The 27th match of the DLF IPL saw the Kings XI Punjab beat the Kolkata Knight Riders off the last delivery of the match. Kolkata Knight Riders had won the toss and decided to bat first, and scored a modest 153/3 in their allocated 20 overs, but the Punjab team overcame that with the loss of four wickets only.
Batting first, the Knight Riders opened their inning with the pair of Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum after having sent Sourav Ganguly as an opener in the previous game. Ramesh Powar began the bowling for Punjab and bowled a beautiful first over, but was removed out of the attack and replaced by Yusuf Abdullah. Only 15 runs came off the first four overs, before Gayle cut loose and got a couple of boundaries off Irfan Pathan. Pathan, however, had the last laugh as Gayle’s IPL was ended by a Gayle-hoick that was caught at mid-on.
Brad Hodge was in next, but the going was as slow as it had been earlier. McCullum and Hodge went into the strategic break without any further loss, but with only 52 on the board.
After the ten over mark, Piyush Chawla got the Kolkata skipper out, and this got in Sourav Ganguly to the crease. The runs still continued to come in trickles, as the Knight Riders failed to breach the six runs/over mark till the 14th over. The 15th saw Abdullah go for 14 runs, and then Ganguly hit a six off Chawla, before getting out to the same bowler.
Morne van Wyk was the number five batsman, but the big shots just failed to come for the Kolkata team. At 132/3 in 19 overs, they looked dead and buried, but it was Pathan’s final over that proved to be a potential turning point as 21 runs came off it. Hodge remained unbeaten on a 43 ball 70.
In reply, the Kings lost their prime scorer, Kumar Sangakkara early after he was promoted to the top of the order, and new-comer S. Sohal was dropped twice in the first couple of overs. Simon Katich tried flick Ishant Sharma and got a top-edge, which was floored by Gayle, as the Punjabis were 13/1 in three. It was Ashok Dinda’s second over that got things moving when the bowler was hit for three sixes in the fourth to get the Kings to 35/1 in four.
Sohal was soon captured by Ajit Agarkar after this, and Hodge got rid of Katich to leave the Kings at 77/3 in the tenth.
Mahela Jayawardene, who hasn’t had a great IPL before this game, and Yuvraj Singh joined hands, adding runs at just about a run-a-ball to get to 109, when Yuvi became Ishant Sharma’s second victim; Punjab 109/4 in 14.1 overs.
With 45 needed off 35 balls, it needed someone to play sensibly with Jayawardene and Pathan did just that to steer the Kings closer. 25 were needed off 18, 18 in 12 and Ishant was then hit for 11 runs to change the equation to 7 needed off 6.
Agarkar’s first two deliveries of the last over got them only one, but then an edge from Jayawardene went to the third-man boundary for four.
A dot ball and a single later, one run was needed and the same was got by Pathan with ease even as Punjab won their fourth match of the tournament.
Jayawardene won the man-of-the-match award, while Kolkata continued to struggle at the bottom of the pile with three points.