IPL 6: Heroes of the Day - KKR v/s PWI

I almost didn’t watch this game, given the scathing criticism I levied on the Kolkata team after their loss to the Mumbai Indians. For all purposes, this was a dead rubber. But it was a welcome triumph for the Knight Riders, while the Warriors suffered the ignominy of another loss. Nevertheless, there were some fine performances from both sides, and they truly deserve to be called Heroes (well, for their respective teams anyway) for the Day:

1. Gautam Gambhir (50 runs off 44 balls; 6 fours)

The KKR skipper was in a murderous mood right from the word go. He brought out all his shots and used all his T20 experience in restoring some stability at the top of the order. Two exquisite fours off Krishnakant Upadhyay, followed by a beautiful clip off the pads off left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell, were a clear indication of his intentions. J&K spinner Parvez Rasool too wasn’t spared by the India discard either – two more boundaries attesting to that fact. His dismissal led to a slight moment of panic before order was restored summarily. Nevertheless, a good performance by the Delhi lad.

2. Ryan ten Doeschate (31 runs off 21 balls; 3 fours, 1 six)

The Dutch journeyman finally made his first appearance for his side this season, and played a hurricane knock towards the end of the innings. He started off slowly, perhaps a bit bogged down by Gambhir’s dismissal and accurate bowling from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but then opened up his arms and played freely. Twin fours preceded a massive six over mid-wicket off Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews, leading KKR fans to wonder why the think-tank had benched him for all these games. Tendo certainly is one exciting player!

3. Lakshmipathy Balaji (3.3-0-19-3)

Balaji’s variations and nagging accuracy hastened the downfall of the hapless Warriors. He had the dangerous Yuvraj Singh caught behind for 1, before returning to clean up the tail. The Chennai seamer has matured since his international debut in 2004, and has proved to be more than a handful with his slower ones and impeccable control.

4. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-0-25-3)

One of Pune’s most consistent players this season, the young lad from UP rightly deserves a place in the national team. He was the only one who could keep the marauding KKR openers at bay with his clever variations, and deceived Manvinder Bisla with a full delivery down the leg side. Not done yet, the youngster prised out the off-colour Yusuf Pathan before curtailing ten Doeschate’s pyrotechnics with a short one. Bhuvi sure has a bright future ahead of him!

5. Robin Uthappa (1 catch; 31 runs off 35 balls; 2 fours)

Robbie delivered yet another reasonable performance under the circumstances. First-off, he took a splendid catch to remove the dangerous-looking Eoin Morgan. Next, he played a steady knock at the top of the order, holding one end up as wickets tumbled around him. The pressure of a mounting run-rate got to him, and he threw away his wicket at just the wrong time. He still needs to iron out that deficiency.

6. Mitchell Marsh (2-0-7-2; 5 runs off 8 balls)

Aussie all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, returning to the playing XI after Steve Smith was ruled out of the rest of the tournament due to injury, made the most of his opportunity. He started by dismissing the innovative Eoin Morgan, courtesy an intelligent catch by Uthappa, before dispatching the well-set KKR skipper in the latter half of the innings. His steady line and accurate length didn’t allow the batsmen to free their arms, but in another act of unimaginative captaincy, he wasn’t given his full quota. Didn’t do too much with the bat either.

7. Angelo Mathews (2 catches; 40 runs off 28 balls; 4 sixes)

The Sri Lankan all-rounder, relieved of the burden of captaincy, was in his elements today. He pouched two catches to remove Kallis and Gautam Gambhir, before belting a rapid 40 off 28 balls with 4 huge sixes. It still wasn’t enough to prevent a defeat for his struggling side. He was a tad expensive with the ball, being singled out for special treatment by the rampaging ten Doeschate – an event that hurt his side in the final tally.