There are lessons to be learnt in every defeat. But, the Kolkata Knight Riders don’t seem to believe in this mantra. In what was yet another inexplicably slow batting performance at the Brabourne Stadium, the Knight Riders managed to put up a mere 155 runs on the board against Mumbai Indians.
The article might seem harsh and is worth a read for all Ganguly (Sourav) and KKR (Kolkata knight riders) fans. Sourav Ganguly has been in dismal form off late. After having quit international cricket after the IPL season 1, Ganguly has looked although determined lack luster when it comes to performance actually in the middle.
R Vinay Kumar picked up three wickets in one over, that of Sachin Tendulkar, Dwayne Bravo and Ambati Rayudu, to put the Mumbai Indians firmly on the back foot.
In 20-20 cricket, the value of keeping wickets in hand is often underestimated. However, it is equally important to ensure that you don’t leave too much to be done at the fag end of the innings. Finding the proper balance is most important.
An uncannily insipid batting effort by Chennai Super Kings allowed Kings XI Punjab to register their first win in a tournament in a game which went into the super over, the first of the tournament.
On a slow, low pitch at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Deccan Chargers batted sensibly to post a challenging total of 170 after being invited to bat.
The much talked about Mongoose bat made a stinging impact at the Ferozshah Kotla, as Matthew Hayden used it to devastating effect against the Delhi Daredevils.
A scintillating 63 from Sachin Tendulkar and an equally smashing 61 from Saurabh Tiwary helped Mumbai Indians post an imposing 218 for 7 against the in-form Delhi Daredevils, a score which proved more than enough for Mumbai to register their second successive win, and hand Delhi their first defeat. Chasing the huge target, Delhi began on an aggressive note with Tillakaratne Dilshan opening the innings with Virender Sehwag in place of the injured skipper Gautam Gambhir.
A scintillating innings by Jacques Kallis (89 from 55 balls) and a whirlwind half-century by Robin Uthappa (51) helped Royal Challengers Bangalore overhaul a stiff target of 204 set by Kings XI Punjab. For Bangalore to remain in the hunt during the chase, they needed a speedy start without losing too many wickets.
On a day when Bangalore Royal Challengers successfully chased down a target of 204 against Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders should have done better than succumbing to a 55-run loss against Chennai Super Kings. After all, there was no devil in the pitch at Eden Gardens and the home team were on a high following two successive wins in the tournament.
Needing an asking rate of just over seven runs per over, Delhi Daredevils were undoubtedly the favourites to clinch the game against the home side, Kings XI Punjab, at Mohali.
