Nokia T20 Champions League KKR vs Warriours

KKR gets full points

Jacques Kallis batted with purpose to keep Kolkata Knight Riders ahead on run-rate when rain stopped play against Warriors on Saturday. Photo: K . Bhagya Prakash

 

A loud roar emerged from the stands at 7.10 p.m. on a damp Saturday at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The cheers were reserved for that precise moment when the covers were finally removed to reveal a dry pitch after an evening of steady showers hinted at another wash-out.

 The skies luckily cleared, the rain gods opted to take a breather before they returned with a vengeance but by then Kolkata Knight Riders felt victory's warm embrace in a Champions League Group B match.

KKR defeated Warriors as per the Duckworth Lewis method, scoring 83 for one from nine overs when the target at that time was stipulated at 62. Warriors had earlier scored 155 for four.

 The victory helped Kolkata Knight Riders finish its league engagements on four points and the team will now pray hard for a semifinal berth while its fortunes entirely depend on the outcome of other Group B games.

Warriors, with four points, has another match to fulfil its hopes.   

Kallis on the move

 When KKR commenced its chase, Jacques Kallis (31 n.o.) did elaborate stretches near the pavilion bill-boards. Kallis had suffered a fall during the Warriors innings but his batting stride was a confident gait.

He struck a four and a six off Lonwabo Tsotsobe, watched Mark Boucher drop him on 15 and then flicked and straight drove Wayne Parnell.

Kallis' partner Manvinder Bisla rose on his toes and slammed a six off Parnell before the seamer lured a snick.

KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir immediately walked in and along with Kallis, motored on merrily.

Lucky Gambhir

Gambhir (33 n.o.) relished his step-out-and-slam jousts with Nicky Boje though he was lucky to survive on 21 when Kelly Smuts dropped a regulation catch off Johan Botha.

The skies turned wet again but by then KKR was home, dry and safe.   

Earlier, Gambhir opted to field and Brett Lee tested J.J. Smuts, who tended to close the face of his bat.

Smuts survived and it was a confident Ashwell Prince, who returned to the dug-out, as he clipped a four off Lee and then got fatally ambitious against Kallis.  

Smuts, Ingram shine

After some streaky fours that frustrated the KKR fielders, Smuts (46) settled down and charted an 80-run second-wicket partnership with Colin Ingram (61, 47b, 3x4, 3x6).

Smuts cut Yusuf Pathan but it was Ingram, who caught the eye with his clean strikes.

Kallis, Yusuf and Shakib Al Hasan felt the heat of the southpaw's bat.

Ingram even threatened the glass panes of the press box but the ball luckily dipped in its final trajectory.

He continued to muscle his way ahead while Smuts scooped Balaji to mid-off.

Boucher then joined Ingram and the wicketkeeper-batsman in an aggressive interlude, moved across and flicked his best mate Kallis twice past the fine-leg ropes and he kept the score ticking over though KKR did well to restrict Warriors below 160.

The scores.

Warriors: J.J. Smuts c Abdulla b Balaji 46 (43b, 6x4), A. Prince b Kallis 4 (2b, 1x4), C. Ingram c Abdulla b Lee 61 (47b, 3x4, 3x6), M. Boucher (not out) 38 (27b, 5x4), C. Thyssen c Kallis b Balaji 0 (2b), K. Smuts (not out) 0 (0b); Extras (b-1, lb-3, w-1, nb-1): 6; Total (for four wkts. in 20 overs): 155.

Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-95, 3-141, 4-152.

Kolkata Knight Riders bowling: Lee 4-0-25-1, Kallis 4-0-33-1, Yusuf 3-0-23-0, Abdulla 2-0-12-0, Shakib 3-0-23-0, Balaji 4-0-35-2.

Kolkata Knight Riders: M. Bisla c Boucher b Parnell 19 (12b, 2x4, 1x6), J.  Kallis (not out) 31 (19b, 3x4, 1x6), G. Gambhir (not out) 33 (23b, 3x4, 1x6); Extras: 0; Total (for one wkt. in nine overs): 83.

Fall of wicket: 1-35.

Warriors bowling: Tsotsobe 2-0-20-0, Theron 2-0-14-0, Parnell 2-0-24-1, Boje 2-0-20-0, Botha 1-0-5-0.

KKR,RCB,WARRIORS Fight For top positions

Teams fight for top positions

 

 

KKR takes on Warriors which has full points from two matches

The stakes will be high on Saturday when the Champions League's Group B teams jostle for the top slots in a double-header at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The four squads in the fray are at varying points in their cumulative journey towards the semifinal slots.

Somerset, yet to lose a game in the tournament, starting with twin triumphs in the qualifying round besides a victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in the league phase, will clash with South Australia in the evening match. The Australian outfit, with one win and a loss, needs to win the contest to stay alive.

Later in the night, Kolkata Knight Riders, having wrested some momentum and hope thanks to a facile victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday, will take on Warriors, a rival sitting pretty on top with its full quota of four points from two matches.

The matches will also evoke huge interest in the RCB ranks after two losses have left Daniel Vettori's men in a must-win quagmire for the remainder of the tournament.

van der Merwe delivers

In the past, Somerset was associated with two friends and their exploits. Vivian Richards and Ian Botham were men with imposing talent and an indomitable will.

Those days are long gone but the County has moved on and in its latest set of matches found Roelof van der Merwe (131 runs), doing the winning-act. van der Merwe is well aware of the local conditions, having played for RCB in the previous years.

In Murali Kartik, Somerset also has a gritty player battle-hardened on Indian terrain. Amidst all the noise that Harbhajan Singh's omission from the Indian team churned up, Kartik will continue to ply his wares.

Led by Alfonso Thomas, these are still early days for Somerset but the same cannot be said about South Australia, which slumped against Warriors and then bounced back with a win against KKR while Callum Ferguson and Daniel Christian batted well.

Michael Klinger's men need to get their act together fast as a loss against Somerset will litter the path ahead with calculators and net run-rates.

Even that luxury of a mathematical probability does not exist for KKR since it is playing its last league match and needs to win against Warriors.

Its first two losses continue to hurt but KKR can take heart from the manner in which its top-order of Jacques Kallis, Brad Haddin and skipper Gautam Gambhir clinically demolished the RCB attack.

Gambhir's runs and his assurance when Dirk Nannes bounced at him are all pointers to welcome normalcy after he spent the last month coping with dizzy spells triggered by a concussion in the head.

KKR needs its bowlers to tighten up which they did for some time against RCB before Vettori cut loose.

Warriors, with a last-ball win against RCB and a resounding punch against South Australia, have found varied heroes in Ashwell Prince and J.J. Smuts. Captain Johan Botha will hope that his team will seal its semifinal berth but before that his bowlers, be it Lonwabo Tsotsobe or Rusty Theron need to break the Kallis-Gambhir combine.