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Match Review of Kochi Tuskers vs Kolkatta Knight Riders


Indian Premier League
Date 4th May 2011
TeamsKochi Tuskers vs Kolkatta Knight Riders
Match no. 45
Venueawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, Kochi.
Umpires Rod Tucker and S. Ravi Third Umpire: S.K. Tarapore
Toss olkatta Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field

Playing XI

Kochi Tuskers Kerela
  • Mahela Jayawardane ©
  • Michael Klinger
  • B. McCullum
  • Parthiv Patel
  • Brad Hodge
  • R. Jadeja
  • Raiphi Gomez
  • Prashanth Paramesawarn
  • S. Srisanth
  • R. Vinay Kumar
  • R. P. Singh
  • P. Parameswaran
Kolkatta Knight Riders
  • Eoin Morgan
  • Gautam Gambhir (c)
  • Jacque Kallis
  • Manoj Tiwari
  • Yusuf Pathan
  • Rajat Bhatia
  • I. Abdullah
  • Bret Lee
  • Sarabjit Ladda
  • Jaidev Unadkat
  • Mark Boucher


The 45th match of the IPL season was scheduled between the Kochi Tuskers and the Knight Riders in Kochi. Though the Knight Riders are better placed on the points tally than the Tuskers, but the later had a psychological advantage of having defeated the Riders on their home ground.

The Tuskers is a new franchise but has many experienced and dangerous players like McCullum, Brad Hodge & Jayawardane. McCullum's ability to destroy the bowling attack is well known. The Tuskers have never been able to the reach the top 4 on the table but their performance on their home ground has been remarkable.

The Rider's army comprises of names like Kallis, Gambhir, Tiwari & Yusuf Pathan who have been consistently performing. With Bret Lee leading the bowling attack and Abdullah in superb form the Riders had good chances of putting up a win.

The Riders captain, Gautam Gambhir, after winning the toss put the opposition to bat. The Tusker's batting was opened by the regular openers McCullum and Klinger. McCullum's power to hit the ball with the field restrictions on can take the game away from the opposition, but it was not his day today. He got out cheaply on a score of just 1 and the tuskers were a wicket down on a score of 6 runs.

Parthiv Patel, who played gem of an innings against the Daredevils, was the next man in. Patel put up a small partnership with Klinger to take the total to 30 runs in the 6th over. Patel was quick in scoring his 21 hitting four boundaries before he got out to the spinner Unadkad. This brought the Skipper, Jayawardane on the field, who seemed to be in an attacking mode. He along with Klinger added another 51 runs to the total before the later got out on the bowling of Yusuf Pathan. The Tusker's at this stage were scoring at a good run rate and were 81/3 in 12 overs.

Ravinder Jadeja who has been the star performer for the Tuskers did not trouble the scorecard much and got out after scoring just 8 runs. Then comes the hitter Brad Hodge to the crease. He along with the skipper put up a handsome partnership of 38 runs in 28 balls till the skipper lost his wicket to a brilliant run out by Ladda. Meanwhile, Hodge kept slogging the ball and scored a quick 35 in 19 balls with three fours and 2 sixes. The last over from Bret Lee was very expensive and conceded 22 runs helping the Tusker's total cross the 150 mark. The Tusker's innings came to an end at a total of 156 runs.

Kallis and Morgan opened the innings for the Riders. They put up a great opening partnership of 69 runs with a scoring rate of just 6 an over. Kallis was the 1st wicket down. He scored 45 in just 41 balls. It was an ideal start for the Riders, just the kind they would have liked to have. But soon the dreams were over, when their Skipper Gambhir, who was the next man in, got out without scoring a run. The in-form Tiwari who has been scoring in every match was caught brilliantly by McCullum after scoring just 1 run. A good start suddenly got converted to a bad one with Riders 3 wickets down for 97 runs in the 14th over.

While all this was going on, the other opener Morgan played his natural cricket and ensured that the scoreboard kept ticking. He put up a useful partnership of 35 with Pathan but could not finish the things. He got out after scoring a brilliant 66 runs in 51 balls. With four wickets down and the required run rate above 12, it was a huge ask. Even the big hitter like Pathan was not able to connect the ball well resulting in his wicket. The wickets kept falling and the Riders could manage to make only 139 runs.

The mantra to successful chasing, keep your wickets intact. Wickets in hand keeps the confidence of the team high and allows them to take their chances in the death overs. The Riders must have been disappointed, with such a great start they would have expected to finish off things their way.

Riders after loosing to Tuskers are now positioned at no. 2 on the points tally with the Mumbai Indians on the top. However the hosts are placed at No. 5. Few more matches in the tournament and the points table may look very different that what it looks today.

Result: Kochi Tuskers Kerela won by 17 runs.
The Awards:
Man of the match:
Brad Hodge for his outstanding inning of 35 in 19 balls with 3 boundaries and 2 sixes.

Maximum Sixes:
Brad Hodge for hitting 2 huge sixes.

Kingfisher Fair Play Award
Kings XI Punjab tops the chart & Knight Riders at the bottom.

Orange Cap (The leading run scorer)
Sachin Tendulkar- Mumbai Indians.

Purple Cap (The leading wicket taker)
Lasith Mallinga- Mumbai Indians

Question of the day:
Was it wise to rest L. Balaji in this match by Kolkatta Knight Riders?



Last Updated on 6 May 2011





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