There have been two parts to Kolkata Knight Riders in their campaign in IPL 7. In phase one, they floundered and lost matches from extremely winnable positions while in part two, they have resurrected themselves and come up with some magnificent efforts to keep themselves in hunt for the play offs. Kolkata’s triumph against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday was a continuation of their improved showing. The win was their fourth in as many games, and has taken them another step closer to booking a place in the play-offs.
Kolkata’s better all-round ability was on show in the match against Hyderabad. Bowling first, they never allowed Sunrisers’ batsmen to dominate. It was a thoroughly professional performance right from the start. One is not sure what to expect of the erratic fast bowler Umesh Yadav, but on Sunday against Hyderabad, he was in his elements. His dismissal of Aaron Finch at the top was extremely crucial since the big- hitting Aussie possesses the ability to play a whirlwind, match-winning innings. Later in the innings, he made an even more significant strike. David Warner was in his elements, and looked set to take on Kolkata, but Yadav sent him back without additional damage being done.
If Umesh Yadav was among the wickets, Sunil Narine completely stalled the flow of runs. It is credit to Narine that, even after all these years, players struggle to pick his variations. The mystery spinner from West Indies got a big wicket as well. Shikhar Dhawan, who relinquished the captaincy and handed it over to Darren Sammy, looked in fine touch after a long time. But, he definitely shouldn’t have taken on Narine so early in the bowler’s spell. The impetuous shot not only cost Dhawan his wicket, but also undid the good work Hyderabad had done earlier in the innings.
Kolkata’s bowling was equally brilliant at the death. The manner in which Narine kept foxing Sammy ball after ball was rather intriguing to watch. Shakib Al Hasan benefitted from Narine’s bowling as batsmen looked to go after him and lost their wickets. Of course, Hasan also played his part by pitching the balls in the right areas. Amid all the drama, Piyush Chawla went about his job quietly and delivered the goods again. He has looked in fine form this season, and impressed against Hyderabad as well with his line and length. Hyderabad were once again left to rue the lack of big scores from their middle order. Naman Ojha, KL Rahul and Warner all got into double figures but failed to carry on. Irfan Pathan’s blows came a bit too late in the day.
Kolkata’s batting once again stood up to the task, although they were not facing a huge challenge here. While Robin Uthappa’s continued run of form will please them, Kolkata’s fans would have been excited to see Yusuf Pathan get some runs. It has been a while since Pathan demonstrated his monster-hitting ability, but on Sunday there were shades of the old Pathan. Similarly, Manish Pandey and Ryan ten Doeschate also got some vital runs. Brick by brick, Kolkata seem to be getting their house in order.
--By A Cricket Analyst
