Kolkata: Kolkata Knight Riders came up with an all-round show to romp into the Indian Premier League (IPL) final with a clinical 28-run win over Kings XI Punjab in Qualifier 1 here on Wednesday.
Put in to bat, the Knights posted a challenging 163 for eight and then restricted the Kings to 135 for eight before a packed Eden Gardens to reach their second final in three years. They won the tournament in 2012.
The hosts rode on useful contributions by their mainline batsmen and overcame the loss of wickets at crucial junctures to finish on the right note by plundering 49 runs in the last four overs.
The Kings’ reply started on the wrong note, with the big wicket of Virender Sehwag (2) falling in the second over. The seasoned campaigner punched a short of a length delivery from Umesh Yadav into the hands of cover fielder Shakib Al Hassan.
Manan Vohra (26; 19b,3x6) and Wriddhiman Saha (35; 31b 2x4 2x6) began cautiously as they tried to put the Kings XI Punjab innings back on track. The rain, which stopped the match from being played the day before and had led to a 25-minute stoppage during the Knights’ knock, resumed in the fourth over of the Kings’ innings. The ground staff rushed on with the covers but the umpires ruled that the game should continue.
The visitors, then 17 for one in 3.2 overs, needed to reach 37 for the par score within five overs. Vohra duly obliged, hitting two consecutive sixes off Shakib as the fifth over produced 15 runs, taking the Kings to 39.
Vohra then launched a six over long-on, but Morne Morkel saw off the batsman three balls later, with Yadav catching a miscued pull deep at mid-on.
Glenn Maxwell (6) did not last long, but Saha — playing on his home ground — kept the scoreboard moving with singles, besides a big six off Piyush Chawla. But it was not enough for the Kings as the asking rate continued to climb, putting the visitors under pressure.
Morkel again struck in the 12th over as a desperate Saha endeavoured to step up the scoring rate, but only succeeded in scooping the ball to Yadav, reducing Kings XI to 80/4.
From then on, the Knights established firm control as David Miller (8) and Akshar Patel (2) departed in quick succession. George Bailey (26; 17 b, 1x4, 2x6) and Mitchell Johnson (10no) tried to put up a fight but the die was already cast.
Yadav finished with enviable figures of three for 13 to bag the man of the match award. Morkel got two wickets.
Earlier, the Knights rode on the brilliance of top scorer Robin Uthappa (42, 30b, 4x4 2x6) to post a challenging total as the other batsmen also chipped in with useful contributions.
After losing skipper Gautam Gambhir (1) early on, Uthappa stitched a 65-run partnership with Manish Pandey (21) to build a solid platform. The duo though, departed in the ninth over to leave the hosts in a spot of bother at 67 for three.
Uthappa, who now has 655 runs from 15 outings, has achieved the highest aggregate by an Indian batsman in an IPL season, overcoming Virat Kohli’s 634 in 2012.
Shakib (18) and Yousuf Pathan (20) made useful contributions before being dismissed on successive balls.
Resuming the match after a 25-minute stoppage due to rain, the Knights went for the slog, hitting some lusty boundaries.
A late onslaught led by Ryan ten Doeschate (17), Surya Kumar Yadav (20) and an unbeaten nine-ball 17 from Piyush Chawla saw Kolkata put a challenging score on the board.
For the visitors, Karanveer (3/40) was the most successful bowler, while Patel 2/11 and Johnson 2/31 were the other wicket-takers.
