Abu Dhabi witnessed the most dramatic finish of IPL 7 on Tuesday when neither the customary 40 overs nor the Super Over could decide the winner between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders, and in the end it was by virtue of a higher boundary count that Rajasthan were declared the winners.
Chasing RR’s 152, KKR’s openers, Gautam Gambhir and Bisla could only stay together for the first four overs, as Bisla fell to Richardson for 3. Gambhir and Kallis joined hands, to steer the team to 46/1 in 8 overs, after which Kallis fell to Tambe for 13. This brought Gambhir and Pandey together, but Pandey departed in the 13th over, falling to Tambe for 19. Soon after, Gautam Gambhir too followed suit, falling to Bhatia for a hard-earned 45.
Shakib and Yadav came together and took the team to 137/4 in 18 overs. Over number 19 was the one that turned the match around. As Faulkner raced in with the ball, little did he realise that he could swing his team back into contention. Three strikes: S Yadav 31(19), R Uthappa 0(1), Vinay Kumar 0(1) and from 137/4, RR suddenly looked in great trouble at 147/7. The last over saw RR struggle to make it a tied affair.
Earlier, Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bat first. Opening the innings for them were Ajinkya Rahane and K Nair, who took the only to 13/0 in two overs. The third over saw Nair fall to Vinay Kumar for 1. Samson was the next man in, and with Rahane, he took the team to 53/1 in 8 overs. The next over saw Samson walk back, deceived by Shakib for 20. Watson walked in and stitched a valuable partnership for RR, taking the side to 106/2 in 15 overs.
However, Vinay Kumar soon broke the threatening partnership, dismissing Watson for 33, bringing in Stuart Binny, who didn’t trouble the scorekeepers at all. He was dismissed by Morne Morkel for 0. Rahane wicket tumbled for a well-made 72, after Vinay Kumar struck again, bringing Smith and Faulkner together in the 20th over. RR’s final score was 152/5.
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