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Kolkata Knight Riders notched their second consecutive win with a four-wicket victory over Lahore Lions in a Champions League Twenty20 Group A encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here yesterday. |
A brilliant 100-run stand for the opening wicket between captain Gautam Gambhir (60) and Robin Uthappa (46) helped the Indian Premier League (IPL) side overhaul the Lions’ score of 151 for seven.
The Knight Riders were coasting at 100 for no loss but made a meal of things towards the latter half by losing six wickets for under 50 runs. In the end, Suryakumar Yadav, 14 not out off five balls, kept his cool to steer KKR to victory with three balls to spare.
Earlier, Ahmed Shehzad smashed 59 off 42 balls as the Lions sped to 50 for no loss in the sixth over. But opener Nasir Jamshed’s run out in the seventh over opened the floodgates as the Pakistan outfit lost five wickets for the next 50 runs. Umar Akmal blitzed his way to 40 off just 24 balls to take his team to a fighting score. West Indian spinner Sunil Narine was the pick of the bowlers grabbing three wickets while Pat Cummins, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav all chipped in with one each.
Blizzard blitz flattens Cobras
In the day’s first match, Hobart Hurricanes of Australia rode on a fine half-century from middle-order batsman Aiden Blizzard (78 not out off 48 balls) to beat South African team Cape Cobras by six wickets in their Group B clash. The South Africans batted first and managed to post an imposing total of 186/4 despite losing wickets at regular intervals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Richard Levi (42 off 30 balls) and Dane Vilas (25 from 22 balls) put on 48 runs for the third wicket to build a platform for Vernon Philander (32 not out) and Robin Peterson (25) to set a strong score.
In reply, Hurricanes lost Tim Paine early but Ben Dunk’s 35-ball 54 put them on course but his untimely dismissal allowed Cobras to claw back in to the game.
The Hurricanes’ scoring rate began to decrease and their task was made harder when both Shoaib Malik (8) and Travis Birt (7) were dismissed cheaply in the middle of their innings.
The Hobart batting line-up then became nervous as they looked to be in danger of losing a match they were comfortably winning when they required 31 runs off the final 16 balls. But they were rescued from trouble by Blizzard’s blistering knock that was studded by four boundaries and five sixes.
Brief Scores
Lahore Lions: 151 for seven in 20 overs (Ahmed Shehzad 59, Umar Akmal 40; Sunil Narine 3-9, Pat Cummins 1-38) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders: 153 for six in 19.3 overs (Gautam Gambhir 60, Robin Uthappa 46; Adnan Rasool 1-28. Aizaz Cheeks 2-42)
Cape Cobras 184/6 in 20 overs (Richard Levi 42, Vernon Philander 32; Ben Laughlin 2/31) lost to Hobart Hurricanes 186/4 in 19 overs (Aiden Blizzard 78 not out, Ben Dunk 54; Sybrand Engelbrecht 3/20).
Kolkata Knight Riders spinner Sunil Narine (right) conceded only nine runs and picked up three wickets against Lahore Lions at the Champions League T20 in Hyderabad, yesterday. (BCCI)
