Kochi stun strong Kolkata

A fine half-century by Eoin Morgan went in vain as Kochi pulled off a 17-run upset win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday to spice up the race for the play-offs in the Indian Premier League.

Chasing 157, Kolkata were cruising at 69-0 but paceman Raiphi Gomez grabbed two wickets in two balls and Vinay Kumar sent back Morgan (66) and Yusuf Pathan in the 19th over to restrict the visitors to 139-7 at the Nehru Stadium.

The victory moved Kochi to fifth in the points table and brought them back into contention for a place in the knockout rounds, while Kolkata remained in second place with 12 points.

England’s Morgan impressed the most among the Kolkata batsmen, hitting eight fours and two sixes in his 51-ball knock after Jacques Kallis made 45 opening the innings.

Kolkata paceman Jaidev Unadkat earlier struck a double blow after skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and elected to field, dismissing opener Brendon McCullum (one) and Parthiv Patel (21) inside the first six overs.

New Zealander McCullum was caught in the slips by Kallis and Patel top-edged to Rajat Bhatia, who ran backwards to latch on to the catch at the third attempt.

Coming in to bat at number four, skipper Mahela Jayawardene (55) rebuilt the innings in the company of Australia’s Michael Klinger (29) with a 51-run stand for the third wicket.

The former Sri Lankan captain hit two fours and two sixes in his 41-ball knock before being run out in the 19th over.

Brad Hodge boosted the total with a late assault off the final over bowled by his Australian team-mate Brett Lee, clobbering two sixes and two fours to finish on an unbeaten 35 off just 19 balls.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala 156-5 in 20 overs (M. Jayawardene 55, B. Hodge 35 not out, M. Klinger 29; J. Unadkat 2-25)

Kolkata Knight Riders 139-7 in 20 overs (E. Morgan 66, J. Kallis 45; R. Gomez 2-14, V. Kumar 2-28)

KOCHI, AFP