CLT20 1st Semifinal, Highlights: Jacques Kallis, Manish Pandey Help Kolkata Knight Riders Book Final Spot
Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Hobart Hurricanes by seven wickets for their 14th straight win, ensuring a place in the final of the Champions League Twenty20. Catch all the highlights of the match here:
Jacques Kallis remained unbeaten on 54 and Manish Pandey scored 40 as Kolkata chased down 141 with five balls to spare against Hobart Hurricanes in Hyderabad.(Previous Results | CLT20 Photos) Catch highlights from Champions League Twenty20 semifinal here: (SCORECARD)
19:07 IST: That's it; KKR needed six off the last over and Kallis hooks the first ball from Bollinger for SIX! to finish it off. KKR are through to the final and he has reached his 50. What a knock, what a win. KKR now have 14 straight wins.
19:01 IST: Yusuf Pathan hits Laughlin for FOUR! and Kallis follows up, slamming Doherty for a huge SIX! KKR are going to win this in a canter.
18:58 IST: KKR are 116/3 and need 25 more from the last three overs. Kallis and Yusuf Pathan in the middle.
18:50 IST: WICKET! Manish Pandey tried to hit a slower ball from Ben Laughlin out of the park but holed out in the deep for 40 as Kolkata reached 107/3 in 15.2 overs, chasing 141 against the Hurricanes.
18:44 IST: This has been a top drawer innings by Kallis but he has also been happy to let his more aggressive partner take the strike. KKR are doing this rather easily now.
18:40 IST: The fifty-run stand between Kallis and Pandey is up. The pair is doing it beautifully against a top-quality attack. Kolkata are very much in sight of their 14th straight win and a place in the final.
18:36 IST: Pandey edged Hilfenhaus to the 'keeper but it was a no-ball. Pandey cuts loose for the free-hit and dispatches it to the fence for FOUR! KKR are in cruise-control mode in their chase of 141.
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18:31 IST: FOUR! Pandey hits a nice looking shot wide of mid-on and follows it up with another FOUR! in the same region as Laughlin continues to bowl full tosses on the pads. KKR have roared over to 81/2 in the 12th over and a few more overs like these could finish the match very early.
18:27 IST: KKR are 71/2 off 11 overs and it could be an interesting chase from here. Kolkata have the assuring presence of Kallis in the middle, who has the experience to see them home. For company, he has the dangerous Manish Pandey, whose coach Trevor Bayliss backs him to win a match on his own.
18:14 IST: WICKET! Uthappa plays a risky shot when he did not need to and was bowled by Hobarts skipper Doherty as KKR slip to 44/2 in 7.2 overs. They need only 141 to win as Manish Pandey joins Kallis at the crease.
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18:11 IST: KKR are in a pretty comfortable position as of now; they are 44/1 after 7 overs and they need only 141 to win and book a place in the final. Uthappa and Kallis are both looking solid in the middle.
18:06 IST: FOUR! Another pull shot from Kallis as he sends Doherty to the fence. Good aggression from the IPL champs.
18:04 IST: FOUR! Uthappa did not really reach the pitch of the ball from Doherty as he lofts it away for a fence. This is good batting by KKR despite an early loss; 33/1 off 5.1 overs.
18:02 IST: FOUR! Kallis pulls that one from Hilfenhaus away to the fence and KKR are 29/1 off 5 overs, chasing 141. Hobart will have to come up with a special bowling performance as they are not defending too many tonight.
17:56 IST: WICKET! Bollinger gets Gambhir, who looked extremely scratchy in the course of his stay at the innings. He has fallen for three and that brings Kallis to the crease with Uthappa. KKR 20/1 in 3.3 overs.
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17:55 IST: The giant screen at the stadium flashed a message congratulating India for beating Pakistan in the Asian Games final to win hockey gold. Loud cheers across the ground.
17:53 IST: Uthappa has looked assured and composed in the middle but Gambhir has not been his usual fluent self. The ball is not coming on to the bat on this slow pitch. KKR 19/0 after 3 over; just one run off the Hilfenhaus over.
17:49 IST: KKR 18/0 off two overs as they chase 141 against Hobart in Hyderabad. The Aussies have a great bowling attack and the Knight Riders will find scoring runs rather difficult despite their strong batting line-up.
17:42 IST: Uthappa hits Hilfenhaus for two boundaries as KKR reach 8/0 off the first over, chasing 141
17:39 IST: KKR openers Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa walk out in the middle as they chase 141 for their 14th straight win. Ben Hilfenhaus will bowl the first over for the Hurricanes. This could be the KKR batsmen's biggest test yet.
17:21 IST: Hobart finish with 140/6, thanks mainly to Shoaib Malik who remained unbeaten on 66; a classy innings. He picked up pace beautifully later in the innings. But this total may not be enough to stop the Knight Riders, who are looking at their 14th consecutive win.
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17:19 IST: WICKET! Gulbis is run out for 15 and Hobart are 135/6 off 19.4 overs
17:16 IST: Poor Kuldeep; 21 runs came off his last over and the penultimate of the innings. Hobart are 131/5 off 19 overs.
17:14 IST: Malik is taking the attack to the Knight Riders; he has hammered a six and a four and another six in the 19th over to bring up his half-century off 41 balls. Hobart 126/5 off 18.4 overs.
17:09 IST: INDIA HAVE BEATEN PAKISTAN TO WIN HOCKEY GOLD in the ASIAN GAMES! Track all updates here. This also means India have booked a direct spot in the Rio Olympics. Massive moment for Indian hockey.
17:05 IST: WICKET! Well-disguised delivery from Chawla and Wells has been knocked over as Hobart are further reduced to 91/5 in 16.1 overs.
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17:03 IST: More updates from the Asian Games. The India vs Pakistan hockey final will be decided by a shootout after both teams failed to break the 1-1 deadlock. Catch all the updates here.
17:00 IST: SIX! Malik has timed that to perfection off Chawla again. He's the man for the Hurricanes at this stage and he's playing a big, big role. How much more can the Australian side get? They are currently 88/4 off 15 overs.
16:56 IST: WICKET! They were trying to take Narine out but there's another one gone down. Birt holds out in the deep off Narine's bowling and Hobart are 77/4 off 13.5 overs. Kolkata Knight Riders are well and truly on top.
16:53 IST: Shoaib Malik is of course no stranger to these parts; his tennis-star wife Sania Mirza hails from Hyderabad and it was not long back that Malik treated Pakistan's Lahore Lions to biryani at Sania's place. Malik is the key for the Hurricanes.
16:51 IST: SIX! Malik picks the wrung'un from Chawla and dispatches it into the stand. Much needed runs for Hobart and Malik could be the danger man at this stage; he knows these conditions well and is a good player of spin. Hobart 70/3 after 13 overs.
16:45 IST: Piyush Chawla gives away just four in his first over as Hobart reach 58/3 off 11. Andre Russell back in the attack; he could bowl two overs in this phase of play .
16:39 IST: Hobrat are 54/3 off 10 overs; they have faced eight overs of spin so far and will face eight more overs of spin in the last-half of their innings. Four from Piyush Chawla and two each from Narine and Kuldeep. KKR clearly in the drivers' seat.
16:33 IST: WICKET! Huge blow to the Hurricanes, who have lost Ben Dunk to Kuldeep Yadav for 39. Dunk looked pretty good in the course of his innings and his exit puts KKR in a great position. Hobart 46/3 in 8.1 overs.
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16:28 IST: Good first over from Kuldeep Yadav, who gives away just five runs off it. Hobart are still looking to break through but they just can't against KKR's spinners. The Hurricanes are 40/2 off 7 overs.
16:21 IST: Back to the cricket, Ben Dunk is throwing his bat at everything at the moment as he picks up three boundaries off Andre Russell; not all of them were perfect cricketing shots. But Dunk will take it as Hobart reach 28/2 off 5 overs. He has Shoaib Malik for company.
16:17 IST: Meanwhile at the Asian Games, India and Pakistan are locked in an intense battle on the hockey field. They are level at 1-1 at half-time. Follow updates here
16:15 IST: Hobart have their backs against the wall and what does Gambhir do - bring on the wily Sunil Narine. This is going to be incredibly tough for the Hurricanes against KKR's spinners.
16:12 IST: WICKET! Yusuf appeals for lbw against Blizzard and the umpire has given him out. That's a shocker because there was a clear inside edge off the bat. The replays on the giant screen showed as much while Blizzard was still on the field and the on-air commentators Rameez Raja and Ravi Shastri can't believe what just happened.
16:09 IST: WICKET! Brilliant return catch by Andre Russell as Kolkata Knight Riders make an early breakthrough. The dangerous Dom Michael has gone for a duck and Hobart are 4/1 off 2 overs.
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16:07 IST: Experts reckon Hobart need to get about 170-180 to make KKR sweat; they have a great batting line-up. However, Hobart have to deal with an even better bowling attack on a pitch that doesn't have much pace.
16:04 IST: Hobart openers Ben Dunk and Dom Michael start watchfully against Yusuf Pathan, who bowled the first over for KKR. Hobart 3/0.
15:48 IST: Meanwhile, as we wait for the cricket to get underway, here's a look at the mother of all hockey clashes - India vs Pakistan in the Asian Games final. Pakistan have the early lead.
15:45 IST: Kolkata are looking for their 14th win on the trot. Can Hobart stop the IPL champions today and book a final berth? Stay with us to find out how the next three and a half hours unfold.
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15:32 IST: Hobart Hurricanes are being captained by Xavier Doherty, in place of Tim Paine, who has been ruled out of this crucial encounter. The Hurricanes have won the toss and decided to bat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the first semi-final of the CLT20. Gautam Gambhir says he would have bowled anyways with his three spinners. Game on!
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Under Gautam Gambhir's captaincy, Kolkata have been in phenomenal form this season. With 13 consecutive wins - an Indian record, the team has not given away an inch in Champions League Twenty20.
The team began as one of the favourites to win the title and their place in the semifinal comes as no surprise. While the team has played well as a unit, there is hope for Hobart.
Kolkata have mostly chosen to chase and 11 of their 13 successive wins have come when batting second. Setting a target however has not been one of their strengths and Hobart would look to test their batsmen early on - provided they win the toss and field first.
Of course, Hobart has quality bowlers who can challenge Kolkata batsmen. Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger have bowled well with the new ball while Xavier Doherty's spin may surprise batsmen.
Kolkata too have spin power but their main weapon - Sunil Narine - is a solid performer and is the highest wicket-taker in the tournament so far. Reported for a suspect action in the previous match, it would be interesting to see if he lets the pressure get to him.