Rajsthan Super Stars : Yousuf 'slogger' Pathan

Rajasthan Royals 150-6 (Pathan 42, Mendis 2-19)
beat

Kolkata Knight Riders 150-8 (Ganguly 46, Khan 3-18) on a Super Over

A Super Over, won by the Rajasthan Royals, was needed to separate the two sides after a stirring fightback from the Knight Riders was nipped in the bud by Kamran Khan in game nine of the Indian Premier League in Port Elizabeth.


Kolkata's Saurav Ganguly looked to have turned the game when he hit Munaf Patel for six off a no ball, repeating the score from the free hit but when he was dismissed in the final over, Ishant Sharma scrambled a single to level the scores and force the one over shootout, both sides having finished level on 150, the Royals first having lost six wickets, and the Knight Riders chasing having lost eight.

The match was delayed due to rain and batting was tricky early on, Graeme Smith (15), Rob Quiney (6) and Paul Valtathy (5) all dismissed cheaply before a blast of 42 in 21 balls from Yusuf Pathan, including six fours, two sixes and some brutal straight hitting, got the Royals innings going again after a sluggish start.

They were tied down by the wiles of Ajantha Mendis, who picked up two for 19 on his first appearance this year, and after Ravi Jadeja made 22 and Dimitri Mascarenhas 27, Abhishek Raut hit two sixes from the last three balls of the innings to finish on 21 not out and put the Royals on 150.

And how crucial those blows proved to be, despite Chris Gayle blasting the ball to all parts when the Knight Riders began their pursuit. He crashed four sixes and two fours, scoring 41 in 33 balls but just as the Royals' innings had stagnated, so too did the Knight Riders' when Brendon McCullum (3), Laxmi Shukla (13) and Brad Hodge (5) all failed to stay long at the crease.

Fortunately for the Knight Riders, Ganguly was in determined mood and his 46 in 30 balls almost got them home. He lost Sanjay Bangar (2) and Yashpal Singh (20) and needed two to win in two balls when he edged the 18-year-old Kamran Khan (3-18) to Mahesh Rahat behind the stumps for a simple catch.

Rawat was back in the action next ball when Sharma, having seen his drive parried by Shane Warne at short cover, set off for the second run gambling on a mistake. There wasn't one, and the drama was prolonged with the Knight Riders sending out Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum and Saurav Ganguly to bat against Kamran Khan for their set of six balls.

Gayle thumped three crunching fours, Kamran delivered a wide and McCullum gloved a single before Gayle was caught from the final ball to leave the Royals 16 to win in one over. The men charged to do it were Ravindra Jadeja, Pathan and Mascarenhas and Mendis was chosen to bowl.

With Pathan on strike, his first ball disappeared into the stands at cover, his second was dropped at long-on for two, his third sailed for another six over long on, leaving the Royals with two to win in three balls. Pathan was in no mood to hang about, sweeping powerfully for four to give the reigning champions their first win of the tournament.