and that's it. Game over. Gambhir raises his bat in celebration as he runs the single. Kallis drives off the front foot to long off to score the winning runs
To say that this was an emphatic statement would be an understatement. Kolkata have won with nine wickets in hand and nine balls to spare. The only wicket they lost was that of Manvinder Bisla and even he was unlucky to have been given run out.
"More than Warne regretting for not sending watto for opening, RCB & DD would be regretting more why they've not retained these classy players, Kallis & Gautam respectively," says Sasikaran.
"We bowled very well on that wicket, bowled in the right areas," says Kallis. "He [Gambhir] played fantastically. The total was par, we needed to keep wickets in hand and we got ahead of the rate." Kallis takes back the orange cap, which is worn by the highest run-scorer in the tournament.
The presentation will take place shortly.
"Sometimes I feel the need to study the anatomy of Kallis. I want to make sure he is a human," says Sam.
Dr. Tam: "@Sam: How about studying the anatomy and physiology of Aleem Dar as well? He had a fab world cup and he spotted one less fielder today in the circle. Kallis and Dar are comparable in their physiology!"
Shane Warne: "We weren't good enough today ... it was about a par score. they played well in the first six overs. A couple didn't go to hand, and a little bit of inexperience hurt us. We travel tomorrow to Eden Gardens and hopefully we can knock them over on their turf."
Gautam Gambhir: "I've been hitting it well, hopefully I can continue. Bisla's done well, given us two good starts. That's the team's strategy (for Bisla to open) and I'd rather think about the team first than about myself." Gambhir wants a larger crowd at Eden Gardens for the hoem game against Rajasthan on Sunday.
Gambhir is also the Man of the Match.
That's about it from me from this game. The Mumbai v Kochi game is about to get underway at the Wankhede. Do join Abhishek Purohit for that contest. Thank you for all your emails. Cheers.
These two have added 151 off 103 balls.
driven on the up, but to the fielder at cover
too straight and Kallis works the ball off his pads towards fine leg, the scores are level
pushed off the from foot towards point
Gambhir moves back and cuts the ball from his stumps past point
shorter length and Kallis hits it to the man on the cover boundary
he's timed it well this time, Kallis lofts a quicker ball over the fielder at mid-on
Kallis tries to slug the ball over the leg side but mis-times it to midwicket
and Kallis drives the ball back to Warne
Warne's back ...
Gambhir stays on the back foot and tries to guide a short and slower ball towards third man, he didn't have the room to work with though and was beaten
pulled through midwicket for a single
this time he edges it to the third man boundary. Kallis tried to make room and drive through the off but his execution was poor, the result wasn't though
short ball, pulled away. Kallis stays in his crease and hits it extremely hard, placing it through midwicket
Kallis steps out, gets a bit cramped for room and drives towards cover point
Gambhir charges again but this time he chips it over the in-field at cover
Kallis steps out, gets to the pitch of this one and lofts it powerfully over the long-on boundary. Looks like Rajasthan's record of winning every time they've set a target of more than 145 is coming to an end
Gambhir steps out of his crease, doesn't get to the pitch of the ball, and hits it through midwicket
Kallis makes room and carves the ball in the air over cover point
makes room and drives towards cover
Gambhir inside the hit across the line past his stumps
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur | |
Toss | Kolkata Knight Riders, elected to field first |
Series | |
Season | 2011 |
Player Of The Match | |
Hours of play (local time) | 16.00 start, First Session 16.00-17.20, Interval 17.20-17.40, Second Session 17.40-19.00 |
Match days | 15 April 2011 - daynight (20-over match) |
Umpires | |
TV Umpire | |
Reserve Umpire | |
Match Referee | |
Points | Kolkata Knight Riders 2, Rajasthan Royals 0 |
Over 19 • KKR 160/1
KKR won by 9 wickets (with 9 balls remaining)