A six all along the ground
Plays of the day from the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors in Ranchi
Sidharth Monga
15-May-2013
There was no joking around with Gautam Gambhir, another friend of Yuvraj Singh, like there was with Harbhajan Singh when Warriors played Mumbai • BCCI
The six
This one was all along the ground. In the 11th over of the chase, Yusuf Pathan bunted one into the leg side, and Ishwar Pandey had to rush in from deep midwicket to try to keep the batsmen down to two. Not only did he fail to do so, he fired in a rocket throw wide of the bowler, wide of extra cover and wide of the diving deep cover.
This one was all along the ground. In the 11th over of the chase, Yusuf Pathan bunted one into the leg side, and Ishwar Pandey had to rush in from deep midwicket to try to keep the batsmen down to two. Not only did he fail to do so, he fired in a rocket throw wide of the bowler, wide of extra cover and wide of the diving deep cover.
The field
When you have taken just two wickets in more than 13 overs, on what looks like a flat pitch, you don't quite welcome the new batsman with a slip and a gully. Gautam Gambhir did just that for Yuvraj Singh. Sunil Narine bowled with the two catching men, and bowled five dots at the unsure Yuvraj. Even when Narine came back in the 17th over, he had one slip for Yuvraj. Only towards the end of the over did Gambhir take the slip off, and on cue Yuvraj edged. The ricochet off the wicketkeeper's glove would have made a difficult but possible catch for the slip.
When you have taken just two wickets in more than 13 overs, on what looks like a flat pitch, you don't quite welcome the new batsman with a slip and a gully. Gautam Gambhir did just that for Yuvraj Singh. Sunil Narine bowled with the two catching men, and bowled five dots at the unsure Yuvraj. Even when Narine came back in the 17th over, he had one slip for Yuvraj. Only towards the end of the over did Gambhir take the slip off, and on cue Yuvraj edged. The ricochet off the wicketkeeper's glove would have made a difficult but possible catch for the slip.
The run-out
When at the non-striker's end, Yuvraj doesn't like to run on the grass. So he stands at the closest bare pitch he can find on the square, and sometimes he can end up taking a start at midwicket. Which is what he did, and when he ran for a bye in the final over of the Pune Warriors innings, Manish Pandey didn't see him coming and responded late, thus losing his wicket.
When at the non-striker's end, Yuvraj doesn't like to run on the grass. So he stands at the closest bare pitch he can find on the square, and sometimes he can end up taking a start at midwicket. Which is what he did, and when he ran for a bye in the final over of the Pune Warriors innings, Manish Pandey didn't see him coming and responded late, thus losing his wicket.
The wides
Robin Uthappa is not a specialist wicketkeeper, and with friends like the ones in his Warriors team he might end up reconsidering the role. In the first over of the second innings, Uthappa was asked to stand up to the stumps, only to see Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowl five wides way outside off. If that was not enough, Wayne Parnell gave away another set of five down the leg side. There was a time when 12 of Kolkata Knight Riders' first 18 runs had come in extras.
Robin Uthappa is not a specialist wicketkeeper, and with friends like the ones in his Warriors team he might end up reconsidering the role. In the first over of the second innings, Uthappa was asked to stand up to the stumps, only to see Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowl five wides way outside off. If that was not enough, Wayne Parnell gave away another set of five down the leg side. There was a time when 12 of Kolkata Knight Riders' first 18 runs had come in extras.
The hit
People talk a lot about switching off between deliveries, but in modern cricket it can be hazardous. At one point during the chase, Yusuf Pathan completed a comfortable single and had his back to the fielder at mid-on. He hadn't reckoned for the modern habit of throwing every ball at the stumps or the keeper, and copped one smack in the middle of his back.
People talk a lot about switching off between deliveries, but in modern cricket it can be hazardous. At one point during the chase, Yusuf Pathan completed a comfortable single and had his back to the fielder at mid-on. He hadn't reckoned for the modern habit of throwing every ball at the stumps or the keeper, and copped one smack in the middle of his back.
Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo