- Kings XI Punjab 155-9; Kolkata Knight Riders 159-6
- Knight Riders win by four wickets with 13 balls remaining
That will be a nasty blow for Kings XI, who have now lost three out of four this year. They looked dead certainties to take this one, but were undone by sheer aggression from Russell. You wonder how their confidence will be going forward and, you support one team in particular, you have big hopes and dreams over how Mitch Johnson’s confidence will be going forward (you optimistic so-and-so you!).
Match report should be up soon, so do stick around for that. In the meantime, thanks for reading. Bye!
18th over: KKR 159-6 (Y Pathan 28, Chawla 4) target 156 Right, this should be over any minute now. Pathan dabs the first ball of Johnson’s final over to third man for a single, so Russell will get the strike. Can he do it in one hit? Nope, driven out to extra cover where the sweeper cuts it off and keeps them to one run. Pathan pushes for a single to long-off to level the scores, before Russell... is bowled. The commentator in all seriousness says “this is not over yet”. She is, as my colleague Nick Miller notes, literally right. Anyhow, Chawla wafts his first ball down to third man for four.
Backs away and splat go the stumps.
17th over: KKR 152-5 (Y Pathan 26, Russell 65) target 156 We return. 17 runs needed, five wickets left and four overs in which to do it. Pathan edges Anureet wide of the keeper to reduce the target to 13. From being Samuel L. Jackson in Deep Blue Sea (again, dead in the water), these two have turned this match into a rout. To give you an idea what a turnaround it’s been, I took the timeout time to rewrite the top and tail of my match report, which I’d cockily gone ahead and written already. Pathan then whips round the corner for one, before Russell knocks it square for two more. Another exchange of singles, then a tracer bullet down the ground for four to reduce the target to four.
16th over: KKR 139-5 (Y Pathan 20, Russell 58) target 156 Russell brings up his half-century with a mighty clump down to long-on for four. Perera then goes full, but gets his yorker wrong and Russell gets under the low full-toss and slogs it over mid-on for a huge six. Oh and farce now as Russell is dropped. He goes big again but skies it straight up. It drops perfectly into the hands of Maxwell, who doesn’t have to move, but shells it anyway. Australia in crisis, is the lesson we’ve learned here. Time out time.
15th over: KKR 125-5 (Y Pathan 18, Russell 46) target 156 With just 43 needed, George Bailey turns back to Anureet Singh and he offers up a rank full-toss that Pathan clips through mid-on for four. One more to him, then Russell clumps one to mid-off for a hairy couple. It looks like Bailey has hurt his shoulder somehow – he’s barely moving it. Four from the final ball as Pathan plays a late cut with third man up.
14th over: KKR 113-5 (Y Pathan 9, Russell 43) target 156 Johnson is on again and Russell slashes another wide one down to the third man boundary. From being in a crisis, KKR are almost the favourites for this one now. Mitch comes round the wicket and Russell digs out his slower ball for one. Yusuf Pathan on strike and he’s greeted with a half-volley; Pathan gleefully accepts it and caresses the ball softly through extra-cover for four more. Another single, then there should be a run-out, but Axar goes for the direct hit with Pathan stranded mid-pitch rather than simply throwing it in to Johnson to complete the job.
13th over: KKR 103-5 (Y Pathan 4, Russell 38) target 156 Four more to Russell as he heaves Axar Patel’s overpitched delivery through mid-wicket for four. And then he slog sweeps him for six! They’re absolutely fine on run-rate here, it’s just those five wickets. Four more next ball as Russell cuts a wide one hard behind point. 14 from the first four balls, then he pushes out to deep extra cover for a couple more, bringing up the hundred. Two more to the same region next ball before he works a single to long-on to make it 19 from the over.
12th over: KKR 84-5 (Y Pathan 4, Russell 19) target 156 A single apiece as Perera struggles a touch with his line. Russell then gets a slow one in the slot and swings at it like he’s wielding Gregor Clegane’s sword (there you go, Game of Thrones fans), hitting cleanly over extra-cover for a one-bounce four. This run chase isn’t dead quite yet. Perera responds nicely with a wide yorker that the batsman can only bottom-edge into the ground and through to the keeper. The final ball is squirted away for a single to gully.
11th over: KKR 77-5 (Y Pathan 3, Russell 14) target 156 Here’s Mitch again and you fancy he’ll prefer bowling to these two than the mercurial Yadev. He offers Russell a bit of width and the West Indian is far too good a striker of the ball to miss out on that, whistling it through extra cover for four. A couple of balls later he does the same and this time it’s cut behind square on the off-side, to the boundary again. 0-24 from Mitch’s two overs so far and Alastair Cook might as well prepare his Ashes speech now.
10th over: KKR 68-5 (Y Pathan 2, Russell 6) target 156 Perera comes back into the attack and he gets half a chance of a wicket as Russell hammers a shot in the air through extra-cover, albeit so hard that there’s very little chance of the catch being taken. Away it whistles for four. Other than that it’s right on the money from the Sri Lankan all-rounder, just the single off the second ball being worth anything to KKR.
9th over: KKR 63-5 (Y Pathan 1, Russell 2) target 156 Spin now from Axar Patel. Oh and the replays have shown that Ten Doeschate hit the leather off that ball into his pads. That’s a bad decision. This is a good over though, three from it.
8th over: KKR 60-5 (Y Pathan 0, Russell 0) target 156 Already a return to the attack for Sandeep Sharma, with a new batsman soon to be in his sights. I say soon to be, as Gambhir has the strike for now. Albeit not for very long as Sandeep picks up his third wicket, ending the captain’s struggles and turning this from a wobble into... what’s a bit bigger than a wobble but smaller than a crisis? Weirdly we have a mid-over time out and then another wicket! Never mind, let’s call it a crisis now. He misses out on the hat-trick, but Sandeep Sharma finishes with 4-25.
Fast, angled in and the Dutchman plays all around his first ball!
A big wild slash outside off and he feathers a catch through to the keeper.
7th over: KKR 60-3 (Y Pathan 0, Gambhir 11) target 156 They’re sticking with seam as Thisara Perera comes on. Yadav waits and waits and waits on his second ball and then, finally, tips it with the bottom of his bat, deliberately down to very fine third man for four. I like this kid’s moxie a lot. Oh and as I praise him for the cuteness of that shot he tries it again and it gets him in trouble. He walks off utterly livid with himself. Yousuf Pathan comes in.
Aww. Yadav looks to play the cutest of late dabs down to the third man boundary, but waits on it too long and dabs it too fine, and Saha takes an excellent catch diving to his right.
6th over: KKR 53-2 (S Yadav 18, Gambhir 9) target 156 Now, this could define the result here: how is Mitchell Johnson going to do? He’s into the attack for the final powerplay over; he could decimate the innings or he could go around the place and you feel that whichever of those things happens will correspond with who wins the match. And he’s just gone for the most brilliant six by Yadav, who steps miles across to off, picks it up off leg stump and clears fine leg for half a dozen runs. Two more to square-leg, although they’re checking for the run-out coming back after the two batsmen nearly collided mid-pitch. Home comfortably though. Then six off the last ball too, straying on to the pads and again picked up, squarer this time but clearing the leg side and into the stands. Glorious shot to bring up the 50.
5th over: KKR 38-2 (S Yadav 4, Gambhir 8) target 156 Four! But it should have been out as Pandey swings hard and pulls to Axar Patel at deep backward square and the fielder is too far in from the rope and can only tip it on its way to the rope. Had he been back on the fence then that would have been a catch. Sandeep then goes too wide and gets cut for four more behind point, but strikes with his next ball. Suryuakumar Yadav is the new man and he dabs the latest of cuts to the third man boundary to open his account.
Sandeep, after being smacked for consecutive fours, bravely takes the pace of the ball and Pandey chips to Bailey at mid-on.
4th over: KKR 26-1 (Pandey 4, Gambhir 8) target 156 Anureet Singh again and Pandey runs him down to third man for one. This isn’t going to be a cakewalk for KKR if they keep up this standard of bowling. Although Gambhir now misses out on a very wide one that was begging to be spanked for four. Instead he wafts at thin air. As soon as I write that, he spanks a wide one over cover and away for his first boundary. Two swings and two misses to complete the over.
3rd over: KKR 21-1 (Pandey 3, Gambhir 4) target 156 Well that felt desperate from Kings XI. Although the second-ball appeal here doesn’t and isn’t, as it gets that vital early wicket and brings Manish Pandey to the crease. It’s a big wicket that as Uthappa was looking in the mood. Pandey inside edges his first ball past his stumps and down to fine leg, where Axar Patel slides round and keeps them down to three. Gambhir cuts away past gully for a couple and then we finally get a replay of the LBW, which proves I was talking nonsense and it was dead straight.
Thumped on the front pad and up goes the finger. I’m not sure, it was the away swinger and on first viewing I reckon it might have been missing off.
Hold on a minute, we’re checking for a run-out after over was called. A load of nonsense as Gambhir was back in by miles. Surely that ball was dead anyway?
2nd over: KKR 16-0 (Uthappa 13, Gambhir 2) target 156 It is, as you’d expect, Anureet Singh from the other end. Just a leg-bye from his first two balls but then he strays leg-side and Uthappa knocks it round the corner and past fine-leg for four easy runs. Wide next and it’s thrashed hard on the cut, but Maxwell dives and gets a hand to it to save three runs. Gambhir clips to mid-on for a single, then Uthappa does the same. They are perfectly in tune with the required run rate now.
1st over: KKR 8-0 (Uthappa 7, Gambhir 1) target 156 Here we go then. With any luck this won’t take long and I can get to the pub sooner rather than later. Sandeep Singh opens with an inswinger to the right-handed Uthappa, who works it to fine-leg for a couple. A push to mid-off brings one more and cap’m Gautam on strike, and Uthappa might be run out here as they consider a sharp single that was never in. Uthappa stretches as Sandeep removes the bails... and remarkably he’s made it back. He was behind the bowler and that is brilliant hard running from Uthappa. He rewards himself with a crisp clip for four through mid-on.
You’re all off watching the football, aren’t you? Colon, open bracket.
That’s not a terrible, terrible total, but you would think that the defending champions have more than enough firepower to chase it down without too many problems. See you in a bit.
20th over: Kings XI 155-9 (Anureet 1) Mitch, who will have to do something special with the ball for his side to win from here you’d think, comes to the crease and will face Morkel first up. He knocks it away for one, bringing Bailey on strike. Full, clubbed down the ground and Ten Doeschate can do naught but tip it over the rope. Bailey then looks to scoop, but makes a mess of it and fulls flat on his back. Heh, that was pretty funny. One more before the run-out and Anureet gets Johnson on strike for the final ball. And he’s out from it.
What a catch! Johnson absolutely smashes the leather off the thing and Gambhir rises supremely on the edge of the circle to catch it at point.
Bailey goes for an excellent 60 off 49 balls, trying to scramble back for a second after carving it to Ten Doeschate down the ground. The throw was good though and Uthappa whipped the bails off nicely.
19th over: Kings XI 146-7 (Bailey 53) Narine it is and Patel nicks a single off the first ball to bring Bailey on strike. A hard-run couple to mid-wicket for the captain brings up his 50 from 40 balls and, in the context of his entire team hurling their wickets away like Steve Backley, it’s been a good innings. Patel goes to the final ball.
Well deserved too, that wicket. With the pressure building, Patel hit high and straight and it was caught at long-on.
18th over: Kings XI 140-6 (A Patel 1, Bailey 48) With three overs left, you’d reckon that Kings XI need to score at 10-an-over from here. Yadav is in for his fourth over, figures of 2-23 under his belt, so I guess it’ll be Narine with 19 and Morkel with 20. Anyway, the batsmen can only add one apiece before Gurkeerat slogs to the man at long-on after being cramped for space by Yadav. Farcically, they didn’t cross either so Axar Patel will be on strike rather than Bailey. A single, then Bailey cuts a wide ball very sweetly through point for four. Oh and then farcical fielding at mid-on as Bailey clumps it towards the rope and the two fielders, converging, slide past each other like dancers in a music video. You could see that coming as soon as they both headed towards the ball.
Holing out to cow corner. Things aren’t looking good.
17th over: Kings XI 129-5 (Gurkeerat 10, Bailey 39) It’s spin from both ends as Chawla carries on and Gurkeerat launches him for six down to long-on. Poor George Bailey, having to watch everyone else slog recklessly while he tries to stop this innings from disintegrating entirely. There’s a shout for LBW but the umpire reckons it’s hit fractionally outside the line of off-stump. Bailey celebrates his reprieve with a lovely straight six.
16th over: Kings XI 115-5 (Gurkeerat 3, Bailey 32) Timing! By me, that is, getting back to my seat just as Narine returns. He’s only conceded nine from his two overs so far, though still he doesn’t have a wicket. He induces a leading edge from Gurkeerat here, but it lands in no man’s land. Just three from the over.
15th over: Kings XI 112-5 (Gurkeerat 2, Bailey 30) The new man, Gurekeerat Singh, is greeted by the spinner Chawla. A nudge down the ground shields him from the potential ignominy of a duck. Time for a time out so I’m going to get coffee.
14th over: Kings XI 107-5 (Gurkeerat 0, Bailey 28) Perera winds up and toe ends an ugly hook off Russell into the stands at square-leg. The bowler follows up with a fizzing bounder that flies over Uthappa’s head and away for four byes. The fourth ball sees Perera try a sharp single to Gambhir and if he hits then Perera is gone. He does not hit so Perera remains here, but only for two balls.
Another one goes, Perera falling cheaply again. A short one and he just pops the catch up to backward point.
13th over: Kings XI 95-4 (Perera 2, Bailey 26) So Kings XI have to set themselves again and there’s a lot on George Bailey’s shoulders now. Just four from that Chawla over, all in ones.
12th over: Kings XI 91-4 (Perera 0, Bailey 24) Another change as Umesh Yadav comes back, looking to break the partnership of 56. Maxwell digs out his first ball, a very fine yorker that was homing in on the base of the stumps. Short and Bailey punches it out to the rope at extra cover, where Russell isn’t quite able to stop it. He won’t be too upset though, as his excellent catch takes care of Maxwell. Thisara Perera comes to the crease.
Short and wide and cut, but Maxwell doesn’t time it well enough and Russell comes charging in from the rope and takes an excellent catch tumbling forwards.
11th over: Kings XI 83-3 (Maxwell 32, Bailey 18) Some more spin, leg this time, in the form of Piyush Chawla. He’s right on the money, leaking just three singles from the first four balls before Maxwell screws a drive out for two to extra-cover. One more off the last.
10th over: Kings XI 77-3 (Maxwell 28, Bailey 16) It’ll be a third over on the spin for Russell, who really should have had Maxwell in his previous over but for some Gatting-esque fielding from Pathan. In the slot on off-stump now and Maxwell flicks an extraordinary shot over square on the leg-side for six. A couple of wides, then I’ve just noticed that Suryakumar Yadav is wearing shirt number 212, which really isn’t on. Three figures! The batsmen exchange singles, then the fielder at mid-on falls over the ball to allow Maxwell an ill-deserved second run.
9th over: Kings XI 64-3 (Maxwell 19, Bailey 14) Narine again and they seem to have slowed down this Aussie counter-punch. And as I write the first s of “Aussie”, Maxwell takes a wander down the pitch and slices a drive along the ground and into the gap for four. He pulls out the reverse sweep and misses it completely, but it whistles past the keeper’s gloves for four bye. Appeal for LBW on the final ball, but it’s missing leg. And that’s time-out time.
8th over: Kings XI 54-3 (Maxwell 14, Bailey 13) Russell changes ends after the fireworks of his last over. Bailey takes a run from the third ball, worked to short fine-leg. Short to Maxwell and he pulls high in the air, giving Yousuf Pathan the easiest of catches 10 yards inside the rope at square leg, but he drops it horrendously, letting the ball slip straight through his hands. Dear me. Two to finish the over, which only goes for four but should have been better.
7th over: Kings XI 50-3 (Maxwell 13, Bailey 10) Into the attack comes Sunil Narine, proud owner of zero wickets in the IPL this year. Still, he’ll be happy enough with this over, going, as it does, for just two singles, one each from the final two balls. That’s the 50 up in good time. It’s just, y’know, the wickets.
6th over: Kings XI 48-3 (Maxwell 12, Bailey 9) Pitched up by Morkel and Maxwell lifts him down the ground for six, then drives through extra cover for four. Another single down to third man makes 11 from the first three balls, but Morkel’s comeback is good and concedes nought further.
5th over: Kings XI 37-3 (Maxwell 1, Bailey 9) Russell comes into the attack and immediately gives Sehwag a full, wide ball that the batsman drives through point for four. But he gets his man next ball thanks to some great work by Chawla. Bailey comes in and climbs into a short ball, pulling his first delivery through mid-on for four more. Short and wide next and cut for four more. They take a single, then Maxwell gloves one just short of leg-slip. One wicket and 14 runs from that very entertaining over.
Chawla makes up for his fielding mistake earlier with a brilliant catch at mid-wicket as Sehwag tries to flick him through the on-side.
4th over: Kings XI 23-2 (Maxwell 0, Sehwag 7) Morkel to Sehwag round two and the first ball goes flying over middle and leg as Sehwag steps across and misses out with a swivel-hoik. A thick, deliberate outside edge runs down to third man, where Chawla slides across and stops the ball... but then as he tries to get up he flops back down and lands on the boundary rope. D’oh! A single to Sehwag, then Saha’s wicket, to a terrible shot, brings the off-colour Maxwell in to face the very much on-song Morkel. He’s greeted with a vicious bouncer.
Saha goes for a big wild slog into the on-side but gets a thick edge that flies fast to slip at chest height. Pathan makes no mistake.
3rd over: Kings XI 18-1 (Saha 15, Sehwag 2) The commentators are talking rugby now. “Not sure when they last smiled,” one says of South Africa.
“Do you follow rugby then?”
“Very much.”
South Africa have, for the record, been in fine form over the past year or so.
Anyway, after a couple of dots, Yadav drops short-ish and Saha flicks nicely for four behind square leg. A push to point for a couple, then Saha’s top-edge goes high over long-on for the first six of the match.
2nd over: Kings XI 6-1 (Saha 3, Sehwag 2) From the other end it’ll be Morne Morkel to bowl to Sehwag. But only for one ball for now, as the batsman drops it into the off-side and goes through for a run. Saha, who picked up a hundred in a losing cause against these same opponents in last season’s final, then does the same into the on-side. Two more singles, one apiece, from the next two balls. Oooh and then it loops up off Sehwag’s leading edge to short-leg, where there is no fielder and Morkel can’t get to it in time.
“While I have less than zero interest in the Indian cricket porn league,” begins Ian Copestake, promisingly, “I do wonder if any American psycho baseball batters are tempted to this farce? I also like to crowbar Brett Easton Ellis references into OBOs.”
1st over: Kings XI 2-1 (Saha 2, Sehwag 0) Oh balls, this one appears to be on a different channel. Luckily, I’ve realised this just in time to see the first ball, from Umesh Yadav, move a touch away from Murali Vijay as it goes past his bat. Three balls later though he’s gone and Wriddhiman Saha comes to the crease; he knocks it away for a couple. The ball just got slightly big on Vijay there.
Gone! Vijay chips a length ball to mid-on, where Russell leans forward and takes a good catch off his boot laces. Kings XI one down without a run on the board.
Also, happy Record Store Day! The day where small shops are forced to order in large unsellable quantities of unreturnable stock so that thick people can queue around the corner for 12 hours to buy, then sell on eBay, some Foo Fighters b-sides!
Happy 100th IPL game to Virender Sehwag too.
KKR have won the toss and invited King’s XI to have a bat. They have accepted the invitation... not like they had a choice.
Afternoon/evening folks. Welcome to the IPL’s version of Stoke v Swansea, a mid-table match between two teams who aren’t likely to win this tournament. Both have stuttered and stumbled their way through so far, with Kings XI even having suffered the ignominy of losing to the Delhi Daredevils. Imagine!
Dan will be here shortly.
Continue reading...