Indian Premier League 2017 - 23rd Match
(Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Lions at Kolkata)
Raina assault too hot for Knight Riders
| KKR | vs | GL |
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| 187/5 (20) | 188/6 (18.2) | |
| GL won by 4 wickets | ||
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| Photo © BCCI |
Suresh Raina displayed all the elements that have made him a T20 stalwart - strong bottom hand, powerful wrists, tactful strike-rotation, fierce ball-striking and handy offspin - to eke out a four-wicket win that breathed life into Gujarat Lions' campaign. Their second win in six games temporarily lifted them off the bottom of the table. But this was no walk in the park as the scorecard suggests.
Walking in at No. 3, he watched Brendon McCullum, Dinesh Karthik, Dwayne Smith and Ishan Kishan fall. The Yadavs - Kuldeep and Umesh - had the batsmen tied in knots with flight and reverse swing respectively. At 115 for 5, Lions were far from ahead in a chase of 188. But Raina, reprieved on 1 by Robin Uthappa off Sunil Narine, held his shape, backed himself to bring out the big hits on demand and single-handedly razed down the target. He fell with Lions needing eight, and Ravindra Jadeja and James Faulkner did the rest with 10 balls to spare.
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| Photo © BCCI |
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