Ahmedabad: In one of the most dramatic turnarounds in the history of the IPL, Rajasthan Royals came from nowhere to register an improbable 10-run victory against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday in an encounter that saw fortunes fluctuate from one team to the other until the very end.
Chasing a victory target of 171, KKR were sailing along at 121 for no loss with Gautam Gambhir (54) and Robin Uthappa (65) in cruise mode before losing an incredible six wickets for the addition of two runs in the space of eight legal deliveries.
Shane Watson (3-21) and Pravin Tambe (3-26), who took a hat-trick, scripted a remarkable collapse that the jam-packed Motera will remember for a long time to come.
The Shah Rukh Khan co-owned outfit never recovered from that telling blow as they were restricted to 160 for six in the stipulated 20 overs, losing their fifth game in the tournament.
With a defeat like this, it will be very difficult for KKR to make a comeback. Rajasthan, with 10 points from seven games, stay firmly in contention for a semifinal berth.
It was complete harakiri by the KKR batsmen as they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with some mindless batting.
Watson scripted the turnaround at the start of the 15th over.
Gambhir tried to loft him over extra cover but only got a thickish edge, which was pouched by Sanju Samson.
He then dismissed the belligerent Utthapa and next accounted for Andre Russell.
From 121 for no loss, KKR slumped to 122 for three but the drama was far from over.
The 42-year-old Tambe then pulled the rabbit out of the hat as he first bowled a wide googly that fooled Manish Pandey (0), who was stumped wide down leg-side.
Yusuf Pathan (0), who has not played a good knock in quite some time, then gave a simple return catch to Tambe.
The wily old fox completed his hat-trick when his flipper found Ryan ten Doeschate (0) plumb in-front as KKR were now down in the dumps at 123 for six. It was as good as over for them at that point.
Watson kept his cool as he bowled a brilliant final over when 17 runs were required, giving away only six.
Earlier, a collective effort by Rajasthan Royals’ batsmen saw them reach a respectable score of 170 for six after being put in to bat by Gambhir.
In-form openers Karun Nair (44) and Ajinkya Rahane (30) provided a solid start while Samson (37) and skipper Watson (31) also made useful contributions to prop up the score. (PTI)
Brief scores:
RR: 170/6, 20 overs (K Nair 44, S Samson 37; S Narine 2-28, R Vinay Kumar 2-42)
KKR: 160/6, 20 overs (R Uthappa 65, G Gambhir 54; S Watson 3-21, P Tambe 3-26)
