bowled'im, Kochi finish on a high as RP sends back Boucher who swings wildly but finds his off stump pegged back
Kochi have spiced up the race for the play-offs with a big enough win against one of the tournament favourites. A couple of events made the difference: That surge from Hodge in the last over, and Gomez's double-strike to remove Kallis and Gambhir after an excellent start to the chase by the visitors. This is the last game to be played in Kochi this IPL and the home fans will head back satsfied. Join us in a bit for the presentation.
Gomez: "It's my best spell in this level. I stuck to my basics on a slow wicket. I wanted to keep my role going."
The presentation's in a bit from now. In the meantime, you could take a look at the points table on this page.
Gambhir: "156 is always a good total. We should have batted well in the middle overs, that's where we lost momentum. Till the time we reach the semis, you're always knocking at the door. Morgan is a quality player and he can win us one or two games before he leaves. That last over where Hodge hit those 22 runs made the difference."
Mahela: "It was a tough game, an important one as well. We needed to win it here as well, our last game in Kochi. We've encouraged the local boys to go out there and enjoy themselves. Hodge should bat up the order, those couple of overs made the difference."
Hodge is Man of the Match for his exploits that last over: "It's a different role for me, and it seems to be working. It's a big ground and a good total to defend is 156. I've been working at the gym a lot and doing my weights and so it paid off in that last over."
That's all folks, you can turn your attention now to the Deccan-Delhi game in Hyderabad. Until the next time, it's goodbye.
pitched up on middle, played down to long-on for a single
Rajat Bhatia comes in
pitched up to Lee, he drives it wide of long-off for a couple of runs, there's an appeal for a run-out but the throw was a wide one. Parthiv dived to take off the bails and it was enough to find Lee short, if only marginally. It is a run-out.
full and it's sliced wide of cover for just a single, the crowd can't stop cheering now since the result is more or less known
shot but only a couple as Hodge dives to his left to save two runs, pulled hard but he covered good ground in the deep
length ball outside off, dragged wide of midwicket, just the couple
Boucher's on strike for the last over. 25 needed and RP runs in
dot ball, yorker length outside off and he can't squeeze it out, misses and Vinay completes an excellent over
Lee comes in, can he make amends for that last over?
Yusuf goes and it lookes beyond them now, full outside off and it's smashed hard but straight to Mahela who is positioned perfectly at extra cover, just inside the circle
A half-century that lost a bit of steam in the last couple of overs
run-out, another good delivery from Vinay, low full toss that Morgan couldn't do much against, gets to the keeper as he misses it on the swing and Yusuf has already run down the pitch to take strike next ball, by the time Morgan realises that it's too late and he sacrifices his wicket as Parthiv returns the ball to the bowler
appeal for a catch, slower one bowled full, reached for it and it appeared it was a bump ball, actually it was one. Landed just short of Jadeja at point. Just the single, was almost in the blockhole
Yusuf keeps the Kolkata hopes alive, full outside off and it's drilled hard past extra cover to the boundary
pitched up outside off, reaches for it and plays it down to long-on, just the single
31 needed off 12. Is that asking too much from Kolkata? Time's running out. Vinay runs in
That doesn't take away from a good performance from Prasanth, he's played a significant role in piling the pressure on the visitors.
beautifully placed from Yusuf, wide and full and he just sliced it past point to beat third man and deep point, executed perfectly
full toss again but it's a safe one, punched towards deep cover for just a single, what a lovely little over this from the home boy
another one, slower delivery this time and he swings at that one a little too early, misses
doesn't work for Morgan, had shaped up for the paddle, Prasanth bowled a full toss outside off and the batsman couldn't quite execute what he had planned, a valuable dot ball for the hosts
long-off is wider than usual and Yusuf finds him but on the bounce, length ball and he struck it hard, but just the single in the end
some reverse on that one, played down the ground to long-on for a single
Prasanth runs in for his last over
just the single, a length delivery and he drags it wide of long-on into the deep but just the single as the fielder returns a good throw, an expensive over but still plenty of ground to cover for Kolkata
aiming for the yorker, almost gets it right, Yusuf stretches and runs it down to third man for a single
Nehru Stadium, Kochi | |
Toss | Kolkata Knight Riders, elected to field first |
Series | |
Season | 2011 |
Player Of The Match | Brad Hodge |
Hours of play (local time) | 20.00 start, First Session 20.00-21.20, Interval 21.20-21.40, Second Session 21.40-23.00 |
Match days | 5 May 2011 - daynight (20-over match) |
Umpires | |
TV Umpire | |
Reserve Umpire | |
Match Referee | |
Points | Kochi Tuskers Kerala 2, Kolkata Knight Riders 0 |
Over 20 • KKR 139/7