Extremely desperate to change things around, Pune Supergiants badly needed a win to get them into the winnings ways- their captain who previously led the victorious Chennai Super Kings has had a visibly disappointing IPL by his usual standards, Pune’s balance just doesn’t has the same affect which Chennai Super Kings side had.
| Rising Pune Supergiants | vs | Kolkata Knight Riders |
| Date | 24 Apr 2016 | |
| Venue | Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium | |
| 160/5 (20) | 162/8 (19.3) | |
Knight Riders won by 2 wickets |
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Kolkata Knight Riders whereas may not have the star power like Pune but it’s a perfectly balanced side, the top order clicks because the opening duo of Uthappa and Gambhir is able to provide the much needed stability at the opening slot which dictates term for the middle order.
KKR won the toss and decided to bowl first
In their encounter with Pune Supergiants, KKR won the toss and Gambhir decided to put Pune into bat. Manish went out and IN CAME Sathish for KKR. Pune were forced to replace Kevin Petersen with Albie Morkel, whereas they decided to leave Ishant Sharma out for Tiwary.
RPS lost first wicket in 24 runs
Pune’s innings began on a weak note, credit to Gambhir’s aggressive captaincy of getting Shakib into the game in the 4th over, who grasped the wicket of Du Plessis (the South African batsman). Pune Supergiants were 24/1.
Rahane and Smith try to pave a path
Smith who has been horribly out of form in this format precisely got some aspects going in his favor in this game. Rahane and Smith took the innings forward, not in an aggressive manner but building a base for the coming batsmen to take advantage from.
Sathish outs Smith
To break the partnership which was starting to look dangerous for KKR, Gambhir yet again showed unique and innovative captaincy, bringing IN Sathish (the batsman) into bowl. The move clicked instantly as Sathish got Smith out in his very first over of the innings – getting rid of him for 31. The shocker from Gambhir’s side was to not give an over to Umesh Yadav BUT things were still working in favor of KKR, Umesh bowled only 2 overs in the match.
Perera, and then Dhoni
Perera came IN and went OUT after playing 9 deliveries, in which he also smashed a six. Next into the crease was the Pune’s captain in MS Dhoni.
KKR gave away too many runs in last 5 overs
Rahane’s tempo increased in the latter half of the innings, a few sixes and boundaries from Rahane and after his dismissal for 67 off 52 balls, Morkel’s aggressive striking along with Dhoni’s finishing to perfection got Pune’s score to 160/5. Pune smashed 60 in the last 5, out of which 17 runs came in the last over – the KKR team was looking visibly disappointed knowing that they gave away way too many runs in the last 5 overs.
Uthappa LBW
The first delivery of KKR’s chase gave them a set-back in the fall of Robin Uthappa, caught leg before wicket to Albie Morkel – a duck for Uthappa increased the pressure on KKR considering Gambhir and his consistency at the top order has been instrumental in guiding KKR to victory.
Gambhir lost wicket at 11, Hasan for 3
Gambhir smashed 2 early boundaries but even he wasn’t able to go on and play the role of an anchor, losing his wicket for 11, due to a disastrous runout, pegging the run chase. Quick to follow him to the pavilion was Shakib Al Hasan (the Bangladeshi all rounder) going cheaply for an ill-timed 3 in 9 deliveries.
Yadav and Pathan picked up pace
The critically timed partnership between Surya Kumar Yadav and Yusuf Pathan gave the chase some much needed momentum. Surya Kumar looked extremely comfortable at the crease, making 60 in 49 balls. Pathan on the other end made 36 in 27 deliveries – in a run chase of 161, the strike rate at which they were going at was fine; they needed 2 players to stay at the pitch, which these two did successfully. Frustratingly though for KKR fans, just when things looked in control – both of them lost their wicket.
7 Required in last over
The pressure of taking innings to the finishing line came on Russell, who too didn’t accomplish in the role and the last few moments of the match were nail-biting.
Requiring 7 in the last over, the KKR had 2 tail-enders in Chawla and Umesh Yadav batting. The first ball was hit through covers by Chawla for a double, the next ball saw the fall of Chawla and suddenly the equation was extremely in favor of Rising Pune Supergiants – requiring to defend 6 in 4 deliveries. It wasn’t to be though and guess what! The bowler in Umesh Yadav turned batsman and smashed a six over long-on, Gambhir was visibly excited with the win – jumping and celebrating another formidable performance from his side.
Fun Fact : Umesh Yadav has a century in Ranji trophy, hitting a 128*.
The win puts KKR back at the top in the points table, whereas Pune fall to 7th.
RPS vs KKR (IPL 2016 M 20) Playing XI
Rising Pune Supergiants
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Kolkata Knight Riders
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