IPL 2014 KKR vs RCB, Highlights: Kolkata in Playoffs, Dump Bangalore out of Tournament

Sunil Narine's four wickets broke Royal Challengers Bangalore's fight after Kolkata Knight Riders scored a mammoth 195/4. Here are the highlights:  (Scorecard | Commentary | Points Table | Schedule)

1947 hrs IST:Robin Uthappa dedicates his man-of-the-match award to Kolkata fans. "They have backed us to the hilt and it is a good place to come out and register wins," he said. "Batting today was not easy but I stuck to the basics. I did not look much at the scoreboard," he added.

 

1945 hrs IST:Gambhir couldn't have been more pleased with his team's performance. "It was not easy to score close to 190 on this track but Robin and Shakib batted really well. Morne and Narine complimented them well," he said at the post-match presentation. "The crowd here has been fantastic. They have come out and supported us well and no thanks would be enough. I hope we give them more reasons to cheer," he added.

 

1928 hrs IST: Playoffs now the target for Kolkata Knight Riders. Hosts at Eden defeat Bangalore by 30 runs to dump Kohli's men out of the tournament.

 

1921 hrs IST:42 needed from final over and time for formalities here. Vinay Kumar bowls the 20th with Mitchell Starc and Sachin Rana getting some batting practice.

 

1912 hrs IST: Narine does it again for Kolkata. The spinner claims four wickets - de Villiers being his last victim - to leave Bangalore reeling and staring at the exit. Kolkata though can now firmly sense not just a win but also a berth in the IPL playoffs.

 

1909 hrs IST:WICKET! Sunil Narine claims his third and his magic is too much for even Yuvraj Singh (22) to handle. The batsman tries to clear the long-on boundary but finds Vinay Kumar who makes no mistake.

 

1905 hrs IST:Yuvraj goes big but is it a bit too late? Slams Umesh for two fours and two sixes. Bangalore need 68 from 24.

 

1850 hrs IST:WICKETS! Sunil Narine claims two in an over to leave Bangalore batting in shambles. While Kohli (38) falls to a brilliant diving catch from Morkel, Takawale (45) drags one back onto his stumps.

 

1838 hrs IST: Bangalore can be devastating towards the end of their innings provided they have wickets in hand. Are currently 72/1 after 10.

 

1828 hrs IST: Positive cricket from Takawale and Kohli. The two look to consolidate themselves. Did you know? Takawale has four 100s and 10 50s in first-class cricket.

 

1817 hrs IST: Young Takawale is looking like a promising talent. He has hit a couple of fours against KKR's skilled bowlers without taking much risk. Of course, he was dropped when ten Doeschate and Manish Pandey collided in the fifth over (4.4).

 

1811 hrs IST: Can Kohli take his teams out of the doldrums? He joins Takawale with Kolkata bowlers bullying their way against the 'men in red'.

 

1805 hrs IST: WICKET! Chris Gayle falls on 6 off 9. Umesh Yadav traps the Jamaican LBW as Eden Gardens erupts into unbelievable celebrations.

 

1801 hrs IST: An uncharacteristically watchful start from Bangalore openers. Chris Gayle and Yogesh Takawale careful against Morne Morkel's first.

 

1745 hrs IST: Uthappa beams after his splendid performance with the bat. "It was not easy to bat on this wicket but I had told the management I would try to remain till the end," he says. "It was not about taking majority of the strike but batting on merit for us. We have plenty of batsmen who can hit big." Uthappa dedicated his orange cap to coach Pravin Amre. "Thank you sir, " he says.

 

1740 hrs IST: Kolkata score 195/4 against Bangalore. A superb innings from Robin Uthappa worth 83* off 51 balls. Shakib deserves credit too for his 60 off 38.

 

1733 hrs IST: WICKET! Shakib (60) was playing superb cricketing shots and a cheeky variation of a sweep costs him his wicket. Abu Nechim celebrates a much-awaited breakthrough.

 

1725 hrs IST:First IPL fifty for Shakib! And it comes in quick time - 32 balls. It has been an attacking knock which provided just the kind of support that in-form Uthappa needed at the other end.

 

1716 hrs IST: Average 1st innings score at Eden is 147. Kolkata now well past that mark - 150/3 after 16.

 

1710 hrs IST: Shakib joins the fun and how! The Bangladesh veteran slams 24 runs - three sixes and a four - in a single Chahal over. Races to 47 off 27 balls.

 

1705 hrs IST: FIFTY for Uthappa! He takes just 34 deliveries to complete his 13th IPL fifty. He has been in consistent form and this knock has the promise of being a big one. No wonder former India and KKR skipper Sourav Ganguly said this side is benefiting from Uthappa's performance this year. (Read more here)

 

1657 hrs IST: Robin Uthappa is now the highest scorer in IPL 2014. Takes the orange cap from Glenn Maxwell of Kings XI Punjab. This is also his eight 40-plus knock in a row and there's more to come today.

 

1654 hrs IST:Uthappa on fire! Slams boundaries at will to storm into the 40s. Even Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan is shown no respect. KKR bring up 100 in 11.4 overs.

 

1644 hrs IST: After losing three partners inside the first eight overs, Robin Uthappa has once again positioned himself as the key challenge to the opposition. He has been in sublime form in recent matches and RCB seem to be well aware of his scoring abilities.

 

1638 hrs IST:WICKET! Yusuf Pathan (22) has been run-out and it is an unfortunate end to an attacking knock. He looked for an improbable single but was sent back. Although TV replays showed he had grounded his bat, at the time the bails were taken off, the bat was in the air.

 

1635 hrs IST:Yusuf in ominous form. He has already helped himself to two massive sixes apart from a four to seize the initiative back from RCB bowlers.

 

1622 hrs IST: Yusuf Pathan has been promoted in the batting order. He replaces Pandey in the middle. Yusuf had a solid previous match against Chennai - smashing 39 off 28. He later said that it was always about finding form in one match and taking it forward from there. (Read full report here)

 

1620 hrs IST: WICKET! Ashok Dinda strikes. Manish Pandey looks to go over third man but finds Mitchell Starc at the boundary, who runs towards his left to take a good catch. Kolkata 23/2 (3.4 overs)

1612 hrs IST: Ashok Dinda finishes an eventful second over. Gets hammered for a couple a fours. He also test Manish Pandey with a bouncer. Kolkata 15/1 (2 overs)

1604 hrs IST: WICKET! Mitchell Starc gets his man. Kolkata skipper Gautam Gambhir is caught behind playing down the leg side. Kolkata 5/1 (1 over)

1600 hrs IST: Mitchell starts procedings for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa are the two Kolkata Knight Riders openers.

 

1545 hrs IST: Squads:

Kolkata: Uthappa, Gambhir, Pandey, Shakib, Pathan, ten Doeschate, S Yadav, R Vinay Kumar, M Morkel, Umesh and Narine
Bangalore: Gayle, Y Takawale, Kohli, Yuvraj, de Villiers, Sachin Rana, Starc, Ahmed, Dinda, Chahal and M Muralitharan

 

1535 hrs IST: Team news - KKR play Morne Morkel and Vinay Kumar while RCB have chosen to include Ashok Dinda and young Yogesh Takawale. The equation for RCB is simple - win to survive. "We needed to be calm and confident. It is hot here and it would be hard but we need it," said Kohli after the toss. Gambhir on the other hand can be confident but he chooses to play to his strengths. "They have a quality batting line-up but our bowling is strong too. Our past performance is history, need to play strong here today," he said.

 

1530 hrs IST:TOSS! Visiting captain Virat Kohli wins it and he chooses to field. He reckons batting under the lights would be easier and KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir seems to agree. He says he would now hope KKR can set a challenging total here.

 

A win away from clinching an Indian Premier League playoff berth, the high-flying Kolkata Knight Riders would look to complete the formalities against a beleaguered Royal Challengers Bangalore when the two teams clash at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.

The Knight Riders have shown glimpses of their form in the triumphant 2012 season when they enjoyed their largest winning run of six matches, a record they would look to emulate after notching a high-five with an eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings here on Tuesday. Robin Uthappa's belligerent 39-ball 67, his fourth half century of the season, followed by Shakib Al Hasan's 21-ball 46 not out ensured that the Knight Riders cantered home with two overs to spare.

 

On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore are well aware that even two wins in a row won't help their playoff chances if some other results don't go their way.

 

On the batting front, Chris Gayle and Parthiv Patel have looked out of form and in their match against Hyderabad, Royal Challengers had a woefully slow start scoring just 48 runs from the first 10 overs. Bangalore can, however, count on Virat Kohli's return to form after the captain scored his first half century this season to lift their total to 160/6 against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

 

This being an afternoon start, both teams would be wary of the severe heat wave prevailing in this part for about a month now.

 

KKR Profiting From Uthappa, Yadav's Form, Says Sourav Ganguly

 

Former Kolkata Knight Riders captain Sourav Ganguly is happy that a fit Umesh Yadav is bowling at full steam again. The injury-prone Yadav has been vital to India's bowling strength overseas and Ganguly feels his KKR form is good news ahead of the tour of England and Australia later this year.

Writing for www.gocricket.com, Ganguly praised Robin Uthappa for his fine form this season. Uthappa is the first batsman to register 40 or more in seven successive innings in the IPL. Retired Australian opener Matthew Hayden (2009), Virender Sehwag (2012) and Michael Hussey (2013) have recorded a similar feat five times each. (Read more)

 

Bangalore Lost Composure in Testing Times, Says Virat Kohli

 

A disappointed Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday rued the fact that they will now have to adopt a "wait and watch" policy to know their chances of qualifying for the play-offs after the team slumped to its seventh defeat in Indian Premier League 7.

RCB on Tuesday lost by seven wickets to a clinical Sunrisers Hyderabad side to make life difficult for themselves in the tournament. (Highlights)

RCB now find themselves in the fifth position in the points table with two more games to follow. However, a win in the next two matches will not be enough to seal their play-off berth as their fate now depends on the results of other games as well. (Read more)