Sharjah: Riding on one of the greatest catches of all time and superb bowling at the death, Kolkata Knight Riders staged a dramatic fightback to pull off a two-run victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore in a thrilling last-ball finish in the Indian Premier League here on Thursday.
Chasing 151, RCB fell short after an airborne Chris Lynn, who had earlier smashed a 31-ball 45, stretched his body backwards at the deep midwicket fence to pull off a blinder and send back dangerman AB de Villiers.
Needing nine off the last over, RCB could manage only seven, thanks largely to R Vinay Kumar’s superb bowling besides Lynn’s catch.
Chasing on a good batting surface, Bangalore were off to a blazing start with Yogesh Takawale (40) and Parthiv Patel (21) dealing in boundaries.
Takawale was the more aggressive of the two as he launched into a flurry of shots, picking KKR pace spearhead Morne Morkel for special treatment.
Of his eight boundaries, six came when the 29-year-old Takawale was up against Morkel, helping his side reach 50 in just 37 balls.
In between, hoping for a breakthrough, KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir handed the ball to Sunil Narine, but took him off after a very economical first over, preferring to keep his most important bowler for the latter overs.
However, after settling in nicely, Takawale was trapped in front of the wicket by Jacques Kallis. He needed just 28 balls to score his runs.
Captain Virat Kohli (31) walked in but even before he could get his eye in, Patel was making his way back to the dressing room, as his leading edge popped up for Chris Lynn at cover.
This brought Yuvraj Singh (31) into the middle and the two experienced players went about the task in a calculated manner.
At the halfway stage of their innings, RCB needed 64 runs with eight wickets in hand. Yuvraj brought the equation down by a few runs after he clobbered Umesh Yadav for a six into the midwicket stands.
The mystery spinner Narine had his revenge after being smashed for a boundary with his next ball, a tossed-up spinning delivery that beat the inside edge of Kohli’s bat.
At the end of the 16th over, RCB needed 28 runs with seven wickets in hand, but the team failed to achieve the task.
Earlier, Knight Riders recovered to score 150 for seven after Varun Aaron’s three-wicket burst. Aaron finished with impressive figures of 3-16, while Lynn (45) and Kallis (43) were the major contributors for KKR.
Sent into bat, KKR were off to another disastrous start, losing Gambhir for a duck for the third straight time.
An 80-run second-wicket partnership between Kallis and Lynn ensued, before three quick wickets pegged the former champions back.
Robin Uthappa (22) boosted KKR’s run rate with a couple of sixes, but could not last until the end. It was then left to Suryakumar Yadav (24 not out) to take KKR to a decent total.
The only difference with Gambhir’s dismissal this time around was that he was out for a golden duck, trapped in front of the wicket by a fast and full Mitchell Starc delivery off the third ball of the innings. (PTI)
SCORECARD
Kolkata Knight Riders:
J Kallis c Takawale b Chahal 43
G Gambhir lbw b Starc 0
M Pandey c Kohli b Morkel 5
C Lynn c de Villiers b Aaron 45
Y Pathan c Kohli b Aaron 0
R Uthappa c Starc b Aaron 22
S Yadav not out 24
R V Kumar c Morkel b Starc 4
Extras: (b-1, lb-2, w-4) 7
Total: (7 wkts; 20 overs) 150
FOW: 1-1, 2-10, 3-90, 4-90, 5-107, 6-129, 7-150
Bowling: Starc 4-0-33-2, Morkel 2-0-21-1, Aaron 4-0-16-3, Muralitharan 2-0-25-0, Chahal 4-0-26-1, Dinda 4-0-26-0
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
P Patel c Lynn b V Kumar 21
Y Takawale lbw b Kallis 40
V Kohli b Narine 31
Yuvraj c Pathan b Yadav 31
de Villiers c Lynn b V Kumar 11
A Morkel not out 6
M Starc not out 0
Extras: (lb-5, w-2, nb-1) 8
Total: (5 wkts; 20 overs) 148
FOW: 1-67, 2-67, 3-122, 4-141, 5-145
Bowling: Yadav 4-0-40-1, M Morkel 4-0-34-0, Narine 4-0-17-1, V Kumar 4-0-26-2, Kallis 4-0-26-1