IPL 2014 Highlights Score KKR vs SRH: Yusuf Pathan's 22-ball 72 Helps Kolkata Knight Riders Finish Second in Group Stages

Yusuf Pathan's 22-ball 72 helped Kolkata Knight Riders finish second in the group stages. (Scorecard | Summary | Points Table | Schedule)

Yusuf Pathan, Man-of-the-Match: This is my best innings ever, better than my hundred for the Royals, because it helped my side win. I don't care about my wicket, all I want to do is help my team win; no matter what people say.

That's the end of this match. Another double-header tomorrow.

Gautam Gambhir, Kolkata Knight Riders captain: I have never seen an innings like Yusuf's and I never will. We wanted to finish in the first two. We were always playing for 15.2 overs, irrespective of a win or a loss. We would have qualified in third place anyways. We deserved to be there in the top two after the kind of cricket we played in the last couple of weeks. We will now get two cracks for the final.

 

Darren Sammy, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain: I wish I could hit like Yusuf. Credit to Yusuf for going the way he did. What phenomenal hitting

 

Kolkata Knight Riders win by four wickets after Yusuf Pathan (72 off 22 balls) blasted the fastest half-century in the IPL. The Knight Riders were already assured of a playoffs berth but had to get 161 off 15.2 overs to topple CSK in the rankings and finish second. After a strong start by Robin Uthappa, Yusuf unleashed a flurry of sixes and fours and took on Dale Steyn and Karn Sharma as a packed Eden Gardens roared its approval

 

23:06 IST: Yusuf Pathan finally perished for 72 off 22 balls as KKR came close to sealing a second-spot finish in the IPL group stages.

 

23:02 IST: Yusuf Pathan tears into Dale Steyn, takes 26 runs as KKR reach 142/5. The second spot is now in sight. Yusuf blasted 4, 6, 6, 4, 4 and 2 and also brought up the fastest fifty in the IPL.

 

22:56 IST: WICKET! Shakib tried to do a Yusuf, who took 15 off the four previous balls off Sharma. But Shakib held out in the deep as KKR reached 116/5 off 12 overs.

 

22:51 IST: Yusuf Pathan is turning the game on its head. He took 21 runs off Rasool's first over to help the KKR get back on track. They are 100/3 in 11 overs.

 

22:44 IST: WICKET! This is turning out badly for the Knight Riders as ten Doeschate exits, run out for a duck. Forget a second place, KKR are struggling to stay in the game at 78/4 off 10 overs.

 

22:41 IST: This is bound to be an exciting game. Uthappa smashed Holder for SIX to become the first batsman to bring up 600 runs this season before hammering him for a four. He took Sharma on and dispatched him for SIX before holding out in the deep for 41 as KKR reached 77/3 off 9.2 overs.

 

22:30 IST: WICKET! Pandey was getting frustrated at not being able to up the ante and he played a rash shot to fall to Karn Sharma for 2 as KKR reached 55/2 in 7.3 overs. Strategic timeout.

 

22:15 IST: High drama at the Eden. Holder bowled a no-ball which was hammered for SIX. The free-hit produced a boundary but that was another no-ball from the bowler. The next free-hit produced two, before Holder knocked Gambhir off for 28 the next ball. KKR 43/1 off 4.4 overs.

22:09 IST: Gambhir timed sweetly and connected a Steyn delivery, which raced away to the fence. KKR, who need to chase down 161 in 15.2 overs, are 26/0 after 4.

 

22:04 IST: Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivered an expensive second over as Gambhir took a boundary and Uthappa creamed two boundaries. KKR reached 20/0 after 3 overs.

22:00 IST: Gambhir got a streaky edge off Dale Steyn to find a lucky boundary. KKR 7/0 after two overs.

 

21:55 IST: Great first over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who gives away just two to KKR's inform openers, Gambhir and Uthappa. KKR 2/0 after 1.

 

Sunrisers Hyderabad post 160/7 off their 20 overs. They were tied down by the Kolkata spinners and had scored only nine runs for three overs after the 15th before taking Umesh Yadav on in the 19th, taking 17 runs. Some late order blitz from Darren Sammy and Jason Holder helped SRH to a respectable score.

 

21:20 IST: WICKET! That's the end of Anirudh Srikkanth, who was completely clueless to the guile of Shakib. He was all at sea against KKR's spinners, before finally perishing to the wily left-arm spinner from Bangladesh. KKR 127/5 off 16.3 overs.

 

21:11 IST: Another eventful over; Sammy slammed Shakib for two successive sixes and a boundary before Rao was run out as SRH reach 121/4 off 15 overs

 

21:07 IST: Venugopal Rao's outside edge has paid good dividends for the Sunrisers; two of the three boundaries he got off Morkel came off the edge as SRH reach 102/3 off 14 overs.

 

21:00 IST: The spinners had dried up the runs and the pressure must have got to Dhawan who took off after playing the ball to Manish Pandey; he dived to save runs and then picked up the ball as Uthappa whipped the bails off in a flash to run Dhawan out. Brilliant fielding. SRH 89/3 off 12.2 overs.

 

20:38 IST: WICKET! Naman Ojha had just dispatched Ryan ten Doeschate for a SIX and then skied the next ball as the bowler positioned himself beautifully to take a good catch. SRH 69/2 after 8 overs.

 

20:31 IST: Expensive first over from Unesh Yadav, who leaked three boundaries as SRH reach 62/1 off 7.

 

20:27 IST: Naman Ojha gets two boundaries from Sunil Narine's first over as they reach 49/1 off 6 overs.

 

20:20 IST: Dhawan hits Vinay Kumar for two boundaries as SRH reach 37/1 off four overs. This is a good start after Warner was dismissed early. A lot depends on the former SRH captain here.

 

20:16 IST: Five wides from Morne Morkel allowed SRH to end the third over on 24/1. They need Dhawan and Ojha to bat long and deep. Warner is gone and there's no Finch tonight.

 

20:11 IST: Brilliant over from Vinay Kumar, who got swing and troubled both Dhawan and Ojha. SRH 14/1 off 2 overs.

 

20:06 IST: A very eventful start to the innings; Naman Ojha walks in and gets off the mark with a boundary off Morkel. SRH 9/1 off 1 over.

 

20:03 IST: WICKET! What a start to the game. Warner smashes Morkel for a boundary off the first ball of the innings before the tall South African bowler castled him to leave SRH at 5/1 off 0.2 over.

 

19:40 IST: Here are the playing XIs:

 

KKR: RV Uthappa (WK), G Gambhir (Captain), MK Pandey, YK Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, RN ten Doeschate, SA Yadav, R Vinay Kumar, M Morkel, UT Yadav, SP Narine

SRH: DA Warner, S Dhawan, NV Ojha (WK), S Anirudha, DJG Sammy (Captain), Y Venugopal Rao, Parvez Rasool, KV Sharma, DW Steyn, JO Holder, B Kumar

 

19:35 IST: Kolkata Knight Riders bowl vs Sunrisers Hyderabad. KKR remain unchanged while SRH drop Finch and Irfan and include Jason Holder and Anirudh Srikanth.

Kolkata eye top-two finish, Hyderabad look to stay alive

Buoyed by a record-levelling sixth win on the trot and the confirmation of their place in the playoffs, Kolkata Knight Riders will now gun for a top-two finish when they take on a resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL fixture on Saturday.

In a season reminiscent of their triumphant 2012 campaign, Kolkata Knight Riders have emerged as the team to beat with some clinical performances, be it against formidable two-time former champions Chennai Super Kings or a misfiring Royal Challengers Bangalore.

For KKR, the challenge from here on would be to continue the awesome run, while Sunrisers Hyderabad would look to keep their playoff hopes alive in the concluding league match. (Read more)

Kolkata not chokers anymore, says Gambhir

Refusing to take credit for turning around the fortunes of his team, captain Gautam Gambhir said on Thursday that he was satisfied but not surprised over his Kolkata Knight Riders' six-match winning streak which powered it to the playoffs of the Indian Premier League.

Addressing the media after humbling Royal Challengers Bangalore by 30 runs at the Eden Gardens here, Gambhir credited the entire team and support staff for the KKR's stupendous run after losing five of the seven games initially.

"It's pretty relieving, especially after we had just two wins from the first seven games. From there to turn it around and win six games in a row is very satisfying but we always believed that we had the side to turn it around. (Read more)

David Warner enjoying 'new' role for Sunrisers

Sunrisers Hyderabad's swashbuckling batsman David Warner is enjoying his time at the top of the order for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League 2014. He expressed his delight for his 'new' role with a brilliant 45-ball knock of 90 to pave the way for Hyderabad's six-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings on Thursday to keep his side's playoff hopes alive.

After playing in the middle-order for most parts of the tournament, the Sunrisers management decided to promote him back to his prefered opening position in their previous game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. The move paid off as he smashed 59 off 46 balls in Sunrisers Hyderabad's seven wicket win. He followed that knock up with another match-winning innings vs the Chennai Super Kings.

"I love batting at the top of the order, I enjoyed steadying the ship as well. Then the coach came up and asked me to open," Warner said, while collecting the Man of the Match Award for his scintillating knock against Chennai. (Read more)


Shikhar's time out with Junior Dhawan

He has had many partners on the cricket field but off it, Shikhar Dhawan has just one champion good enough or perhaps even better - son, Zoravar!

After smashing a fiery IPL7 half-century against Chennai Super Kings in Hyderabad on Thursday, Dhawan celebrated Sunrisers Hyderabad's win in the most 'cuddly' manner possible. He hoisted his son in his arms and played with the infant - the monstrous batsman from moments ago giving way to a genial, affectionate father. (Read more)