Match 19: RC v. KKR: Boucher Helps RC win the Thriller!

Though both teams are not minnows, the current points table and the number of wins makes them minnows. The fight between them was a real fight as it went to the last over requiring 10 runs. Nail biting finish and both of them put in their best, but at the end of the day, Bangalore Royal Challengers had the final laugh.

Deciding to bat first, McCullum lost his wicket to Pietersen, who decided to open the bowling for RC. The move was a successful one as he picked McCullum on the first ball of the innings.

Gayle and Hodge revived the innings for KKR. They added 45 for the 2nd wicket in 34 balls. Hodge improved the run rate with a six and two fours of Pankaj Singh in the 4th over in which KKR scored 14 runs. Kumble provided the break through with a successful leg before appeal to remove Hodge for 17.

Ganguly, top scoring for KKR in the last 2 matches, fell for mere 1, caught by Kallis of a short ball from Praveen Kumar. This definitely pushed KKR in the back seat.

End of 10 overs, KKR were 61 for 3. The debutant of this season, van Wyk, played sensibly scoring one and twos. He hit 4 fours in his unbeaten 43 in 35 balls. Saha helped with his quick 21 off 14 balls. KKR ended at 139 for 6 in 20 overs.

RC started well with a good 69 run parternship for the first wicket. Kallis and Goswami played good shots to keep the momentum and ensured that they did not lose the wicket. Goswami fell first for 43 and Kallis followed him for 23. Pietersen and Kohli added 29 but that was not enough.

RC neede 42 in the last 5 overs with Kohli and Pietersen batting. Kohili hit a six and fell in the next ball. Pietersen fell two balls latter and added pressure to the team.

Two new batsmen at the crease--Boucher and van der Merwe. In the 16th over last ball, Merwe hit a six of Gayle to reduce the equation to 25 off 18 balls.

In the 18th over, Hodge went for 11 runs including a six by Boucher. Last 2 overs required 14 runs. Ishanth Sharma was brought back and he bowled a superb over and gave away just 4 runs including a leg bye. He also picked the crucial wicket of Merwe caught by Wyk for 9.

Last over, 10 runs, Gayle had the ball. Until then, he had the figure of 3-0-18-0 and McCullum thought he would be the right choice.

First ball was a single by Pandey. Boucher, stepping down, hit a four over mid wicket of the 2nd ball. It was a good shot at the pressure time.

Four balls and 5 runs. Boucher played it to extra cover for a single. Gayle didn't collect the throw from the deep and gave away extra run.

3 balls 3 runs, Boucher played to point and took easy 2 runs. Last 2 balls, 1 run. Juicy full toss on the leg stump and Boucher uses it to send it for winning boundary.

Royal Challengers celebrate while McCullum's men are completely disappointed. They have lost another match. This is the 4th loss for KKR with one win and one abandoned. This is RC's 2nd win and they have lost 4 matches. Both the teams have played 6 matche so far. RC has 4 points and KKR has 3.

Scoreboard:

Match # 19
Date: Wednesday April 29, 2009
Teams: Bangalore Royal Challengers v. Kolkata Knight Riders
Captains: Pietersen and McCullum
Toss: KKR, decided to bat
Venue: Kingsmead, Durban
Result: RC won by 5 wickets with 1 ball remaining
Points: RC 2; KKR 0
Man of the Match: Mark Boucher off RC

Kolkata Knight Riders Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
McCullum	c Kohli b Pietersen	0	1	0	0
Gayle	c Goswami b Appanna	40	37	6	0
Hodge	lbw b Kumble	17	15	2	1
Ganguly	c Kallis b P Kumar	1	8	0	0
Van Wyk	Not Out	43	35	4	0
Saha	c Pietersen b Kumble	21	14	0	1
Shukla	lbw b van der Merwe	2	3	0	0
Agarkar	Not Out	6	7	0	0
Extras	(lb 2, w 7)	9	-	-	-
Total	for 6 wkts in 20 overs	139	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (McCullum, 0.1 ov), 2-45 (Hodge, 5.5 ov), 3-54 (Ganguly, 8.3 ov), 4-70 (Gayle, 11.2 ov), 5-110 (Saha, 16.3 ov), 6-118 (Shukla, 17.4 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
Pietersen	4	0	24	1
van der Merwe	4	0	28	1
Pankaj Singh	1	0	14	0
P Kumar	4	0	25	1
Kumble	4	0	16	2
Appanna	3	0	30	1

Bangalore Royal Challengers Innings:

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Kallis	c van Wyk b I Sharma	23	25	2	0
Goswami	c van Wyk b Hodge	43	46	6	0
Pietersen	c Saha b Hodge	13	12	1	0
Kohli	c van Wyk b Hodge	19	12	1	1
Boucher	Not Out	25	13	2	1
van der Merwe	c van Wyk b I Sharma	9	9	0	1
M Pandey	Not Out	2	2	0	0
Extras	(b 1, lb 1, w 7)	9	-	-	-
Total	for 5 wkts in 19.5 overs	143	-	-	-

Fall of Wickets: 1-69 (Goswami, 11.1 ov), 2-77 (Kallis, 12.4 ov), 3-106 (Kohli, 15.4 ov), 4-107 (Pietersen, 15.6 ov), 5-129 (van der Merwe, 18.5 ov)

Bowler	O	M	R	W
I Sharma	4	0	15	2
Agarkar	2	0	23	0
M Karthik	4	0	26	0
Gayle	3.5	0	31	0
Hodge	4	0	29	3
Ganguly	2	0	17	0