In their win-or-get-busted game against Warriors, Kolkata Knight Riders came up with a fairly good bowling performance to keep their opponents on a tight leash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on a rainy Saturday.
The South African unit was restricted to 155 for four after skipper Gautam Gambhir chose to bowl.
Knight Riders, needing a win to keep their campaign alive, suffered a blow before the match when Aussie wicketkeeper Brad Haddin pulled out due to a hamstring injury. Jaydev Unadkat and Shami Ahmed too didn’t figure in the XI. Instead, L Balaji, Shakib Al Hasan and Manvinder Bisla were brought in.
The unbeaten Warriors, who made no changes to their winning combination, lost an early wicket when Jacques Kallis got rid of opener Ashwell Prince in his first over. With the scoreboard reading 15 for one after two overs, Jon-Jon Smuts and Colin Ingram reconstructed the innings.
Smuts knocked 46 runs off 43 balls with six boundaries, while his partner scored a 47-ball 61. The duo added 80 runs for the second wicket. The highlight of Ingram’s innings was a six off Yusuf Pathan. Coming down the pitch, he swung this one over the mid-wicket fence in delightful fashion.
His next one was an improvised version of the previous six. The victim on this occasion was Shakib Al Hasan. Ingram walked down the pitch to loft the ball straight over the bowler’s head. The ball cleared the boundary only to get past the camera crew stationed in the press box.
Soon, Smuts fell to Balaji. He was caught at mid-off by Iqbal Abdulla. Later, Mark Boucher and Ingram put on a 46-run stand. KKR bowlers did well to keep the Warriors run-rate below seven and Australian pacer Brett Lee, who holds the dubious distinction of conceding most fours in this edition of the tournament, was the most economical bowler (1/25).
Brief scores: Warriors 155/4 in 20 overs (C Ingram 61, J Smuts 46, M Boucher 38*, L Balaji 2/35) vs KKR
