Our 7th match of the tournament proved to be another compelling one. We squared off against Kolkata Knight Riders in their own den - at the Eden Gardens.
Skipper Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl first. There was only one change in the line-up from our previous game as Keemo Paul was brought in place of Sandeep Lamichhane.
Ishant Sharma gave us the best start possible. His fantastic delivery bowled Joe Denly on the first ball itself. Our speedster followed it up with 5 dot balls and finished with a wicket maiden - a dream start for us.
Shubman Gill and Robin Uthappa were at the crease then. Both these players steadied the ship for the hosts. They put up a 63-run stand for the 2nd wicket.
Rabada was brought in the 9th over in a bid to get a breakthrough and the Johannesburg-born player delivered yet again. Uthappa gloved a short delivery from the speedster. Pant dived to his left and completed a magnificent catch mid-air to give us our 2nd breakthrough.
Next in was Nitish Rana but he got out for 11 runs. Morris sent him walking to the KKR hut in the 13th over with a brilliantly bowled yorker right into the blockhole which took his stumps apart.
However, Gill was batting brilliantly at the other end. Keemo Paul dismissed the youngster in the 15th over while Rabada got Dinesh Karthik out for just 2 runs in the next. At this stage, the hosts were 122/5 at the end of 15.1 overs.
The in-form Russell inflicted some serious damage. The Jamaican all-rounder smashed 45 runs in just 21 balls and helped KKR get to a par score at Eden Gardens.
Morris dismissed the dangerous Russell in the 19th over. He got the Game Changer of the Match award for this wicket.
Piyush Chawla played a small cameo of 14 runs to help the opposition team get to 178/7 in their quota of 20 overs.
Shaw and Dhawan opened the innings for us as usual. The young Shaw smashed Ferguson for a couple of sixes in the 2nd over and made the intent clear from the beginning - to get an aggressive start. Dhawan smashed Prasidh Krishna for 17 runs in the 3rd over. However, we lost Prithvi's wicket on the last ball of the same over as he was caught behind.
Dhawan took responsibility and showed all his experience to keep the scoreboard ticking at a swift pace. Just 31 deliveries is what the southpaw required to get to his 2nd fifty of IPL 2019. The southpaw got to the landmark in the 10th over.
Rishabh Pant was also out in the middle and made a watchful start. Our scoreline stood at 88/2 at the halfway mark. Pant and Shikhar were rotating the strike exceptionally well. The left-handed duo also ensured that they smashed boundaries regularly to ensure that we always remained on top of the required run rate.
78 runs were required from 8 overs and our batsmen decided to step on the gas as they were in full rhythm. After the vigilant start, Rishabh Pant also got in the mood and started playing his shots.
With both our southpaws batting with such ease, we were always going to chase down the total easily in the end. At the end of 15 overs, we were at 138/2. Pant played his shots but took calculated risks. He smashed Russell for a 4 and a 6 in the 17th over and completed the 100-run partnership with Gabbar.
We required just 17 runs from the last 3 overs. Nitish Rana came on to bowl the 18th over and got Pant out on the first ball. He tried to slog a full delivery over long-on but did not time the ball and it ended up being an easy catch for Kuldeep Yadav. The partnership for the 3rd wicket was 105 from 71 deliveries. It was great to see Rishabh playing the role of the anchor with Dhawan playing the aggressor.
Colin Ingram came out to the middle to finish things off along with Shikhar. Ingram's smashed Piyush for a six in the 19th over and sealed the deal. We won our 4th match of the season and moved up to 4th position on the IPL table.
Dhawan scored an unbeaten 97 runs (63 balls) and registered his highest-ever IPL score on his 150th game of the tournament.
The man of the match award was deservedly given to none other than Shikhar. He timed his shots beautifully and Eden Gardens got to witness a classic innings from him. His cover drives were just immaculate as were shots down the ground.
The way Dhawan timed his innings is truly praiseworthy. He showed his maturity and understood the situation really well. The tempo with which he played was spot on. All in all, the boys made it a memorable night for all our fans! We now have 2 wins in 2 games. Iyer and co. will be looking to continue the good show as we take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.
Rishabh Pant reflected after the emphatic win:
I just try to keep my head clear and play according to the ball. I tried to take the game deep today. Especially in T20s, if you are chasing a score like 180 you need to control the pace of your innings. I do not focus on what the bowler is thinking and like to take the control into my hand. Both Shikhar and I were always talking about finishing it off.
Shreyas Iyer shared his feelings after the game:
Yes, it is a good victory. It's an amazing feeling. Today is a special day for us. Back to back wins and we are satisfied. It was really tough for us to decide the team for the match. We got Keemo Paul in. The way Shikhar played and showed his experience and class to take us till the end - it has to be appreciated. Today he delivered it for the team by taking responsibility. The experience he shares with everyone in the team is unlimited. One of the top players had to take the responsibility and he did it today.
The Man of the moment, Shikhar Dhawan expressed his thoughts after the game:
I knew it could have been my first T20 hundred but team goal is more important...that is why I took the single rather than going for the big shot. Eden is a beautiful wicket to bat on and at the same time it has something for the bowlers as well. This makes it more entertaining. I am really enjoying it. I knew I had to stay till the end. We knew that we (Rishabh and I) have to take the game deep. It went in a nice flow.
Our 7th match of the tournament proved to be another compelling one. We squared off against Kolkata Knight Riders in their own den - at the Eden Gardens.
Skipper Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl first. There was only one change in the line-up from our previous game as Keemo Paul was brought in place of Sandeep Lamichhane.
Ishant Sharma gave us the best start possible. His fantastic delivery bowled Joe Denly on the first ball itself. Our speedster followed it up with 5 dot balls and finished with a wicket maiden - a dream start for us.
Shubman Gill and Robin Uthappa were at the crease then. Both these players steadied the ship for the hosts. They put up a 63-run stand for the 2nd wicket.
Rabada was brought in the 9th over in a bid to get a breakthrough and the Johannesburg-born player delivered yet again. Uthappa gloved a short delivery from the speedster. Pant dived to his left and completed a magnificent catch mid-air to give us our 2nd breakthrough.
Next in was Nitish Rana but he got out for 11 runs. Morris sent him walking to the KKR hut in the 13th over with a brilliantly bowled yorker right into the blockhole which took his stumps apart.
However, Gill was batting brilliantly at the other end. Keemo Paul dismissed the youngster in the 15th over while Rabada got Dinesh Karthik out for just 2 runs in the next. At this stage, the hosts were 122/5 at the end of 15.1 overs.
The in-form Russell inflicted some serious damage. The Jamaican all-rounder smashed 45 runs in just 21 balls and helped KKR get to a par score at Eden Gardens.
Morris dismissed the dangerous Russell in the 19th over. He got the Game Changer of the Match award for this wicket.
Piyush Chawla played a small cameo of 14 runs to help the opposition team get to 178/7 in their quota of 20 overs.
Shaw and Dhawan opened the innings for us as usual. The young Shaw smashed Ferguson for a couple of sixes in the 2nd over and made the intent clear from the beginning - to get an aggressive start. Dhawan smashed Prasidh Krishna for 17 runs in the 3rd over. However, we lost Prithvi's wicket on the last ball of the same over as he was caught behind.
Dhawan took responsibility and showed all his experience to keep the scoreboard ticking at a swift pace. Just 31 deliveries is what the southpaw required to get to his 2nd fifty of IPL 2019. The southpaw got to the landmark in the 10th over.
Rishabh Pant was also out in the middle and made a watchful start. Our scoreline stood at 88/2 at the halfway mark. Pant and Shikhar were rotating the strike exceptionally well. The left-handed duo also ensured that they smashed boundaries regularly to ensure that we always remained on top of the required run rate.
78 runs were required from 8 overs and our batsmen decided to step on the gas as they were in full rhythm. After the vigilant start, Rishabh Pant also got in the mood and started playing his shots.
With both our southpaws batting with such ease, we were always going to chase down the total easily in the end. At the end of 15 overs, we were at 138/2. Pant played his shots but took calculated risks. He smashed Russell for a 4 and a 6 in the 17th over and completed the 100-run partnership with Gabbar.
We required just 17 runs from the last 3 overs. Nitish Rana came on to bowl the 18th over and got Pant out on the first ball. He tried to slog a full delivery over long-on but did not time the ball and it ended up being an easy catch for Kuldeep Yadav. The partnership for the 3rd wicket was 105 from 71 deliveries. It was great to see Rishabh playing the role of the anchor with Dhawan playing the aggressor.
Colin Ingram came out to the middle to finish things off along with Shikhar. Ingram's smashed Piyush for a six in the 19th over and sealed the deal. We won our 4th match of the season and moved up to 4th position on the IPL table.
Dhawan scored an unbeaten 97 runs (63 balls) and registered his highest-ever IPL score on his 150th game of the tournament.
The man of the match award was deservedly given to none other than Shikhar. He timed his shots beautifully and Eden Gardens got to witness a classic innings from him. His cover drives were just immaculate as were shots down the ground.
The way Dhawan timed his innings is truly praiseworthy. He showed his maturity and understood the situation really well. The tempo with which he played was spot on. All in all, the boys made it a memorable night for all our fans! We now have 2 wins in 2 games. Iyer and co. will be looking to continue the good show as we take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.
Rishabh Pant reflected after the emphatic win:
I just try to keep my head clear and play according to the ball. I tried to take the game deep today. Especially in T20s, if you are chasing a score like 180 you need to control the pace of your innings. I do not focus on what the bowler is thinking and like to take the control into my hand. Both Shikhar and I were always talking about finishing it off.
Shreyas Iyer shared his feelings after the game:
Yes, it is a good victory. It's an amazing feeling. Today is a special day for us. Back to back wins and we are satisfied. It was really tough for us to decide the team for the match. We got Keemo Paul in. The way Shikhar played and showed his experience and class to take us till the end - it has to be appreciated. Today he delivered it for the team by taking responsibility. The experience he shares with everyone in the team is unlimited. One of the top players had to take the responsibility and he did it today.
The Man of the moment, Shikhar Dhawan expressed his thoughts after the game:
I knew it could have been my first T20 hundred but team goal is more important...that is why I took the single rather than going for the big shot. Eden is a beautiful wicket to bat on and at the same time it has something for the bowlers as well. This makes it more entertaining. I am really enjoying it. I knew I had to stay till the end. We knew that we (Rishabh and I) have to take the game deep. It went in a nice flow.
