By Skandan Sampath | Yahoo! Cricket
Yusuf Pathan: Kicking with the wrong footAlso See: Scorecard | Gallery
Why did Yusuf Pathan kick the cricket ball?
He had just taken Parnell for 14, when he hit a ball that would follow his path to the non-striker’s end, the bowler was after it, and he appealed when Pathan kicked the ball deliberately. Umpire Nigel Llong had a long look at what happened, before going upstairs to the third umpire, who told him that Pathan was out for obstructing the field.
23 would be needed from 18. And without Pathan, Kolkata managed to get to 163/7, giving Pune victory by 7 runs. But the start to their 171-run chase, wasn’t ideal either.
Wayne Parnell started by removing Manvinder Bisla, with a ball that swung in, to hit the KKR opener on the pads. Jacques Kallis probably had a straight drive in mind, but the yorker needed a stroke with the front foot forward, bat and pad together. He had neither, and was bowled with his elbows up, by Parnell, who celebrated by pointing at the Pune dugout, with his off-side only haircut. Once Ishwar Pandey got rid of Gautam Gambhir, it was official.
Kolkata were in trouble. 29/3.
Enter Yusuf Pathan and Ryan ten Doeschate. Bowlers get to bowl only four overs in the T20 format, and Parnell had to be taken off after bowling two. The rest of the attack, bowled full, bowled short, thereby allowing the two right-handers to swing their arms without any discomfort. Time for the counter attack. This meant fours and sixes, but importantly a partnership for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
A stand that would be worth 98 runs. Not 100, for Ryan ten Doeschate went outside the batting crease, hoping for a single. Half-centurion Pathan (72) refused the run, resulting in the run out at the keeper’s end. Off went the Dutchman, after contributing 42 to the total, while Tiwary came and went without adding anything. All this before Pathan thought he was playing football at Kolkata’s Salt Lake stadium. He was actually at the JSCA stadium in Ranchi.
When a team plays like it has nothing to lose, it usually performs better.
Ask the Pune Warriors, their batsman at No.3- Manish Pandey, played a clever knock, piercing the gaps, by capitalizing on the bowler’s mistakes. The 23-year old came outside the off-stump, to caress a full toss past two fielders, to the fine leg fence. A full delivery from Rajat Bhatia, was promptly hoiked to midwicket for his only six. He played away from his body, played late, bringing up his boundaries by understanding the fielding team’s fielding plan.
The man-of-the-match struck 66 before going for a run that didn’t exist. After missing his shot, Pandey followed the ball, as it went into the wicket-keeper Bisla’s hands. Yuvraj Singh wanted a run. Bisla lobbed the ball to the non-striker’s end, where Jacques Kallis took the bails off, with Pandey diving in vain. Yuvraj Singh struck three neat sixes in his 30-run knock, before falling off the last ball of the first inning, while going for a fourth.
These were the last two wickets that fell in Pune’s first innings total of 170/4. The first two batsman did a good job as well. After being asked to bat by Kolkata, their captain Aaron Finch padded up after the toss, to join Robin Uthappa at the crease. The duo got off to a good start adding 56, before Uthappa (25) went for a pull shot, missed, and was bowled by Senanayake. Finch made 48, but fell, playing across, like his partner, only to find his bails displaced.
All the effort with the bat would pay off in the end, as Pune brought up only their third win in IPL 2013. For defending champions Kolkata, it meant that their title hopes had come to an end.
Beamer: Did Yusuf Pathan just say “my foot” ?
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