As the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League’s juggernaut continues on its merry way, many match results seem to reflect what we now know about the strengths and weaknesses of individual teams. However, there are times when a team effort or a brilliant individual performance will buck the trend. On the 17th day of IPL 2017, Kolkata Knight Riders took on the Gujarat Lions on their home turf at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta. Here is what unfolded on the field during the 23rd match of the IPL. Also, find out which regional players are making a mark.
When the Kolkata team clashed with the Gujarat Lions on their home turf in Rajkot on 7 April, the visitors decimated the host team. The GL total of 183 was overhauled in a completely one sided match where KKR won with 10 wickets and 6 overs to spare.
The hosts won the toss and decided to field first. Opener Sunil Naraine gave his team a cracking great start with 42 runs off just 17 balls. Skipper Gautam Gambhir made a more sedate 33 off 28. Robin Uthappa once again came through for his team with a 72 run knock and Manish Pandey made 24. The later batsmen could not capitalise on this however and KKR was restricted to 187 in their 20 overs.
KKR’s five wickets fell with four different bowlers taking a wicket each and one runout. The batting was as much of a team effort by GL. Starting strong with Aaron Finch (31 off 15, strike rate 206) and Brendon McCullum (33 off 17, strike rate 194), it was skipper Suresh Raina who came up with a captain's knock (84 off 46, strike rate 186).
The next few batsmen were unable to contribute much, but the excellent launch pad created by the top order ensured a win. Ravindra Jadeja remained not out with his 19 off 13, guiding his team to a 4 wicket win with 10 balls left over.
Manish Pandey won the Catch of the Match award. The maximum sixes as well as the Man of the Match awards were picked up by Suresh Raina. The Stylish player award went to Brendon McCullum.
While the overseas players tend to make the big contributions and get a lot of attention, some regional Indian players with little or no international exposure have come good as well. Shreyas Iyer (DD), Manan Vohra (KXIP), Nitish Rana (MI), Krunal Pandya (MI), Rahul Tripathi (RPS) are some who have made significant contributions.
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