(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir's 82-run opening stand paved the way for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to grab a six-wicket victory against Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here on Tuesday.
Uthappa scored a quickfire 28-ball 53 while Gambhir got to a run-a-ball 34. For Kings XI Axar Patel and Pardeep Sahu bagged two wickets each. Earlier the Knights led by mystery spinner Sunil Narine's 2-22 once again put up a brilliant performance with the ball to restrict Kings XI Punjab to 138 for 8. Besides Narine South African speedster Morne Morkel returned 2-27. For Kings XI Shaun Marsh top-scored with an unbeaten 41-ball 56. In pursuit of 139 KKR started off on a canter with Uthappa being the aggressor. He smacked Sandeep Sharma first and then took on South African pacer Kyle Abbott. Skipper Gambhir meanwhile concentrated on running hard between the wickets. Kings XI could have got him run out in the fifth over but David Miller failed to hit the stumps with Gambhir stranded in the middle of the strip. After six overs KKR had raced to 65 for 0 with Uthappa going strong. The Karnataka-born batsman managed to get to his fifty but then was adjudged leg-before-wicket off a Sahu leg-spinner. But the dismissal could not curtail the scoring rate. A few overs later against the run of play Gambhir skied one in the air and was brilliantly caught by Glen Maxwell in the deep. With only 29 runs left Manish Pandey (12) who was looking good missed a straighter one from Axar Patel which crashed onto his citadel. He was followed by Shakib Al Hasan (11) who holed out at third man. Yusuf Pathan (12) and Suryakumar Yadav (11) then took their side across the line with 17 balls to spare. In the first innings the hosts had a steady beginning even though they lost Manan Vohra (8) early. Murali Vijay and Marsh then got together to stitch together a 26-run partnership and at the end of the powerplay the Kings had put on a decent 41 for 1.
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new delhi - Hailing MS Dhoni as the best Indian captain in "pressure situations" veteran pace bowler Ashish Nehra expressed his regret of not responding to feelers that the skipper had sent him to make a Test comeback in 2009 which would have helped him play more than the 17 matches. The soon-to-be 37 Nehra has made a remarkable comeback albeit in the shortest format and his stupendous performance in the World T20 led to his selection in the 'Team of the Tournament'. "Right from my debut under Mohammed Azharuddin (in 1999) I have played under so many captains but when it comes to remaining cool and delivering under pressure Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the best. I have not seen anyone who can remain so cool under pressure" Nehra answered to a query from the media. Nehra's biggest regret is that he could not play more than 17 Tests. "In 2009 Dhoni and the then coach Gary Kirsten had asked me if I would like to make a Test comeback. I was around 30-31 then and should have responded positively but I was not very sure. When I look back only two years back at the age of 35 I had played six four-day matches in six weeks. So when I look back I feel I should have played more than 17 Test matches" the senior pacer said. Questioned on comparison between Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly under whom Nehra had played some of his best cricket the left-arm seamer said: "When we played under Sourav guys like myself Yuvraj Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan were all very young. For us Sourav's wish was our command as he had much more experience than all of us. If Dada said that something needs to be executed we knew it had to be done. When I made a comeback under Dhoni in 2009 I was more matured and I knew more about my bowling and also could understand and relate to Dhoni's philosophy of captaincy. So it has also been an enjoyable experience under Dhoni." Asked if 'Captain Cool' of late is becoming edgy to criticism Nehra backed his skipper. Dhoni had lost his cool to a query from a scribe after his team won by a run against Bangladesh while he took a sarcastic dig at Indian media while inviting an Aussie journalist to sit beside him after India's semifinal loss against West Indies at the World T20. "How many times have you seen Dhoni lose his cool. It's also about how you ask a particular question. On personal front what is being written in papers has never bothered me as I don't read them or watch news on television. I don't even watch cricket on television. I rarely give interviews or press statements" he said. Nehra did not give any direct answer to the query about why he was out in the cold post 2011 World Cup win but reminded that injury and fitness are two entirely different concepts that the people normally mix up. "I sustained four fractures in my hand while fielding during the semi-final match against Pakistan. But one needs to understand that being injured does not mean you are unfit. Injury is getting hit sustaining fractures but fitness is a different aspect. "In these four years I may not have played international cricket but I was playing domestic cricket during that phase" said Nehra. - PTI