In the crucial encounter, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 147 after put into bat by Warne. Hafeez was out in the 2nd over trying to pull a shot ball, but did not time it well as it went to mid on for an easy catch to Asnodkar.
Ganguly and Salman aded 33 for the 2nd wicket before Salman was trapped plumb in front of the wicket for 24 off 20 balls with 5 fours.
Ganguly playing slowly to ensure that he stays in the crease till the end. He hit a six of Warne in the 11th over, his first six and also for Kolkata in this match.
Hussey did not prove one more time as a dangerous batsman. He was bowled by Pathan for 11. At the end of 12 overs, Kolkata were 72 for 3, scoring at 6 runs per over.
Das hit a straight six of Warne, who was really surprised. Another six was scored by Das off Pathan. Ganguly finally got out in the 15th over bowled by Trivedi. He scooped the ball to long on for a simple catch to Kaif. He was out for 32 off 34 balls with 2 fours and a six. Shukla ended the over with a six over fine leg boundary. End of 15 overs, Kolkata were 102 for 4.
The last 5 overs added 45 runs to the total losing 4 more wickets. The last two overs added 24 to the total and that gave some hope to Ganguly's men. Sohail Tanvir picked 3 wickets for 26 runs of his 4 overs. Munaf Patel bowled a wickets main in his 2nd over to finish with 4-1-22-2.
But, it proved otherwise inspite of losing 4 wickets for 69. Ganguly's men couldn't capitalize that. they had good chance after dismissing Watson, the inform batsman.
The dangerous batsman Asnodkar was caught behind off Ishanth Sharm in the 2nd over last ball. The fifth over bowled by Agarkar was costlies in the first 5 overs. He was hammered for a four by Smith and then a four and six by Sohail Tanvir, who was promoted in the batting order.
End of 5 overs, Rajasthan were 42 for 1. The second wicket was that of Sohail Tanvir. He was caught by Salmat Butt, another Pakistan mate at mid off. The bowler was Pakistani too, Umar Gul.
In the same over, Smith tried to pull the ball pitched outside leg stump, but it touched the glove on the way and Saha took a brilliant one handed diving catch. Two wickets in an over, brought Kolkata back in the game.
The next two overs were bowled well to give just 8 runs. End of 8 overs, Rajasthan were 50 for 3, requiring 98 from 12 overs. Agarkar was hit for a six over square leg by Watson and then for a four in the last ball.
Ganguly provided the break through by bowling Watson for 19 off 15 balls. End of 10 overs, Rajasthan were 69 for 4. The last 10 overs required 79 runs with 6 wickets in hand. All Ganguly needed was just another 1 or 2 wickets in the next two overs, but it didn't happen.
I believe Ganguly missed the services of Shoaib Akhtar today. Though he said Umar bowled well, he really did not. His second wicket of Smith was a pure luck as most of the times, Smith would have put that away to either a four or six.
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Pathan and Kaif played well not losing their wickets for the next few overs. Pathan hit two fours off Umar Gul in the 11th over.
Ganguly's over turned the table. He was hit for a four over long off, a six over long on and then a six over square leg. That over added 17 to the total and brought the required run rate.
The 15th over added 15 to the total with 3 continuous fours by Kaif off Dinda. 20 runs required in 30 balls. Pathan missed a chance to beat his own record of fastest 50. His previous record was in 22 balls and in today's match, including two fours and a six in the 17th over bowled by Umar Gul, he finished with 48 off 15 balls. The winning shot over mid wicket boundary was a good six, but it didn't take him to 50.
Kaif was not out on 34 off 31 balls with 4 fours.
With Kolkata losing this crucial match, they are virutally out of the IPL. With two more matches to go, they have to win both the games and try their luck to see if other teams lose their games. They have to play against Delhi Daredevils in Delhi on May 22 and then against Kings XI Punjab on May 25 at Kolkata.
Rajasthan Royals secured their place for the Semi Finals with 9 wins out of their 11 matches.
Match 44
Venue: Kolkata
Date: May 20, 2008
Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals
Captains: Sourav Ganguly and Shane Warne
Toss: Rajasthan Royals and decided to field
Result: Rajasthan Royals won by 6 wickets with 21 balls remaining
Man of the Match: Yousuf Pathan off Rajasthan Royals (India)
Points: Rajasthan Royals-2; Kolkata Knight Riders-0
Score:
Kolkata Knight Riders 147 for 8 in 20 overs (Salman Butt 24, Mohammad Hafeez 4, SC Ganguly 32, DJ Hussey 11, DB Das 31, LR Shukla 15, WP Saha 11 not out, AB Agarkar 5, Umar Gul 7, I Sharma 2 not out, Extras-5 (lb 2, wide 3), Sohail Tanvir 4-0-26-3, MM Patel 4-1-22-2, SR Watson 4-0-36-0, SK Trivedi 3-0-26-1, SK Warne 3-0-21-0, YK Pathan 2-0-14-1) lost to Rajasthan Royals 150 for 4 in 16.3 overs (GC Smith 24, SA Asnodkar 5, Sohail Tanvir 13, M Kaif 34 not out, SR Watson 19, YK Pathan 48 not out, Extras-7 (lb 4, wide 3), AB Dinda 4-0-32-0, I Sharma 3-0-23-1, AB Agarkar 3-0-30-0, Umar Gul 3.3-1-30-2, SC Ganguly 2-0-24-1, LR Shukla 1-0-7-0)
Man of the Match List
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