Hyderabad: Kolkata Knight Riders stormed into the final of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament by beating Hobart Hurricanes by seven wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Thursday.
After restricting Hurricanes to 140 with their quality spin bowling in the first semi-final of tournament, the Kolkata team chased down the target with five balls to spare as Jacques Kallis hoisted Doug Bollinger for a six to seal yet another victory.
Kallis remained unbeaten on 54 (40b, 4x4,2x6) and was adjudged man-of-the-match. His 63-run partnership for the third wicket with Manish Pandey and unbeaten 34-run stand with Yusuf Pathan helped KKR extend their winning streak in all competitions to 14 matches.
Pandey struck six boundaries and a six in his 32-ball 40 to help the team after the openers had returned to the pavilion with the score at 44 in the eighth over.
KKR, who remain unbeaten in the tournament, will meet the winner of the second semi-final between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab in the final in Bangalore on Saturday.
Earlier, electing to bat after winning the toss, Hurricanes set a respectable target thanks to Shoaib Malek’s unbeaten 66 off 46 deliveries that include four boundaries and four hits over the fence.
The Pakistani steered the Australian side after their top order collapsed. Malek, who is married to the Indian tennis star from this city, Sania Mirza, played some aggressive shots, much to the delight of the holiday crowd.
Malek scored 21 runs including two fours and two sixes in the 19th over to lift the Hobart innings. Before this over, Kuldeep Yadav had conceded only 10 runs in three overs and had claimed a wicket.
Andre Russell drew first blood for KKR in his first over and the second of the innings, when he dived to take Dom Michael caught and bowled for nought.
Hobart received a huge setback in the next over as their most successful batsman in the tournament, Aiden Blizzard, was trapped leg before off Yusuf Pathan. He too returned to the pavilion without opening his account.
Ben Dunk, who looked solid when he hit three boundaries in an over off Russell, did not last long as he could not control his aggression and handed a simple catch to Gautam Gambhir off Yadav. Dunk hit four boundaries and a six in his 29-ball 39.
Sunil Narine, who was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action in the last match, gave away 24 runs in his four overs and claimed a wicket. Pathan and Russell also shared the same bowling figures.
