Published>Thu, Apr 08 10 01:24 PM
Kolkata, April 7 -- Sourav Ganguly continued his fine form, hitting his sixth Indian Premier League half-century to help Kolkata Knight Riders notch 181 for three in their must-win match against Delhi Daredevils here today. Ganguly hit a 46-ball 56 with eight fours and one six and put on 94 runs for the opening wicket with Chris Gayle (40 from 21 balls) while Matthews (46 off 28) starred in a 70-run unbeaten stand with Manoj Tiwary (26) in less than seven overs even though the home side fell well short of the 200-mark that seemed possible at one stage. Opting to bat, Knight Riders had a breezy start with Ganguly and Gayle not allowing the Daredevils bowlers to settle down and at one point, the home side, cheered on by a jam-packed crowd, were cruising along at 11-plus an over. But the Daredevils got into their act with some fine bowling by Rajat Bhatia (one for 30) and Daniel Vettori (one for 30) to take three quick wickets - Gayle, Ganguly and Brendon McCullum (6) - to apply the brake. However, some sensible batting from Mathews and Tiwary towards the end took the Knight Riders to a respectable total. Gambhir's gamble of beginning the proceedings with Vettori backfired as Ganguly plundered the left-arm spinner for 15 runs to take the run-rate over 10. Dishing out some sheer timing and late cuts, Ganguly hit three fours in Vettori's first over and Gambhir had to take the New Zealander out of the attack. But the opening duo did not look in any trouble at tall and kept on dissecting their field with Ganguly taking the charge, while Gayle opting to show some restraint. It was only in Amit Mishra's first over that Ganguly struggled and almost had his defence crashed to a perfect googly. Till then, Gayle was a mute spectator at the other end, only to explode in the leg-spinner's second over as he walloped one six and two boundaries in the seventh over which yielded 15 runs. Just when he was beginning to look dangerous, Bhatia deceived Gayle with a slower one that knocked off the off-stump. Ganguly, meanwhile, carved out his sixth IPL half-century with Knight Riders getting to the 100-mark by 11th over. But the Daredevils quickly got into their attack with some fine bowling and fielding. Vettori made up for his poor first over, dismissing Ganguly with a nicely looped delivery to castle the home side skipper. Daredevils claimed their prize scalp in McCullum when the big-hitting New Zealander was run-out for six as KKR were reduced to 111 for three in 13.1 overs. Kolkata Knight Riders captain Sourav Ganguly won the toss and decided to bat first in an Indian Premier League match against Delhi Daredevils here today. The Knight Riders drafted in explosive New Zealander Brendon McCullum and mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis, while resting an injured Murali Kartik and Shane Bond. Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly (c), Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Manoj Tiwary, Cheteshwar Pujara, Angello Mathews, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajit Agarkar, Iqbal Abdulla, Ashok Dinda, Ajantha Mendis.
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