Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Kolkata Knight Riders secures their maiden final berth


Beating Delhi Daredevils by 18 runs in Qualifier-I at the Subrato Roy Sahara stadium on 22nd May (Tuesday), Kolkata Knight Riders secured their place in the final round of the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). It is their maiden final berth in IPL and the second victory against the same opponent team. They are now waiting for the opponent team with whom they will fight for the trophy.
After coming to bat first, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 162 for four in 20 overs. They could put on such a competitive chasing score against the opponent team thanks to Yusuf Pathan and Laxmi Ratan Shukla. Both of them played aggressively.
Yusuf Pathan scored unbeaten 40 off 21 balls including three fours and two sixes while Laxmi Ratan Shukla remained not out on 24 runs from 11 balls where he hit three fours and one boundary. In their fifth wicket stand, they added 56 runs from 24 balls.
Kolkata Knight Riders skipper and opening batsman, Gautam Gambhir, gave his team a quick start scoring 32 off 16 balls. On the other hand, wicketkeeper-batsman, Brendon McCullum, took long time to be set in the pitch. He played a passionate innings of 31 runs from 36 balls. South African all rounder Jacques Kallis was another player who scored double figure (30).
In reply, Delhi Daredevils also made a good start but could not continue it. After falling two opening wickets for 24 they were put under huge pressure. Then Naman Ojha and Mahela Jayawardene took the control of their team and put on a 59-run partnership in the third wicket-stand and brought the Daredevils back into the chase. They scored respectively 28 and 40.
However, Kolkata Knight Rider’s bowlers could restrict the Daredevils to 144 for eight. Both Jacques Kallis and Sunil Narine took two wickets each while other four wickets were taken by Lakshmipathy Balaji, Shakib Al Hasan, Iqbal Abdulla and Rajat Bhatia.
However, Delhi Daredevils still have the possibility to qualify for the final. Daredevils will take on the winner of eliminator between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in the second qualifier. If they win the second qualifier match then they will face Knight Riders in the final match in Chennai on Sunday.

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