Sat, 14 May 2011 - IP Bangalore vs IP Kolkata, IPL 2011, 58th Match - Bulletin

Bangalore seal play-off berth, defeat Kolkata

Chris Gayle and rain did Kolkata in as Bangalore scrambled across the finish line with 4 wickets to spare and leapt to the top of league standings for the first time in IPL-4. Rain halted play for nearly two hours, as a result the match was reduced to 13 overs a side affair.

However, rain did not have any effect on Gayle and he smacked a quick fire 38 to shut the door for Kolkata. By virtue of this win, Bangalore have sealed their place in the play-offs where as, Kolkata look a little vulnerable as Punjab and Rajasthan can still qualify at their expense.

Chasing the revised total of 102, Gayle began in blazing style, his 38 came off just 12 deliveries, six fours and two monstrous hits part of the package. He also wrested the ‘Orange Cap’ from Virender Sehwag in style as he blasted Kolkata left armer Unadkat into the crowd for his second six.

After he departed, Bangalore found the going a little difficult but the damage had already been done. With the game truncated by rain, the left-hander’s innings became all the more important. Though, the home side lost wickets in a hurry towards the end, they got over the line with 3 balls remaining.

The Kolkata bowlers couldn’t do a lot as Gayle was in murderous mood but the way they bowled towards the end, it would have been an even contest if rain had not affected play.

Earlier, Kolkata made it difficult for themselves by over attacking form the very start. Probably, the prospect of defending the target against Gayle made them aim for a little more. Jacques Kallis did not look to play his usual role of an anchor as he tried to smack everything towards the boundary. His 17 ball 14 consisted of ugly swipes and slogs. Morgan also didn’t last too long.

Captain Gambhir in spite of the early wickets tried to counter-attack by dancing down the track a number of times. However, his dismissal was more a fielder’s wicket, his square cut off S Arvind flew to the left of AB de Villiers and he responded by getting air-borne to take a spectacular catch.

At 30 for 3, Kolkata were wobbling and in need of a partnership to stabilize things. Big-hitting Yusuf Pathan combined with Manoj Tiwary to do some damage control. The former missed aggression with caution to take his team to 69 for 3 after 11 overs.

At this point, the heavens opened and the play was stopped for about two hours. The rain break came at the wrong time for Kolkata as Pathan was looking good. Kolkata were given two more overs to bat after play resumed and they reached 89 runs losing Pathan (36 runs off 24 balls) in the process. The target for Bangalore was revised as per the D/L method to 102 runs.

The rain interruption may have helped Bangalore but their bowlers did a commendable job. They bowled tight lines to stifle the Kolkata batsmen who were trying to score some quick runs. The pacers did their job with aplomb, Langeveldt bowled three super overs for just 10 runs with crucial wickets of Kallis and Pathan. The Bangalore fielding as expected was top-notch and supported their bowlers well.

Bangalore have extended their unbeaten run to a seven match streak, which is a record in IPL history and they look all set to take it further.