Yusuf, Russell engineer stunning comeback

The Match in a Tweet: Back from the dead! Pathan, Russell explode in the final overs as Knight Riders hand Royal Challengers Bangalore a third straight defeat

The scorecard: Kolkata Knight Riders 5-186 (Pathan 60no, Russell 39) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 7-185 (KL Rahul 52, Virat Kohli 52) by five wickets

The Heroes: Kolkata changed around their batting combination today in a bid to ward off their dependency on the openers. And it worked for a bit when Gautam Gambhir (37 off 29) and Chris Lynn (15 off 12) worked hard after Uthappa’s dismissal. But a dubious lbw decision and a beauty from leggie Yuvzvendra Chahal (2-27), respectively, wrecked their middle order. 

With just 59 deliveries left in the game, and 117 needed, Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell came together at the crease.

Of that total, they put on 96 off 44 to turn the game on its head. However, they didn’t go bang-bang from the very beginning, instead rotating the strike until they got their eyes in. In fact, their first 23 deliveries together brought only 36, inclusive of the flopped Russell stumping chance in the 14th over. Thereafter, it was carnage, with the West Indian allrounder taking the lead as he smashed Tabraiz Shamsi (0-51) for 18 in the very next over.

Pathan then got into the act, smacking 16 off Varun Aaron in the 16th over. The turning point came in the 17th when he blazed Shane Watson for four fours and a six, taking 24 off that over. Russell departed thereafter, for 39 off 24, but Pathan reached his 50 off 27 and stayed till the end as Kolkata crossed the finish line with five deliveries to spare.

The Aussie Pack: Amid all the Aussie injures, Watson continues to soldier on for Royal Challengers Bangalore, providing the missing balance to their line-up. On Monday night, he scored 34 off 21 to get his side to 7-185 in what was a late revival. With the ball, he was less successful, finishing with 1-38 from three overs after Pathan smashed him at the death to script a whirlwind chase. Lynn moved to No.3 for Kolkata as they were set a tall chase, and put on 28 with his skipper. Their twin dismissals though caused panic among the Kolkata ranks.

The Karnataka Boys: With Chris Gayle returning to the side, skipper Virat Kohli (52) opted to drop himself and push homeboy KL Rahul to the opening slot after the Knight Riders decided to field yet again. While new dad Gayle was gone cheaply on his return to the competition, Rahul kicked on from his previous outings and scored his third successive half-century this season. He put on 84 off 58 in his captain’s company, and oddly enough he was the more aggressive of the two, scoring 52 off 32 with six fours and two sixes. Stuart Binny, Rahul’s teammate for Karnataka, then smacked 16 off four at the death, in Watson’s company. The allrounder then dismissed Robin Uthappa for just a single. Later, Manish Pandey too went cheaply on his return from illness, as Kolkata were struggling at 4-69 at just about the halfway mark. Rahul thus nearly outdid all his Karnataka teammates, but for a simple mistake later in the innings, when he could have stumped Russell and sealed the game. Instead, he conceded four byes and the rest is history.

The Starc Absence: With their third defeat in a row, the situation is now dire for Bangalore who have all the big guns in their batting line-up. In Gayle, Kohli and de Villiers, with ample support from Watson and company, they can set and scale targets with ease. When it comes to defending them or bowling out oppositions though, they fall short. They have played around with their bowling attack combinations umpteen times this season, juggling between Aaron, Binny, Sreenath Aravind (1-16), David Wiese and Adam Milne. But it is amply clear that they are missing a certain Mitchell Starc. 

The Stat: The Royal Challengers conceded 73 runs in the last five overs today, the most in any match in the 2016 IPL. They are also placed second and fourth on this embarrassing list, with 71 against Sunrisers Hyderabad and another 65 against Gujarat Lions also having consigned them to defeats.

The Wash-Up: Kolkata Knight Riders have managed to reverse their two-match losing run, and with their fifth win of the season, have now moved to second in the standings with 10 points. Although he didn’t score many today, Pandey’s return from illness restored balance in their batting order. Meanwhile, Bangalore are in free fall, with this third straight defeat and their fifth in seven matches. With only four points, they are seventh in the table and in sight of last-placed Kings XI Punjab.

The Next Stop: The Knight Riders travel home next and will host Kings XI Punjab at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday. The Royal Challengers will enjoy a four-day break in Bangalore now, before taking on Rising Pune Supergiants on Saturday afternoon.