Indian Premier League debutants Kochi hand out first home defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders
Indian Premier League debutants Kochi hand out first home defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders
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Kolkata Knight Riders slumped to their first defeat at the Eden Gardens this season as Mahela Jayawardene's Kochi Tuskers Kerala successfully defended a modest total yesterday.
Having been restricted to 132 for seven, Kochi responded with a spirited bowling performance and contained Gautam Gambhir's team to 126 for nine.
Rudra Pratap Singh (2-25) and Ravindra Jadeja (2-25) struck crucial blows for the visitors but it was medium pacer Vinay Kumar (1-21) who was the most impressive with his tidy line and length.
The Karnataka bowler accounted for the cheap dismissal of Jacques Kallis (six) early and then cleverly varied the pace to check a late challenge by the KKR tail.
"I thought instead of the yorker, the slower delivery would be a better option.
"That's why I kept changing the pace," Vinay Kumar said of the last over the KKR innings when the hosts required 14 to win, not an impossible task in T20.
As it turned out, Vinay accounted for Rajat Bhatia, an able all-rounder, to seal the issue for Kochi.
Manoj Tiwary made a composed 46 for the hosts but it went in vain. Earlier, spinners Yusuf Pathan and Shakib-Al-Hasan grabbed three wickets each to justify Gambhir's decision to field. Brendon McCullum (23) and Mahela Jayawardene (25) gave Kochi a blazing start as they put on 49 runs in seven overs before four wickets fell for 16 runs.
Ravindra Jadeja then came to the side's rescue with a quick fire 29 from 18 balls which turned out to be the top score and gave the bowlers a defendable total.
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