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Sharma heroics win Hyderabad another thriller
by CricketArchive Staff Reporter


Scorecard:Kolkata Knight Riders v Deccan Chargers
Player:RG Sharma, Mashrafe Mortaza
Event:Indian Premier League 2009

DateLine: 16th May 2009

 

28 runs came off the 19th over when Knights from Kolkata were batting. 21 was required off the last over for the Deccan Chargers to win the game while they were at the crease. Rohit Sharma (32 off 13 balls) and Venugopal Rao (7) were the two man for the Chargers and supreme hitting by Rohit Sharma helped Chargers finish on the winning side by six wickets.

 

Sharma hit 26 runs off the last over bowled by Mashrafe Mortaza who was having a nightmare of a time playing his first match of the IPL second edition. With this win the Chargers have also inched very closer to making the top four and now only a huge upset somewhere could throw them out of the competition.

 

Chasing 161 to win, Adam Gilchrist (43) was looking in a mood to spark a run riot against Kolkata as he and Herschelle Gibbs (28) opened the batting. His knock of 43 came off just 31 deliveries and was studded with five boundaries and two huge sixes. But in an attempt to hit another big one, Gilchrist hit Hodge right into LR Shukla's hands.

 

TS Suman (31 off 24 balls) then joined Herschelle Gibbs on the pitch. Gibbs was looking a tad patchy though as he has looked now for most part of the tournament. He was somehow not able to push the run-rate and in a bid to do so he fell to Murali Karthik when he lobbed a rank short pitched delivery straight to Hussey at the fence. Any other day and the ball would have disappeared somewhere in the stands. It was then that the man in form Symonds (18 off 13 balls) came in to partner Suman who had been doing well till then. The duo were doing just fine and had added 30 runs in 23 deliveries before a couple of run outs seemed to change the course of the match. First Ajit Agarkar out-timed Suman at the non-striker's end. Then a Mashrafe Mortaza direct hit brought Symonds downfall.

 

Only one team looked favourites from here but the T20 format as always had a surprise package to explode. In sensational fashion, Rohit Sharma took Mortaza on and broke all Kolkata hearts scoring 26 off the last over when 21 was needed for the win.

 

Earlier batting first after losing the toss, Kolkata Knight Riders went on to score a competitive 160 for the loss of five wickets, thanks to a scintillating 43 run knock off 17 balls from the willow of their Australian recruit David Hussey.

 

For most part of the innings though, the Kolkata side just showed why they have been sidelined in the tournament so far in this season. During the strategic time-out, the side were slowly crawling at 50 for the loss of just one wicket. It must be said that Ganguly (33) and Brad Hodge (48) tried their level best to up the ante but somehow there willows deserted them of long hits.

 

Hodge joined Ganguly after Brendon McCullum (20) was sent back packing by Ryan Harris. McCullum looked good for his short stay at the wicket and also hit a huge six which went out of the Bull Ring. The duo of Ganguly and Hodge then added 58 runs for the second wicket, but the speed at which both were moving, it never looked that the Kolkata outfit could come anywhere closer to what they achieved finally.

 

Ganguly in fact looked terribly disappointing. Not only did he fail to make an impact with the willow, he also was freakish during his stay at the wicket. In the seventh over he stuck out his left hand to stop the ball as he was completing a single. Deccan Chargers appealed for 'obstructing the field' and though it was turned down, TV replays clearly suggested Ganguly did it intentionally to save himself. The Chargers obviously were not too pleased with the decision and Adam Gilchrist did let the umpire know that the throw was heading for the stumps.

 

Ganguly finally got out trying to hit a Rohit Sharma delivery out of the ground and the commentator had to say that this could turn out a blessing in disguise for the KKR. How true he was, as David Hussey moved in-to bat and on a surface where Hodge and Ganguly had so far moved at snails pace, he ran a bullet train.

 

The carnage began in the 19th over. RP Singh was no-balled twice in the 19th over because of height and was then forced off the attack after just one legitimate delivery. Hussey by then had already hit a boundary in the over. When the replacement Harmeet Singh was brought on, Hussey went mad. He started the fireworks and Harmeet was carted for 4,2,2,6, and 6. The best part was that most of the shots were hit straight down the ground which negated any chances of him getting out caught.

 

Twenty-eight came off the over and it turned out to be the most expensive of the tournament. This would be one of the few records the KKR side would love to take along with them after the disappointing tournament. The Over also gave Kolkata's total some sort of respectability after at one stage even 140 looked improbable.

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