it's all over, short on middle, pulls it away well over the fine-leg boundary to seal a thrilling victory, can Kolkata ever win?
KKR vs Chargers, 48th match at Johannesburg, IPL, May 16 2009 - Ball by Ball Commentary
Chargers won by 6 wickets (with 0 balls remaining)
This tournament gets better by the day. A series of close games over the last few days, and this adds to the list. 21 needed off the last over, and Mashrafe gave it all away. It started with the no-ball first up, not a result of his own doing but the fact that Kolkata didn't have enough fielders in the circle. Kolkata had done well to pull things back after a blistering start by Glichrist, and they owned it largely to their spinners to give them a fighting chance.
Mashrafe's previous over was a beauty, and Agarkar followed it up with an even better one, bowling yorkers with consistency to not concede the Deccan batsmen an inch. But the cool and calm Rohit saw to it that his team took third place on the points table, making full use of the length deliveries and the full tosses offered to him in the last over to take them to what was in the end, an improbable win.
With 21 needed off one over, irrespective of how many wickets are in hand, you have to back the bowling team to win, but Kolkata have had a miserable tournament, squandering yet another winning position to head back to the dressing room with their heads hung low.
Phew, what a game. A crucial win for Deccan, giving their semi-final prospects a major boost. Stay tuned, and we'll have the presentation details soon.
Brendon McCullum: "I want to apologise for the reaction out there, it was purely out of emotion. We're going to try to stay as positive as we can. It's not easy being in a team that has lost of a lot of tight games. We are a committed bunch of guys and are determined to turn things round."
Adam Gilchrist: "Glad to have dragged two points out of this one. What was not pleasing was the 40-odd runs in the last two overs. Rohit played some great innings like this last year, and to stand up the way he did in the end was very pleasing. We are back here tomorrow, and hopefully fresh enough for that match."
Rohit Sharma is the Man of the Match.
Rohit: "There was pressure, but the wicket was good to bat on and it was coming on nicely. When I hit a boundary off the first ball, a no-ball, I then thought the target was quite gettable. I feel very happy to contribute to the team's win."
That's all we have for you folks. Hope you enjoyed the coverage, and of course, the match. Do join us again tomorrow. Until then, it's goodbye from all of us here at Cricinfo. Cheers!
1 needed off the last ball. Scores level. Can Kolkata salvage a super over here? Here it comes. Hold your seats. A short cover, a short fine
four, four, four, Mashrafe has spoilt it for Kolkata, full and wide, makes room and carts it wide of a diving cover to beat long-off to the boundary
5 off 2
full and wide, swatted down to long-on, scampers back for the second, Rao runs well to finish the run
7 off 3
wide, Mashrafe, what the hell are you doing? Hurls it well wide of the offstump, Rohit lets it go wisely and the umpire frees his arms
8 needed off 3. Doable, what a slip-up. The ball's lost, and they're getting a replacement. Nice, hard thump that. All's sorted. Here it comes. Rohit's ready to face.
meaty, juicy full toss on middle, the worst ball you can bowl under the circumstances, heaved away over midwicket for a massive six, what a timely blow, 8 off 3 now, 115 metres that, one of the biggest of the tournament
14 off 4
a scare there, full and wide, made room to cream that through the covers, got a thick outside edge that landed on the bounce to third man, just a single
misses out, full just a fraction outside off, moves across to paddle it fine, is it on the pads, just a run
Rohit's taken four of those, full toss on middle, pulled away to the deep square-leg boundary, called a no-ball by the leg umpire as there are only three fielders in the ring, what a slip up, drama right at the death. McCullum isn't happy, but if there were just three inside the circle, the call is a right one. The Kolkata captain is disputing the decision, and continues arguing with the umpire, but the decision's been made. It's a no-ball, that's final. An extra ball conceded. How costly will it prove?
21 needed off the last over. Kolkata have the clear advantage here. Mashrafe to bowl
superb over under the circumstances, yorker on middle, makes room and all he can do is dab it to short third, has Agarkar sealed it for Kolkata here?
full toss on the off, bumps it down towards Agarkar who palms it off into the off side to concede a single
low full toss outside off, bends low to drag that over midwicket, gets an inside edge onto his pads and only salvages a single, what an over, he's redeemed himself here, thus far at least
good length on the off, makes room and drags it past the bowler towards long-on for a couple
crucial dot ball, in the slot on the leg stump, tries to swing it away over midwicket, gets an inside edge to the keeper o the bounce, well bowled, targeting leg stump and almost got it through
well bowled, yorker on middle, bang on target, dug out into the leg side for a single
27 needed off 12 now. Agarkar to finish off. He has this tendency of throwing it away in the end. Can he avoid that now?
low full toss again, steered towards deep point, excellent over from Mashrafe, had a poor outing before this but struck good at the right time
in the blockhole again, converts it into a low full toss and drives that wide of long-off for a quick couple, 28 needed off 13, stiff ask
full and wide, hung his bat out, would have been a wide if he hadn't, got a thick outside edge on the bounce to the keeper
full toss outside off, punched down to deep cover, Kolkata won't mind this at all
low full toss on leg stump, flicked away towards deep square leg for a single
Venugopal Rao comes in
fullish on middle and leg, doesn't prove costly, drives it straight to long-on for a single
Over 20 • DCH 166/4
Chargers won by 6 wickets (with 0 balls remaining)