Yusuf Pathan fifty helps Kolkata seal playoff berth

Yusuf Pathan scored an unbeaten 52 from 34 balls to help Kolkata achieve a 22-run win over Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens, and enter the playoffs of the Indian Twenty20 league.

Pathan, who has been one of the driving forces of the Kolkata middle order this season, walked in at a crucial juncture in the eighth over with his side slipping at 57 for 3. He then revived his side's innings by adding 87 off just 49 balls with Manish Pandey for the fourth wicket. Pathan kept rotating the strike and played second fiddle to Pandey who attacked Hyderabad's bowlers. After Pandey fell in the 16th over, Pathan struggled to gather momentum in the slog overs but he held his side's innings together on a slow and turning pitch to help them reach 171.

Kolkata's frontline spinners took advantage of the conditions and restricted a strong Hyderabad batting line-up to 149 for 8. Shikhar Dhawan made the only score off note, 51 off 30 balls, as no other Hyderabad batsman could manage a score more than 20. With the win, Kolkata not only sealed their spot in the playoffs and but also ended Mumbai's campaign.

At the end of the match, Kolkata captain Gautam Gambhir praised Pathan for adapting to his change of role and taking his side to a score he thought was above par, "It was a must-win game for us. The credit goes to the entire group. Yusuf is taking his time and his role has changed from being a finisher last season. We are now giving him more overs. I thought that 160 would be a good total. We can take a lot of positives from this game. It was a playoff for us."