KKR Beats KXIP to lift second IPL Title
So near
yet so far — that’s what Kings XI Punjab co-owner Preity Zinta’s
expression seemed to say as Piyush Chawla hit the winning boundary for
the Kolkata Knight Riders and set off on a victory run, chased by Robin
Uthappa and the rest of the team.
Earlier,
it was some inspired batting by the duo of Saha and Manan Vohra (67)
that took Punjab to 199/4 after Virender Sehwag (7) and Bailey (1) fell
early.
They took their time to get going and Punjab had just 58 on the board in the first 10 overs.
But the duo’s calculated assault on Sunil Narine and Chawla was breathtaking as 141 came off the last 10 overs.
KKR pulled off an improbable chase of 200 to win their 2nd IPL Title(has won it in 2012) and soon, the focus shifted to local boy Manish
Pandey, who was the hero of the day with a 50-ball 94.
Manish Pandey, who had played a supporting role through the season, came to
the fore with some clean hitting to overshadow a brilliant century from
Wriddhiman Saha
Guatam Gambhir (23) was caught by David Miller off Karanveer Singh but Yusuf Pathan and Pandey carried the calculated hitting.
KXIP captain George Bailey had a chance to catch Pandey off Akshar
Patel when the ball ballooned off the leading edge, but his onehanded
effort went to ground.
Manish Pandey,
then on 60, capitalised. Karanveer returned to break the partnership
and snag Yusuf for 36. At 130/3 in 13.3 overs, things could’ve gone
either way.
But
Manish Pandey guided the chase beautifully, falling just short of the target
and his century. KKR still needed 21 from 3 overs and with Pandey’s
wicket part of a cluster that also included Shakib Al Hasan and
Suryakumar Yadav, the pressure was back on.
But Piyush Chawla hit a six off Mitchell Johnson and then a boundary off Parvinder Awana to seal the deal.
The 3-wicket win was KKR’s 9th consecutive — an unparalleled feat.
Scorecard
KXIP scored 199/4 in 20 Overs
KKR scored 200/7 in 19.3 Overs
MOM - Manish Pandey(KKR)
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