Royals register their first win as tight spells from Yusuf Pathan (2/23) and Shane Warne (0/27) stifle Ganguly and company.
On a day when spinners dominated proceedings at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium here on Saturday, Shane Warne led from the front to help the Rajasthan Royals register their first win in this edition of the Indian Premier League. They beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 34 runs to break the jinx.
The Australian didn’t have a wicket to show, but his economical spell (4-0-27-0) went a long way in helping the Royals get the win. Ironically, Yusuf Pathan (2/23), who didn’t have a great day with the bat, was the pick of the bowlers.
Chasing 169, KKR suffered an early blow when Manoj Tiwary’s furniture was dismantled by Pathan. Cheteshwar Pujara and Brad Hodge steadied the innings but the duo consumed 46 deliveries and added just 50 for the second wicket.
Some skillful bowling from Pathan and Warne spoiled KKR’s chances of staging a comeback. Local lad Siddharth Trivedi, too, had a good outing, castling Pujara (29; 25b, 4x4).
Four overs later, Pathan picked up Hodge (36; 34b, 3x4). Ganguly, who looked all at sea during his innings of 33, and Owais Shah (19 not out) were kept quiet thanks to some tight bowling.
Earlier, KKR had a dream start when Michael Lumb was trapped in front by Ashok Dinda off the very first ball of the match. However, Faiz Fazal and Naman Ojha counter-attacked Ishant Sharma and Dinda. Fazal knocked 31 off 23 which included six fours.
Attempting his seventh, Fazal was caught by Pujara off Shane Bond. Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Ojha tried to rebuild the innings by adding 30 for the third wicket. However, Bond’s flat throw and Murali Kartik’s agility ensured Ojha walked back to the dugout.
Ganguly laid a trap for the swashbuckling Yusuf Pathan. The Baroda-batsman was looking good on 15, but perished when he tried to pull Ashok Dinda. Instead, he volleyed a simple catch to Brad Hodge reducing the Royals to 108/4. The batting side found it difficult to score quickly, especially when Kartik was operating. However, Jhunjhunwala and Adam Voges’s efforts enabled RR post 168/7.
Meanwhile, Chris Gayle was said to be down with fever. The KKR team management decided to give their West Indian import some rest.
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