Report: Qualifier 2 – KXIP v CSK

Sehwag powers KXIP to their first ever IPL Final

Powered by a brilliant 122 from the willow of the legendary Virender Sehwag, Kings XI Punjab registered a 24-run victory against the Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 2. After setting a steep 227-run target, KXIP and the Nawab of Najafgarh seemed to have met their match in Suresh Raina. The let-hander scored a 25-ball 87-run blinder as he looked to finish off the run-chase all by himself. However, his unforced dismissal – off a freak run-out in the seventh over – caused CSK to lose the initial momentum and also the match.

KXIP will now face KKR in the IPL 2014 Final on Sunday, June 1, 2014, at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

KXIP Innings

Powerplay: Sehwag dominates CSK pacers

MS Dhoni asked KXIP to take first strike at Wankhede Stadium on a wicket that appeared to be batting-friendly. Doing justice to the track, Virender Sehwag and Manan Vohra gave their team a great start. Barring the second over – which cost a solitary run – there was no respite for CSK as the likes of Ashish Nehra, Ishwar Pandey and Mohit Sharma were taken to the cleaners. In fact, the fourth over went for a whopping 24 runs, courtesy two fours and two sixes that were struck in it.

By the end of the powerplay, KXIP had scored 70 runs – out of which Sehwag accounted for 42 (in just 18 balls), while Vohra scored 25 during that stretch.

Middle Overs: CSK still have no answers for Viru

Despite Dhoni mixing the attack up with the spin of R Ashwin starting with the seventh over, there was no stopping the on-song KXIP openers. Sehwag even brought up his half-century in that over. The batting pair even picked on Ravindra Jadeja, and ended up bringing up their team’s 100 in the 10th over itself.

But finally, CSK caught a break, when Ishwar Pandey – bowling the 11th over – got rid of Manan Vohra (34) and gave up only two runs against the run of play, leaving KXIP on 110 for one. But that over was an aberration as Nehra conceded 20 off the next. And while Ashwin dismissed Glenn Maxwell (13) off the final ball of the 13th over, the off-spinner had already conceded 17 runs off the earlier five deliveries.

At 148 for two, David Miller joined Sehwag at the crease. The pair soon brought up the KXIP 150 in the 14th over. Then by the end of the 15th over, KXIP posted 167 runs for two wickets. Again, Sehwag was the chief destroyer as he was unbeaten on 98 at that stage and helped his team plunder 97 quick runs during the middle nine-over period.

Final Stretch: Vintage Sehwag powers KXIP past 200

Sehwag eventually got to his century in the 15th over with a single. However, he showed no signs of slowing down thereafter, and even Miller joined the onslaught. The duo scored 44 runs over the next three overs, and took KXIP past the 200-run mark. And finally, in the 18th over, CSK saw the back of Sehwag (122) off Nehra’s bowling. But before departing, the veteran opener struck 12 fours and eight maximums during his 58-ball innings, which was undoubtedly one of the highlights of Pepsi IPL 2014.

Even George Bailey (1) perished off Nehra a few balls later. And then, in the final over, Miller’s (38) 19-ball cameo came to an end, courtesy a run-out. And off the last ball of the innings, Mohit Sharma got rid of Wriddhiman Saha (6). But by that point, KXIP had already posted a massive 226 runs in their 20 overs, thanks largely to Sehwag’s stellar century. In all, 58 runs were scored in the final five overs.

CSK Innings

Powerplay: Ravaging Raina does the unthinkable 

In response, CSK lost Faf du Plessis (0) in the first over itself, off the bowling of Mitchell Johnson. But Suresh Raina, who walked in at No.3, then took matters in his own hands. The southpaw quickly got his eye in and struck a flurry of sixes and fours to neutralise the early loss. Thanks to his exploits – during which Dwayne Smith was a mere spectator – the CSK 50 came up in the fourth over, which ended up costing KXIP 20 runs. And then, to top off an unbelievable feat of batting Raina brought up his half-century off just 16 balls – with a big off-side six in the fifth over.

However, Smith (7), who was going at less than a run-a-ball was cleaned up by Sandeep Sharma later in that over. But Raina continued to smash big hit after big hit, and he struck two sixes and five fours – including one off a no-ball – to bring up the CSK 100 after just six overs, which is the highest powerplay score in the IPL. Raina’s score at the end of this period was 87 off just 25 balls – including 12 fours and six maximums.

Middle Overs: Raina goes, so does the momentum

But in an anti-climactic end to a brilliant knock, Raina (87) was run out by Bailey while responding to a Brendon McCullum single off the first ball of the seventh over. And thanks to this breakthrough, KXIP only concede a total of seven runs off the next two overs. Despite the flying start, CSK could only get as far as 122 for three at the halfway stage.

And while Jadeja helped pick 12 runs off the next over, McCullum (11) was run out at the end of the 12th over. Then, off the first ball of the next over, Jadeja (27) holed out to Johnson at thirdman off the bowling of Parvinder Awana. The KXIP pacer struck another blow four balls later with the wicket of David Hussey (1), leaving CSK on 142 for six in 12.5 overs. Thereafter, Dhoni and Ashwin came together and took their team to 155 for six by the end of the 15th over.

During the nine-over middle phase, CSK could score only 55 runs, as Raina’s loss clearly impacted the run-chase in a big way.

Final Stretch: Kings XI seal the match

With 72 more runs required off the final 30 deliveries, CSK needed their skipper to take charge – not only because he was the last recognised match-winner in the line-up, but also because if anyone could pull this run-chase off it was Dhoni. But he lost the company of Ashwin (10) in the 17th over – courtesy a stumping by Saha off the bowling of Akshar Patel. And by the end of that over the run-chase equation read 60 off 18 balls.

And then, it seemed like CSK had lost their one remaining beacon of hope when Johnson bowled Dhoni out, the Men in Yellow caught another break as video replays revealed that the pacer had clearly overstepped and captain cool was recalled. However, this turn of events did not change the course of the match, as the required run-rate kept climbing with every passing delivery. And despite Dhoni’s (42*) best efforts – including a last-ball six reminiscent of the 2011 World Cup-winning hit – CSK missed out on their sixth IPL Finals appearance as they ended up on 202 for seven.

Man of the Match: Virender Sehwag for his match-winning century

Report: Qualifier 1 – KXIP v KKR

Clinical Knight Riders storm into Finals by upstaging table-toppers

In what turned out to be an anticlimactic finish to the battle of the top two, the Kolkata Knight Riders overcame Kings XI Punjab by 28 runs. As a result, the Gautam Gambhir-led side has stormed into the Pepsi IPL 2014 Final – to be held at 8 pm on June 1, 2014.

KKR Innings
Powerplay: KKR bounce back after losing the toss and their skipper

Earlier, George Bailey won the toss and chose to field first at Eden Gardens. The decision paid off as Mitchell Johnson struck in the second over to get rid of Gambhir (1). But Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey then partnered to bring the innings back on track. Riding high on his great run during the league stage, Uthappa raced away to 37 off 21 deliveries during the powerplay. Even Pandey joined in the action – albeit a bit later – as KKR posted 55 for one in the first six overs.

During this period, barring the first two overs – which cost a combined five runs – every other powerplay over yielded at least nine runs. In fact, the fourth over, bowled by Johnson, went for 17, including two fours and a maximum by Uthappa.

Middle Overs: KXIP make crucial dents before death overs

KXIP did much better initially with the field spread out. Against the run of play, Akshar Patel conceded just three runs off the seventh over. And while KKR scored nine runs off the next over, Akshar dismissed the dangerous Uthappa (42). And off the very net ball, the KXIP spinner bowled Pandey (21) out, leaving KKR on 67 for three after nine overs. And at the halfway stage, the scorecard read 73 for three, with Shakib Al Hasan and Yusuf Pathan in the middle.

Yusuf then survived a close leg-before shout in the next over, off Johnson. But the big-hitting batsmen did get into the groove, and after playing a few iffy shots, struck a six in the 14th over. However, soon thereafter, Shakib (18), who was looking to emulate his batting partner, ended up holing out to David Miller off the bowling of Karanveer Singh. And then, for a second time in the game, KKR lost two wickets in two balls off a spinner, as Yusuf (20) also got out off the leggie while trying to dispatch him over the ropes. Thanks to the two double-blows, the middle overs saw KKR score 57 runs for the loss of four vital wickets, with the scorecard reflecting 112 for five after 15 overs.

Final Stretch: KKR post 163/8 despite rain and spin

With two new batsmen – Ryan ten Doeschate and Suryakumar Yadav – at the crease, KKR looked to accelerate in the last five overs. However, their attempt was initially interrupted by a spell of rain. And then, even Akshar, who bowled the 16th over, muzzled the batsmen, giving away just two runs. But Yadav unleashed in the next over, striking a six and a four, helping KKR plunder 14 from it. ten Doeschate then took a leaf out of his partner’s book and smashed two maximums off Karanveer, before the young spinner cleaned up Yadav (20) , leaving KKR on 145 for six after 18 overs.

Johnson then got rid of ten Doeschate (17) and conceded only three runs off the 19th over. And while Sunil Narine (0) was run out, Piyush Chawla (17*) – courtesy three fours – plundered 15 runs off the final over to push the KKR total to 163 for eight.

For KXIP, Karanveer picked up three wickets for 40, whereas Akshar claimed two wickets, but conceded only 11 runs during his entire spell.

KXIP Innings

Powerplay: Openers depart in a mixed start

Even KXIP suffered an early loss as Virender Sehwag (2) was dismissed by Umesh Yadav in the second over. But Manan Vohra (26) then took the attack to the KKR bowlers. The young opener struck three maximums, until his departure – off the bowling of Morne Morkel – in the sixth over. During his brief stay in the middle, he was well-supported by Wriddhiman Saha as KXIP posted 46 runs in the first six overs, despite losing both their openers.

Middle Overs: Bowlers take over as rain eases

The middle stretch could not have started better for KKR as Umesh trapped the dangerous Glenn Maxwell (6) leg-before in the eighth over. Saha and David Miller then joined forces. Given the perpetual threat of rain, they had to keep an eye on the Duckworth-Lewis equation while steadying the run-chase. At the halfway point, they helped their side to 68 for three – 96 runs adrift of the target.

And while Saha (35) was looking solid and struck a six in the 11th over, Morkel got the better off him in the next over while attempting another big hit, leaving KXIP in dire straits at 80 for four. Then, in a surprise move, Bailey promoted Akshar ahead of him at No.6. But the KXIP skipper soon had to take strike anyway, as Chawla cleaned out Miller (8) a couple of deliveries later. And then, in the over next over, a run-out resulted in Akshar’s (2) downfall. By the end of the 15th over, KKR had KXIP pinned at 92 for six.

The crucial nine-over middle period saw the batting side put up just 24 runs for the loss of three wickets.

Final Stretch: Sporadic, late onslaught inadequate to overcome Umesh and co.

With a massive 72 runs needed in the final 30 balls, Rishi Dhawan came in to bat with Bailey, but the duo could only manage five singles off the 16th over. Although Bailey and Dhawan (14) struck a six each over the next few balls, the latter was stumped off Shakib, leaving KXIP on 117 for seven in 17.3 overs. But Bailey and Johnson continued to clobber the KXIP spinner, plundering a total of 21 runs from his over.

But then, Narine came to bowl and neutralised the damage done in the previous over, by conceding four runs off the next six tricky deliveries. The run-chase equation read 30 runs off six balls with Gambhir handing the ball to Umesh. The pacer vindicated his captain’s decision by getting the key wicket of Bailey (26) off his first ball. The new man in, Karanveer (1*), could only manage a single off the next delivery, thereby putting the game beyond KXIP’s reach. And the next four deliveries completely foxed Johnson (10*) and produced no runs, capping off a fabulous last over by Umesh – who was also the pick of the KKR bowlers as he finished with outstanding figures of 4-0-13-3.

In the end, KXIP could only manage 135 for eight in their 20-over quota.

Man of the Match: Umesh Yadav for his incredible bowling performance