Rajasthan Royals record first win by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Ground:	Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Scorecard:	Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders
Player:	AA Jhunjhunwala, SC Ganguly
Event:	Indian Premier League 2009/10

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DateLine: 21st March 2010

 

The smile is back on Warne’s face as Rajasthan Royals pulled out an upset 34-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the DLF IPL 3 match here on Saturday.

 

The Rajasthan bowlers relished the condition at the Motera. The slow and sluggish pitch offered lot of help to the spinners. Warne handled his resources well. The spinners chocked the flow of runs and Kolkata batsmen got themselves into a hole. Hodge, Ganguly and Chateswar Pujra all got starts but couldn’t convert them into a big score. The Kolkata run chase was peculiar, the side kept its wickets intact in the first 9 overs but the much awaited acceleration didn’t come at the home stretch. Hodge and Pujra fell trying to break the shackles while the timing deserted Ganguly at the crucial time.

 

Yusuf Pathan, though didn’t set the ground on fire with his batting, was more than a handful with his sliding spinners. He accounted for Manoj Tiwari early with a faster delivery and came back to dismiss Hodge. The much touted Warne-Ganguly tussle ended in Warne’s favour as the he kept the batsman quiet and clearly had a better day as the captain. Warne’s niggardly spell kept the pressure on the batsmen.Shaun Tait showed signs of returning to form as he bowled with more control and skill. But the standout bowler was Siddharth Trivedi whose tight line was custom made for the slow track. Pujra fell trying to manufacture a shot off the bowler. It was all over bar the shouting when Ganguly and Mathews fell in the same over.

 

Earlier, Jhunjunwala’s played a lovely innings of touch and class as he caressed the ball into the gaps. The Bengal batsmen held the innings together and deserved another half-century. Rajasthan got off to a disastrous start as Lumb was trapped in front by Dinda. However, Fazal took the fight to the rival camp with his audacious stroke play. Naman Ohja too played the big shots but his tenure was cut short by a brilliant piece of fielding by Angelo Mathews. Ganguly brought in his seamers Bond and Dinda when Pathan walked in. But the slow surface blunted the intent of the bowlers when they peppered Pathan with the short stuff. The batsman struck two boundaries during his brief stay amd made 15 runs. Rajasthan appeared to have lost its way after it lost three quick wickets for just four runs But Adam Vodges playing his first match in the IPL struck Ishant Sharma for 17 runs in the final over to give Royals a respectable total.