IPL 2014: Kolkata Knight Riders stun Royal Challengers Bangalore in last-ball thriller

Kolkata Knight Riders stunned Royal Challengers Bangalore with a two-run win in the 11th match of the Indian Premier League played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Zee Media Bureau/ Suyash Srivastava
Sharjah: Kolkata Knight Riders stunned Royal Challengers Bangalore with a two-run win in the 11th match of the Indian Premier League played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday. ============================================================== SCORECARD» | COMMENTARY» | AS IT HAPPENED» ALSO SEE: OUR FULL COVERAGE ON IPL 7» ALSO SEE: IPL 7 POINTS TABLE» | IPL 7 RESULTS» ============================================================== RCB needed nine runs off the last over, but Chris Lynn took a sensational catch at deep midwicket to dismiss AB de Villiers off the fourth ball, which turned the match in KKR`s favour. Chasing 150 to win, at one stage, Bangalore looked all set to register their third consecutive win, but some superb bowling in the death overs, proved to be the turning point of the game. Earlier, batting first, KKR got off to a pathetic start, when Mitchell Starc dismissed Gautam Gambhir for a first-ball duck. It was Gambhir`s third duck in the tournament, from as many matches. Kolkata lost another quick wicket, when in-form Manish Pandey was caught at covers, in Albie Morkel`s first over. But Chris Lynn, who was playing his first match of the season, stitched a crucial 80-run partnership with Jacques Kallis for the third wicket, which was instrumental in taking their total to a respectable 150. In reply, Parthiv Patel and Yogesh Takawale got their side off to a flier, as they added 67 runs in 7.4 overs. Kallis got the first breakthrough for the team, when Takawale was trapped in front of the wicket. Patel too, was dismissed in the next over and once again, Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli came to the team`s rescue. The stylish pair added 55 runs for the fourth-wicket partnership, and once Kohli was looking all set to guide his side to another win, he was bowled by Sunil Narine off the penultimate delivery of his final over. By the time Kohli was dismissed, RCB needed 28 runs off 24 balls, with seven wickets remaining. But Umesh Yadav dismissed Yuvraj in the 19th over, and Bangalore failed to score the nine runs off the last over. Lynn`s catch was the highlight towards the end, as AB`s shot looked all set to clear the ropes, before the Australian timed his jumped to perfection and took a catch, which was probably the best we have seen this season. With this win, KKR are now ranked fourth in the points rally, behind RCB who are ahead with a better net run-rate.