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Kochi Tuskers Kerala gave their IPL final four qualifications a massive boost with a stunning 17-run win against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Thursday. An excellent half-century by skipper Mahela Jayawardene (55) enabled Kochi to post a competitive 156/5 in their 20 overs. Kolkata appeared to be well on track in their chase as they reached the half-way stage at 69 for no loss. However, the game ultimately hinged on four balls as first Raiphi Gomez dismissed Jacques Kallis (45) and Gautam Gambhir on consecutive deliveries before right at the death Vinay Kumar removed Eoin Morgan (66) and Yusuf Pathan on back-to-back balls to help Kochi achieve an unlikely win. The result sees Kochi climb to 5th place in the point table with 10 points from as many games while Kolkata stay in 2nd place with 12 points from 10 games.

Two teams with varying fortunes clashed in the 4pm kick-off at Kochi today. While KKR, with a much better squad than the previous editions, had lived up to promises so far this season. Kochi had been as unpredictable as the pitch on its home ground.

Gautam Gambhir won the toss and had no qualms asking Kochi to bat first. KKR slightly surprisingly dropped Lakshmipathy Balaji and picked legspinner Sarabjit Ladda for this game, while Kochi gave Prasanth Parameswaran a second straight game after impressing last time out, as they named an unchanged squad.

Batsmen have struggled on the Kochi track throughout the IPL season, and that trend looked set to continue early in the Kochi innings. Brett Lee started off with a maiden over to Brendon McCullum, before the Kiwi opener was dismissed cheaply, edging a wide one from left-arm seamer Jaidev Unadkat straight to the safe hands of Kallis in the slips. Parthiv Patel joined the other opener Michael Klinger and looked in a hurry. Two hits through the point region off Brett Lee were followed by a chip on the legside. Gambhir brought his ace spinner Iqbal Abdulla in the 5^th over but Patel countered him by stepping out of the crease and hitting him over the in field. Parthiv Patel’s cameo was cut short when he mistimed a short delivery from Unadkat to leave Kochi at 35/2 at the end of the powerplay.

Captain Mahela Jayawadene joined Michael Klinger as they started the rebuilding phase for Kochi. The South Australian opener was troubled early on but he made sure that he stayed there long enough to give his team a decent start. Jayawardene, at the other end was in a considerably more free flowing mood. A free hit from Sarabjit Ladda, playing in his second game of the season, was put into the stands before lofting one from Yusuf Pathan to pick up four more. Klinger (29) too looked to attack Yusuf but wasn’t able to clear deep midwicket where Abdulla took a well judged catch. All rounder Ravindra Jadeja was promoted ahead of Brad Hodge, but he couldn’t stand up to his captain’s expectations. As the runs dried up for Kochi, Jadeja (8) tried a few premeditated shots before top edging an attempted slog sweep. At the end of 15 overs, when the second time out was taken Kochi had made their way to 98/4.

Kochi needed a few big overs to finish on a high and the onus to stay on till the end and guide the innings was on the captain Jayawardene. A six off a slower one from Rajat Bhatia signaled the start of big things for Kochi. Brett Lee started his second spell by straying down the legs of Brad Hodge, who helped himself to his first boundary. A precise cut in the penultimate over brought up Jayawadene’s half century which consumed 38 deliveries and included 2 sixes and 2 fours. He was soon run out though, a good throw from Ladda found him short of his crease. Hodge took over the mantle from his captain and flourished in the last over, looting 22 runs of Lee. After a short one was pulled for a six, Brett Lee failed to get his yorker right and Hodge was merciless. The last over massacre meant Kochi would have 156 on the board to defend, a very competitive score given the way the last few matches have panned out at this venue.

Chasing 156, KKR needed a solid start and Jaques Kallis and Eoin Morgan obliged. Back to back boundaries by Morgan in the first over got things rolling for the visitors. Kallis announced himself with a drive through the covers off Sreesanth. RP Singh, now just a shadow of the bowler he was couple of years back, kept bowling short and wide and Kallis ensured those deliveries get punished. Both openers looked assured as they built a solid foundation for the Kolkata outfit, scoring 43 runs in the powerplay.

Even after the powerplay period, KKR managed to squeeze a boundary out of somewhere and in the process maintained a decent run rate. Jayawardene kept rotating his bowlers, but a breakthrough remained elusive in the first half of the innings.

Local lad Raiphi Gomez raised hopes for a Kochi fight back in his second over. First he had Kallis (45) bowled with a slower one and the next ball was hit straight to Mahela Jayawardene by Gautam Gambhir. While Gomez kept bowling a probing line and length, Morgan was scoring freely at the other end. A four and a six off an off-color RP Singh and two more hits to the fence in Vinay Kumar’s over relieved the pressure and gave some breathing space for the KKR batsman. Manoj Tiwary (1) had a troubled stay in the middle before perishing to a pull shor which didn’t come off the middle of his bat. Yusuf Pathan joined Morgan in the middle and with the required rate being more than 11 an over, the stage was perfectly set for him to display his hitting prowess.

With the match going to the wire, the well settled Eoin Morgan was the key. After he got to his fifty, Morgan let himself loose on Sreesanth. After smashing one into the stands, he whacked a full toss over midwicket. Yusuf Pathan then squeezed out a boundary through point and crashed Vinay Kumar through the covers as it seemed KKR were closing in on the win. 31 runs were required to win from the last 2 overs, and with players of the calibre of Yusuf and Morgan, it was very much achievable.

Vinay Kumar conceded just 6 runs from the first 3 balls to bring the ask down to 25 from 9. Then the unthinkable happened for Kolkata with Pathan and Morgan stranded at the same end resulting in the Irishman sacrificing his wicket. Vinay Kunar then got Yusuf Pathan on the very next ball, which effectively killed KKR’s challenge. 25 runs were required from the last over, and it was too much for Boucher & Co. to muster with Kochi coasting to an easy win.

Kochi continue to be punching above their weight and look set to challenge the big boys in the hunt for a play-off spot. They now embark on a Royal adventure to Bengaluru where they take on RCB on Sunday. Kolkata are in action a day earlier as they head home to Eden Gardens where they will entertain the reigning champions, the Chennai Super Kings. 

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Brendon McCullum, Michael Klinger, Parthiv Patel, Mahela Jayawardene, Brad Hodge, Ravindra Jadeja, Raiphi Gomez, R Vinay Kumar, RP Singh, S Sreesanth, P Parameswaran.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala: Eoin Morgan, Jacques Kallis, Gautam Gambhir, Manoj Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Mark Boucher, Rajat Bhatia, Iqbal Abdulla, Brett Lee, Jaidev Unadkat, Sarabjit Ladda.

Mini Scorecard:

Kochi Tuskers Kerala 156/5 (20 overs, 7.8rpo)
M Jayawardene 55(41) J Unadkat 2/25
B Hodge 35 (19) Y Pathan 1/16

Kolkata Knight Riders 139/7 (20 overs, 6.95rpo)
E Morgan 66 (51) R Gomez 2-14
J Kallis 45 (41) V Kumar 2-28