Friday match in Kolkata saw the Kolkata defeat Rajasthan by five wickets in a closely-contested tie. The match was a chance to avenge for the KKR.

The Indian Premier League’s (IPL) thirteenth match played at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Friday was a close finish. The home team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR), in a nail biting finish. Both the teams almost equaled in all the departments and the winning edge favored the home team.  This was a sweet revenge for the home team which fared badly in their earlier meeting, in which RR excelled by 22 runs.

The RR Captain Rahul Dravid lost the toss and was asked to bat first by the KKR Captain Gautam Gambhir. Thanks to the bowling efforts of the KKR that restricted the RR to 131 runs after losing five wickets. O Shah as usual played a good innings and scored 31 runs. His efforts were inspired by his captain’s display. Dravid gave a good start with 28 runs. The Wicket Keeper S Goswami scored 24 runs, which helped the RR to register a formidable score. Al Hassan grabbed the bowling honors for the KKR with a haul of three wickets by just giving 17 runs.

The KKR came into batting with a style with Kallis and Gambhir jelling well on the field. But the momentum went for a toss in the fourth over when Gambhir was out as the KKR scored 22 runs. But Kallis and Bisla put in valiant efforts and scored 31 and 29 runs respectively. Kallis looked much settled and was in for a bigger innings but for the LBW in the eleventh over.  Tiwary who walked in to join Bisla added his mite by scoring 24 runs and the KKR won the match by scoring 137 after losing five wickets in 19.2 overs.

Sheik Al Hassan claimed the Man of the Match for his towering efforts in bowling and for his blistering knock of 16 runs in just ten balls.  At last the fans had a splendid match on cards for the day. (AarKay)