Kolkata gives Rajasthan taste of its own medicine

It was a sweet revenge for Kolkata Knight Riders as they defeated Rajasthan Royals by five wickets in a closely-contested IPL match, here on Friday.

Rajasthan had defeated KKR by 22 runs in their earlier meeting a few days back.

Chasing a target of 132, Kolkata Knight Riders reached the target with four balls to spare thereby notching up their second victory in the cash-rich league.

With 15 needed off the last two overs, Shakib Al Hasan (16) hit a hige six over deep mid-wicket off Amit Singh to get KKR close to the target.

Yusuf Pathan exults after claiming a Rajasthan Royals wicket. Pic/AFP

Shakib got out off the very next delivery but a delicate late cut from Yusuf Pathan levelled the scores with only a single needed off the last over. It was left to Ryan ten Doeschate, who hit a huge six off Ankeet Chavan over deep square leg to clinch the match.

Jacques Kallis (31, 39 balls, 3x4), Manvinder Bisla (29, 29 balls, 3x4) and Manoj Tiwary (24, 18 balls 1x4, 1x6) made useful contributions to help KKR win on a track which wasn't conducive for batting.

KKR skipper Gautam Gambhir started off the chase on a positive note hitting offie Johan Botha for two boundaries. First was an inside-out hit over extra cover while the next was a square cut. However, Gambhir responded a touch late to a call for a single by Kallis as Rahul Dravid's direct throw found his opposite number well short.

Despite the pitch offering a fair bit of turn the KKR batsmen didn't stop playing shots knowing fully well that getting bogged down would only invite trouble.

Bisla played and missed a few but in between hit a few boundaries. Kallis hit the best shot of the day - a straight drive off medium-pacer Amit Singh.

Kallis, who scored 31, played the role of a sheet anchor to perfection before he was declared leg before off Botha when he tried to sweep against the turn.

Earlier, the KKR bowlers led by left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan restricted Rajasthan Royals to 131 for five on a difficult Eden Gardens track.

Opting to bat on a slow Eden strip, Royals made a cautious start before skipper Rahul Dravid broke the shackles along with opener Ajinkya Rahane.

But wrecker-in-chief Shakib (3/17) broke the 45-run opening partnership after which the Royals found it difficult to break free.

Ashok Menaria (1) and Rahul Dravid (28) were also dismissed in quick succession as Royals were reduced to 49 for three in the ninth over.

Owais Shah was the top-scorer for Royals with 31 from 33 balls (3x4) as the England batsman along with Shreevats Goswami put on 59 for the fourth wicket to repair the top-order damage.

There were only two sixes in the visitors innings, something that summed up the nature of the track.

Dravid showed flashes of brilliance from his golden days. He even came down the pitch on more than one occasion and hit Kallis on the rise during his delightful but short innings.

The old and young combination of Dravid and Rahane seemed in little trouble after a tentative start as they broke free in Sunil Narine's first over, hitting the West Indian off-spinner for 10 runs.

Dravid was at his best against Kallis as the Royals raced to 45 for no loss after six overs.u00a0