Kings XI coasts home

It rarely gets better than this, even in the thrill-a-minute DLF Indian Premier League. Tight bowling, some big hitting, spilled catches, some heated exchanges, sensible batting, a frenetic final over, leading to a last ball finish that ended in a six-wicket victory for Kings XI Punjab over a butter-fingered Kolkata Knight Riders here on Sunday.

Mahela Jayawardene celebrated the chance to bat higher up the order with a diligent half-century that steered the chase of 154-run target. His calm, coupled with Irfan Pathan’s creativity in the end saw the side home in an excruciatingly tight finish that could have gone either way. They shared a 45-run stand in just under six overs to help the relieved side claim the two points.

Pathan eased the pressure on the team by first guiding a low full toss from Ajit Agarkar to fine leg and by pulling Ishant Sharma to the mid-wicket fence in the penultimate over that cost Knight Riders 11 runs and left Kings XI Punjab with the task of finding seven runs in the final over bowled by Agarkar.

There was just a single for Pathan off the first ball and Agarkar beat Jayawardene’s hopeful slash with a short ball to make it more interesting. Six runs of four balls and Agarkar had his tails up. Jayawardene slashed again and the ball found the edge and screamed to third man, eluding Sourav Ganguly’s desperate dive.

Two runs needed off three balls. And Agarkar responded with an accurate low full toss that Jayawardene could only push back along the track. Two off two. Consultations dominated the landscape. Agarkar and skipper Brendon McCullum. Jayawardene and Pathan. It was clear that the Kings XI batsmen would run and at least tie the score.

Agarkar conjured another delivery of fuller length and Jaywardene squeezed it through the infield to the man at sweeper cover. The scores were level and sparked off another round of consultations. But Pathan had made up his mind to stay calm and connect the ball and run for life. Agarkar steamed in and bowled fuller length again. Pathan connected and found the gap to scamper through a single that won the team the match.

Defending 154, Kolkata Knight Riders dropped too many catches – sharp ones and sitters when Kings XI Punjab started their chase. As Pathan and Jayawardene completed that final single, it did not seem to matter that Pathan had conceded 21 runs to Brad Hodge (70 not out, 43 balls, 10 fours, one six) and Morne van Wyk in his final over during the Knight Riders’ innings.

Those runs saw Knight Riders surge past the 150-run mark that had appeared to be in the realms of fantasy at the halfway stage when they were 52 for one. That small score was a combination of some smart bowling with the new ball by Ramesh Powar and Pathan himself and by Chris Gayle’s continued failures as well as McCullum’s inability to get going.