6, 3-53, 4-57, 5-120, 6-136, 7-136, 8-138.
Bowling: Pathan 4-0-25-2, Russell 3-0-17-1, Kuldeep 4-0-30-1, Narine 4-0-33-3, Chawla 3-0-19-1, Yadav 1-0-7-0, ten Doeschate 1-0-18-0.
MoM: Robin Uthappa