Taylor trumps McCullum in battle of Kiwis

Ross Taylor triumphed in the battle of the New Zealanders against Brendon McCullum Tuesday as Bangalore defeated Kolkata by six wickets in an Indian Premier League thriller.

McCullum struck an unbeaten 84 at Centurion Park as bottom team Knight Riders reached 173-4 from 20 overs only to be passed by Royal Challengers, who made 176-4 in 19.2 overs with unbeaten 81-run Taylor the hero.

Friend and foe praised Taylor after one of the most exciting finishes in the five-week Twenty20 tournament as teams chase a top-four finish and a place in the semi-finals next weekend.

“Ross was fantastic and took the game away from us after I thought our total would be good enough to secure victory,” said McCullum of official man-of-the-match Taylor.

Bangalore and South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher added: “The innings of Ross was as good as it gets. We were under a lot of pressure to win and he pulled us through.”

McCullum struck two sixes and 10 fours as he stayed at the crease from start to finish of a Kolkata innings that gathered momentum in the second half after labouring to 69-2 by the 10-over ‘tactical break’.

The Kiwi also pulled off the catch of the tournament so far to send South African Jacques Kallis packing after his opening partnership with Kiwi Jesse Ryder had yielded 58 runs for Bangalore. Ryder departed five runs later and after Bangalore were in run-rate trouble for several overs, Taylor let loose and his five sixes and seven fours steered the team home.

Kolkata 173-4 in 20 overs (B.McCullum 84 not out, D.Hussey 43; V.Kumar 2-33). Bangalore 176-4 in 19.2 overs (R.Taylor 81 not out, J.Kallis 32, J.Ryder 22; M.Kartik 2-28).

CENTURION, Tuesday, AFP