IPL 2014, Qualifier 1: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab - As it happened...

Kolkata Knight Riders take on Kings XI Punjab in Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League to be played at the Eden Gardens.

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Zee Media Bureau/ Suyash Srivastava Kolkata: KKR advanced to the final of the Indian Premier League 7 with a comfortable 28-run win over Kings XI Punjab. SCORECARD» | COMMENTARY» | REPORT» ALSO SEE: OUR FULL COVERAGE ON IPL 7» ALSO SEE: IPL 7 POINTS TABLE» | IPL 7 RESULTS» ============================================================== Kings XI Punjab innings: Over 20 || Score 135/8 Umesh to bowl the final over, 30 needed from 6. He began with a length ball and Bailey hit it straight to Pandey at long-on, George Bailey is OUT! Karanveer Singh is the new man in. Umesh followed it with four consecutive dot balls to Mitchell Johnson! KKR are into the final of the Indian Premier League 7! What a clinical performance it has been for them! GJ Bailey c Pandey b UT Yadav 26 (17b) =================================================== Over 19 || Score 134/7 Narine to bowl his final over. Just four runs from it. =================================================== Over 18 || Score 130/7 Shakib to bowl his final over. Second ball was at the leg stump and Dhawan smashed it over deep square leg for a Six! Dhawan charged down the wicket off the third ball, Shakib bowled it wide and Uthappa removed the bails, Rishi Dhawan is OUT! Mitchell Johnson is the new man in. He whacked the first ball high over long-on for a Six! Bailey charged down the wicket off the last ball and clobbered it over long-on for a Six! 21 runs from the over. R Dhawan st Uthappa b Shakib Al Hasan 14 (15b) =================================================== Over 17 || Score 109/6 Narine to bowl his third over. First ball was a short delivery and Bailey smashed it past covers for a boundary! Last ball was a length delivery and Bailey slog-swept it over deep midwicket for a Six! 12 runs from the over. =================================================== Over 16 || Score 97/6 Shakib to bowl his third over. Another economical over, just five runs from it. Bailey needs to hit some big strokes here. =================================================== Over 15 || Score 92/6 Chawla to bowl his final over. Just four from the over. =================================================== Over 14 || Score 88/6 Shakib to bowl his second over. Bailey hit the third ball towards short fine leg, he went for the suicidal single and Patel was short of his crease, Akshar Patel is OUT! Just two from the over. AR Patel run out 2 (2b) =================================================== Over 13 || Score 86/5 Chawla to bowl his third over. Miller tried to play a cut shot off the second ball, missed the line and was bowled, David Miller is OUT! Six from the over. ============================================================== Over 12 || Score 80/4 Morkel to bowl his final over. Saha's resilience ended when he hit the last ball of the over towards Umesh, Wriddhiman Saha is OUT! Just three from the over. WP Saha c UT Yadav b Morkel 35 (31b) ============================================================== Over 11 || Score 77/3 Chawla to bowl his second over. Saha slog-swept the third ball over deep midwicket for a Six! Nine runs from the over. ============================================================== Over 10 || Score 68/3 Umesh to bowl his third over. Eight runs from the over. ============================================================== Over 9 || Score 60/3 Piyush Chawla has been brought into the attack. Saha took a single off the first ball. Second ball spun into Miller and hit him on the pads, that looked plumb but once again no response from the umpire. Miller hit the third ball towards long-on for a single. Saha followed it with another single. A dot ball to end the over. Five runs from it. ============================================================== Over 8 || Score 55/3 Umesh to bowl his second over. His first ball hit Maxwell on the pads, no signal from the umpire. Saha hit the second ball towards fine leg for a single. Maxwell charged down the wicket off the third ball, Umesh saw him coming and bowled it wide and way from him. Maxwell shimmied down again off the next ball, didn't connect. Umesh bowled another half-volley to Maxwell who was looking to make room by shuffling on the off-side, it hit him on the pads and that looked plumb, Glenn Maxwell is OUT! Umesh has picked the big fish and Maxwell's poor form continues. David Miller is the new man in. Just two from the over and KKR have bounced back after Vohra's dismissal. GJ Maxwell lbw b UT Yadav 6 (9b) ============================================================== Over 7 || Score 53/2 Narine to bowl his second over. Maxwell took a single off the first ball. Saha nudged the second ball for another quick single. Third ball was bowled at the leg-stump and Maxwell smashed it past square leg for another boundary! Maxwell drove the fourth ball towards cover for no run. Maxwell charged down the wicket off the next ball, missed the line, no runs scored. Maxwell scored a single off the last ball. ============================================================== Over 6 || Score 46/2 Morkel to bowl his third over. Second ball was overpitched and Vohra launched it over long-on for another Six! Morkel's fifth ball was another bouncer, this time Vohra skied it towards long-on where Umesh Yadav took a good catch, Manan Vohra is OUT! Glenn Maxwell is the next man in. Seven runs from the over. M Vohra c UT Yadav b Morkel 26 (19b) ============================================================== Over 5 || Score 39/1 Shakib has been brought into the attack. First ball was overpitched and Vohra smashed it over long-on for a Six! Second ball was overpitched and Vohra launched it over long-on for another Six! Vohra took a single off the third ball. Saha hit the fourth ball straight to covers for no run. Saha hit the fifth ball towards deep square leg for a single. Vohra took yet another single off the last ball. 15 runs from the over. As per D/L, KXIP needed to score 37 runs after 5 overs. They are already two runs ahead! ============================================================== Over 4 || Score 24/1 Sunil Narine has been brought into the attack. Two dot balls. After two balls, the covers were coming in but were asked to go back half way. Vohra took a single off the third ball. Saha followed it with another single. Vohra worked the fifth ball towards long-on for another single. Saha swept the last ball over the fielder at square leg for a boundary! Seven runs from the over. ============================================================== Over 3 || Score 17/1 Morkel to continue. It was proving to be a good over, but Morkel bowled a ball down the leg side to end the over and Saha smashed it over deep square leg for a Six! Nine runs from the over. ============================================================== Over 2 || Score 8/1 Umesh Yadav to bowl from the other end. First ball had room on offer but Sehwag hit it straight to Shakib at cover, Virender Sehwag is OUT! Three from the over and a big wicket for Umesh. V Sehwag c Shakib Al Hasan b UT Yadav 2 (3b) ============================================================== Over 1 || Score 5/0 Manan Vohra and Virender Sehwag to open for Punjab, Morkel will bowl the first over. Just five from the first over. ============================================================== Kolkata Knight Riders innings: Over 20 || Score 163/8 Awana to bowl the final over. First ball was a full-toss and Chawla worked it fine past square leg for a boundary! Awana replied back with a bouncer and Chawla pulled it past the fielder at short fine leg for another boundary! Chawla hit the third ball towards long-on and quickly completed two runs. Awana followed it with a yorker and Chawla defended it for no run. Chawla hit the fourth ball back to the bowler, Awana misfielded and they went for a single, an overthrow tempted them to complete another run and there's a run-out, Sunil Narine is OUT! Morne Morkel is the last man in but Chawla is at strike. He made room for himself by shuffling on the off-side and he played it over short fine leg for a boundary! 15 runs from the over. =================================================== Over 19 || Score 148/7 Johnson to bowl his final over, Piyush Chawla is the new man in. Doeschate took a single off the first ball. Piyush followed it with another single. Johnson bowled a dot ball. Fourth ball was down the leg side and Doeschate hit it straight to Vohra at deep square legm Ryan ten Doeshcate is OUT! Sunil Narine is the new man in. Chawla took a single off the last ball. Three from the over. KKR would want to reach that 160-run mark. RN ten Doeschate c Vohra b Johnson 17 (10b) =================================================== Over 18 || Score 145/5 Karanveer Singh to bowl his final over. Doeschate charged down the wicket off the first ball and clobbered it over long-on for a Six! Second ball was bowler fuller and Doeschate smoked it over long-on for another Six! Doeschate followed those big hits with a single. Yadav attempted a sweep shot off the fourth ball, didn't connect, no runs. Yadav went for another sweep shot off the fifth ball, connected well as the ball went past wide of long-on for a boundary! Yadav attempted another sweep shot off the last ball, missed it completedly and was bowled, Suryakumar Yadav is bowled! 17 runs from the over. SA Yadav b Karanveer Singh 20 (14b) =================================================== Over 17 || Score 128/5 Dhawan to bowl his final over. First ball was aimed at the leg-stump and Yadav smashed it over deep square leg for a Six! Yadav picked the length of the next ball early and hit it straight down the ground for a boundary! Dhawan replied back with a yorker and Yadav defened it for no run. Yadav took a single off the fourth ball. Doeschate worked the fifth ball towards midwicket and quickly ran two. Doeshcate took a single off the last ball to keep the strike. =================================================== Over 16 || Score 114/5 Patel to bowl his final over. One run came off the first four ball, after which the players left the field as rain has interrupted play once again! Two from the over, the play has resumed. =================================================== Over 15.4 || Score 113/5 Patel to bowl his final over. One run came off the firts four ball, after which the players left the field as rain has interruped play once again! =================================================== Over 15 || Score 112/5 Karanveer has been brought into the attack. First ball was in Shakib's arc and he smashed it over the bowler's head for a boundary! Karanveer followed it with another flighted delivery and Shakib skied it towards long-off, where Miller holds on to a good catch, Shakib al Hasan is OUT! Ryan Ten Doeschate is the new man in. Guess what, Pathan hits the next ball straight to Miller at long-on, Yusuf Pathan is OUT! Two in two and Karanveer Singh is on a hat-trick! Suryakumar Yadav is the next man in. He defends the hat-trick ball for no run. Yadav played the fifth ball later and a poor effort from Dhawan at third man made sure it was a boundary! Yadav defended the last ball for no run. Eight runs from the over and Karanveer continues to impress. YK Pathan c Miller b Karanveer Singh 20 (18b) Shakib Al Hasan c Miller b Karanveer Singh 18 (16b) =================================================== Over 14 || Score 104/3 Dhawan to continue. Pathan hit the first ball straight towards short fine leg, he wanted a single and was rightly sent back by Shakib. Second ball hit Pathan on the pads, no runs scored. Pathan made room for himself off the third ball and launched it over wide of long-off for a Six! Pathan followed it with a single. Shakib followed it with another single. Pathan tapped the next ball back to the bowler for no run. Seven runs from the over. =================================================== Over 13 || Score 96/3 Awana has been brought back into the attack. Shakib was offered some room off the first ball and he hit it straight to Maxwell at point for no run. Shakib charged down the wicket off the second ball and hit it over extra-cover for a boundary! Shakib hit the third ball towards third man for a single. Fourth ball nipped into the batsman, once again hit Pathan on the pads, but the umpire remain unmoved. Pathan took a single off the next ball. Shakib drove the last ball straight to covers for no run. Six runs from the over. ============================================================== Over 12 || Score 90/3 Dhawan to bowl his second over. Shakib hit the first ball towards long-off for a single. Pathan followed it with another single towards short fine leg. Shakib cut the third ball towards point for a single. Pathan got an edge off the fourth ball which rushed past third man for a boundary! Pathan hit the next ball towards midwicket for no run. Pathan took a single off the last ball and an overthrow conceded an extra run. Nine runs from the over. ============================================================== Over 11 || Score 81/3 Johnson has been brought into the attack. Fifth ball was short and wide and Pathan played an upper cut past wide of third man for a boundary! Johnson ended the over with a good yorker, it hit Pathan on the pads but the umpire wasn't interested. Nine runs from the over. ============================================================== Over 10 || Score 72/3 Karanveer to continue. Two runs came off the first three balls. Shakib hit the fourth ball towards long-on for another single. Yusuf swept the fifth ball towards square leg for a single. Karanveer bowled a wide. Shakib took a single off the last ball to keep the strike. ============================================================== Over 9 || Score 67/3 Patel to bowl his third over. Uthappa defended the first ball towards point for no run. Uthappa charged down the wicket off the second ball and hit it straight to Miller at long-on, Robin Uthappa is OUT! Pandey defended the third ball towards covers for no run. Shakib Al Hasan is the new man in. Pandey was looking to turn the next ball on the leg side, it bounced awkwardly clipped his gloves and hit the stumps, Manish Pandey is OUT! Yusuf Pathan is the new man in. Big moment for KXIP as they have dismissed both the set batsman. Yusuf defended the first ball for no run. A maiden and two massive wickets for Patel! MK Pandey b Patel 21 (20b) RV Uthappa c Miller b Patel 42 (30b) ============================================================== Over 8 || Score 67/1 Karanveer Singh has been brought into the attack. Uthappa hit the first ball for a single towards long-on, he reaches forty and this is his tenth 40 plus score! Pandey skied the second ball high over the bowler's head, completed a single. Uthappa took a single off the third ball. Fourth ball was full and wide and Pandey smashed it over covers for a boundary! Pandey followed it with another single. Uthappa hit the last ball for a single. Nine runs from the over. ============================================================== Over 7 || Score 58/1 Patel to bowl his second over. Just four from the over. Time for a strategic break. Uthappa is looking extremely dangerous yet again and his wicket is the key for Punjab. ============================================================== Over 6 || Score 54/1 Rishi Dhawan has been brought into the attack. His first ball was overpitched and Uthappa elegantly launched it straight down the ground for a Six! Uthappa followed it with a single. Third ball nipped into the batsman and Pandey was almost stumped there. Dhawan's next ball was overpitched and Pandey smashed it straight down the ground for a boundary! Pandey took a quick single off the next ball. Uthappa took a single off the last ball to keep the strike. ============================================================== Over 5 || Score 42/1 Awana brought back into the attack. Uthappa charged down the wicket off the second ball and smashed it over covers for a boundary! Fifth ball was banged short to Uthappa and within a flash he once again whacked it over deep midwicket for a four! 11 runs from the over. ============================================================== Over 4 || Score 31/1 Johnson to continue. He began with a length ball, Pandey worked it towards mid-off where Bailey dived to his right, but the ball went past him for a boundary! Third ball was short, and Uthappa clobbered it over deep midwicket for a Six! Next ball was overpitched and Uthappa timed it perfectly past mid-on for another boundary! 17 runs from the over! ============================================================== Over 3 || Score 14/1 Spin introduced, Akshar Patel has been brought into the attack. Last ball was slightly wayward and Uthappa timed that well past the fielder at short fine leg for a boundary! Nine runs from the over. ============================================================== Over 2 || Score 5/1 Mitchell Johnson to bowl from the other end. First ball was a sharp inswinger which hit Gambhit on the pads, there was a loud appeal, but there was no signal from the umpire. Second ball was a short delivery, and Gambhir pulled it towards mid-on where Bailey timed his jump to perfection and took an excellent catch, Gautam Gambhir is OUT! The crowd at the Eden Gardens cannot believe it! Manish Pandey is the new man in. Johnson welcomed him with a bouncer first ball and he worked it fine towards third man for a single. Fourth ball was a yorker and Uthappa flicked it towards deep square leg for a single. Fifth delivery was full and wide and Pandey worked it towards deep backward point for a single. Uthappa defended the last ball towards midwicket for no run. Just three from the over, superb start for Punjab so far. G Gambhir c Bailey b Johnson 1 (3b) ============================================================== Over 1 || Score 2/0 Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa to open for KKR, Parwinder Awana will bowl the first over. First ball hit Uthappa on the pads, but the ball was going down the leg side. Uthappa got off the mark with a single past point. Gambhir pushed the third ball towards the slip cordon and went for the single. Uthappa defended the fourth ball back to the bowler for no run. Fifth ball was a wide bouncer, Awana and the wicketkeeper appeal, but the umpire wasn't interested. Uthappa defended the last ball towards mid-on for no run. Excellent first over from Awana, just two runs from it. ============================================================== TOSS: Kings XI Punjab have won the toss and they have decided to field first. KXIP are playing with the same squad, while KKR have brought in Piyush Chawla for Vinay Kumar. Kings XI Punjab have undoubtedly been the most impressive team of this season. They made some smart purchases during IPL 7 auction and all the players who have been given a chance by the team management have grabbed the opportunity with both hands. KXIP hit a jackpot by signing Glenn Maxwell, as the explosive Australian ripped apart the best of the bowling line-ups in the initial phase of the tournament and even though he has been off-colour in the last few matches, KKR would be wary of the damage he can cause if he gets going. The best part about the Punjab team has been that they are not solely dependent on Maxwell. David Miller has been their most consistent player this season and players like Manan Vohra and Virender Sehwag have often laid solid partnerships at the top of the order. Wriddhiman Saha has been a player who has played as per the situation and even though their skipper hasn`t got many opportunities to bat, George Bailey has played several pivotal knocks lower down the order. In the bowling department, KXIP are privileged to have the likes of Akshar Patel and Karanveer Singh in the spin department, while the pace department has been looked after by Sandeep Sharma, Rishi Dhawan and Laxmipathy Balaji. Mitchell Johnson has had a quite series as per his standards, and he could be the bowler to watch out for in the first qualifier. Kolkata Knight Riders on the other hand would be extemely confident considering the way they have bounced back this season after a poor start. Gautam Gambhir began the tournament with three consecutive ducks, the team was struggling to get their opening combination right and they were not sure about the role of Jacques Kallis in the team. But it has been a different story for the Gambhir-led side, ever since Robin Uthappa was promoted up the order to open the innings. The wicketkeeeper batsman has been in sensational form and before one could laud his ability to hit boundaries at will, Uthappa had leapfrogged Maxwell as the highest run-scorer this year. Uthappa has scored 613 runs from 14 matches and is 80 runs ahead of Maxi, who looked unstoppable in the initial phase of the tournament. After scoring just one run from four matches, skipper Gambhir found his rhythm and slammed three back-to-back half-centuries. Another player who has played a key role for KKR has been Shakib Al Hasan. The Bangladeshi star was often given the reponsibility to open the bowling attack for KKR, and Shakib has grown in confidence as the tournament progressed considering he also played some stupendous knocks with the bat. One cannot forget the special innings played by Yusuf Pathan in KKR`s last league game, as it was the reason why KKR are in the play-offs. Pathan, who was criticised for his inability to live upto the faith put in by the team management over the years, silenced everybody with a magnificent knock where he slaughtered 72 runs off just 22 balls. In the bowling department, KKR are a balanced side, as they have a quality spinning duo in Sunil Narine and Shakib, while Morne Morkel and Umesh Yadav have the potential to trouble the batsmen with their pace. Vinay Kumar hasn`t had the best of series and he would be keen to make an impression if given a chance in the crucial match.