IPL 2014: Elegant Uthappa powers KKR to six-wicket win over MI
Robin Uthappa was elegance personified during his 52-ball 80 as he powered Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match here today.
|Last Updated: May 14, 2014, 11:32 PM IST|Source: PTI
Cuttack: Robin Uthappa was elegance personified during his 52-ball 80 as he powered Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match here on Wednesday.
SCORECARD» | COMMENTARY» | AS IT HAPPENED»
Uthappa struck nine fours and three sixes after a disciplined KKR attack restricted Mumbai Indians to 141 for five on a pitch that was not the best for batting. Battling woeful form, Yusuf Pathan remained unbeaten on 20 and hit the winning boundary.
The Knight Riders were off to a brisk start, especially with Uthappa looking in good nick, and he hit a flurry of boundaries to take his side past the 50-run mark in the seventh over. But just after Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir (14) recorded their fourth consecutive half-century partnership, the KKR skipper inside-edged a Harbhajan Singh onto his stumps.
Thanks to the enterprise displayed by Uthappa - who lofted Pragyan Ojha over long on for a six besides finding the fence three times on either side of the fifth over - the Knight Riders were very much in the game. Ojha was cut behind point before Uthappa swept Harbhajan for another four.
KKR were 68 for one midway into their innings and needed 74 runs from 60 balls, the number of wickets remaining giving the eastern side a clear edge. An outside edge fetched Uthappa a four before the batsman brought up yet another half-century with a single to deep cover.
Manish Pandey played the second fiddle as Uthappa sliced Jasprit Bumrah`s low full toss past point for another boundary. Coming into this match with two fifties and three 40-plus knocks, Uthappa never looked in trouble and went about the task in a very calculated manner.
Harbhajan`s dismissal of Pandey through another inside-edge did not bother Uthappa at all as the batsman effortlessly lofted Simmons for two sixes to bring the equation well under control after KKR needed 42 in the last five overs. However, Uthappa could not finish the game for KKR with Simons knocking over his middle stump, bringing to an end an elegant knock.
Pace spearhead Lasith Malinga did get the wicket of Shakib Al Hasan but that was too little for MI to stage a fightback.
Earlier, skipper Rohit Sharma struck a half-century and guided Mumbai Indians to a modest total.
In his 45-ball 51-run knock, Rohit struck two sixes and four boundaries to prop his team up after it struggled to force the pace for a major part of the innings at the Barabati Stadium.
Sunil Narine bowled a very economical final over, conceding just four runs besides dismissing Rohit.
Sent into bat, Mumbai Indians lost their openers within the first five overs, with Morne Morkel and Shakib Al Hasan accounting for Chidhambaram Gautam and Lendl Simmons respectively.
Struggling against the pace of Morkel, Gautam charged down the track against the lanky pacer but failed to clear cover where Suryakumar Yadav took a good catch. Coming in for Jacques Kallis to strengthened the spin department, Shakib bowled an arm-ball that kept low and disturbed Simmons' leg stump as the batsman went for a heave.
The wicket ensured the Bangladesh left-arm spinner made up for a drop catch in the previous over. After reaching 33 off 27 balls, Rayudu holed out at long-on while trying to force the pace, the successful bowler being Piyush Chawla. He hit 3 fours and a six.
It could have become 70 for four but for Yusuf Pathan's failure to hold on to a sitter at long-on, giving Rohit a life and Morkel a reason to express anguish. To end the over, Rohit got a boundary off a top edge.
Corey Anderson broke the shackles with a six and a four off Chawla in the 14th over, the maximum going long and high over the sight screen. It was a productive over for MI as they picked 17 runs off it.
Sunil Narine came back to bowl a tight over and peg MI back once again. At the end of the 15th over, Mumbai were struggling to step on the gas at 99 for three.
But Rohit soon freed his arms to loft Morkel over long off for a six. Another length ball followed and Rohit effortlessly launched the 146-kmph delivery over extra cover.
Having taken a beating, Morkel had something to cheer about as he had Anderson caught at midwicket in what was a soft dismissal.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.