Cricket

Riders snatch win from the Kings

This was their last match against the Punjab Kings XI for the Knight Riders. Not only was it the last chance but it was their last opportunity to redeem themselves in front of the home crowd.

The Kings XI side were put to bat first and although they lost Hopes early, Marsh and Sangakkara thundered and were hitting the ball all over the ground. Marsh scored 40 of 31 balls whereas Sangakkara scored 64 of just 45 balls and remained the main cause of damage. The only hurdle for the Kings XI who were probably on their way to score 200 was Umar Gul who took 4 wickets and conceded only 23 runs in his allotted 4 overs. The Kings were restricted to 174 runs which seemed quite competitive on this pitch and circumstance. It also needs to be mentioned that the Kolkata fielding was terrible with few dropped catches.

The Knight Riders began their batting cautiously with Ganguly and Salman Butt scoring at a reasonable pace until Sreesanth struck and Butt was c&b for 24 runs and Kolkata were 45 runs in 5.2 overs. This was just the beginning of their troubles as wickets kept falling and soon they were 106 for 6 after the next 10 overs. It seemed that Ganguly would soon be the only batsman left with no one at the other end. Umar Gul who bowled superbly earlier int he day struck immediately on coming to the crease. He scores a quick 24 of just 11 bals and his innings included 3 sixes and 1 four. This was probably the only kick Ganguly required and he started firing like a canon to take the Knight Riders home. He scored an unbeated 86 of just 53 balls and his innings included 6 fours and 6 sixes.

Ganguly, also refererred to as Dada, proved that their team will not succumb to past defeats and will return stronger in next year’s series.

Umar Gul was declared Man of the Match for his 4 wickets and his cool knock of 24 runs in 11 balls.

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Tags: ganguly, IPL, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, marsh, salman butt, Sangakkara, sreesanth, umar gul