Heavily tattooed and built like a ram,hes someone you would like to have on your side in a bar brawl. Over the years,the burly Peter Trego has also developed quite a reputation for himself as a high-profile six-hitter in the English county circles. And early in the 2011 season,the 30-year-old Somerset right-hander showed how hard he can thump a cricket ball,when one of his six sixes against Glamorgan shattered the glass-window of the radio commentary box and ended up hitting expert Edward Bevan on his back. The commentators and the smattering of spectators who turned up at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Uppal,Hyderabad,however,never really came under any threat from Tregos bat. But as Kolkata Knight Riders found out,the seasoned all-rounder did prove that he could be equally damaging when he decides to play more sensibly and keep the ball on the ground. Starting with Tregos hard-working 70 on Wednesday,tripled with a sensible approach and battle-hardened intensity on the field,Somerset,rank outsiders to qualify for the main draw,overcame enormous odds to post an impressive 11-run win against their fancied opponents and advance to the next phase. Entertainment galore One thing that IPL fans have become accustomed to whenever KKR are involved in a contest is immense drama. That is both on and off the field,especially if the teams co-owners Shah Rukh Khan,Juhi Chawla and their array of Bollywood sidekicks are cheering them on from the stands. And there was plenty of it at Uppal yet again. Chasing a stiff target of 167 was always expected to be a tall order even for the Knight Riderss power-driven batting line-up. But in what was a throwback to the era of triangular one-day tournaments where teams would end up vying for a specific total in order to qualify for the final,it was the figure of 153 that Kolkata seemed content on surpassing from the start. As their batsmen continued to wilt under Somersets unrelenting pressure,even that task began to look increasingly arduous for the home team. And it was left to another seasoned county cricket journeyman,31-year-old Ryan ten Doeschate,to ensure safe passage from the qualifying stage for his team. Never one to lose his nerves,the Dutchman kept finding the boundary when it mattered. But his 31-ball 46,which included three sixes,was only good enough to confirm that the main draw will now see four IPL teams in action. Fatigued and beleaguered Somerset might have been when they landed in Hyderabad after having played two back-to-back four-day games,a one-day final against Surrey not to forget the long journey from England in the last 10 days but the English side seemed in control from the start,thanks mainly to Trego. While he kept knocking the singles around,Roelof van der Merwe,who also starred in the field with a breathtaking catch and two wickets,was in free-flow as always,propping up his teams innings. The duo put on a rapid 72,negating Kolkata Knight Riderss slow-bowling strength and helping Somerset post a sizeable total and eventually storm into the main draw. Brief scores: Somerset 166/6 (P Trego 70,R van der Merwe 40,J Unadkat 2/31,B Lee 2/34); Kolkata Knight Riders (R ten Doeschate 46,M Tiwary 27,R van der Merwe 2/23,M Waller 2/23) Outfoxed With the runners-up of the English T20 competition and the fourth-placed team in this years IPL making it through,it was heartbreak for Sri Lankas champion team Ruhunu. Led by Dinesh Chandimals hard-hitting 62,Ruhunu had earlier in the day overcome English champions Leicestershire Foxes by four runs in a closely-run match,a win that unfortunately went in vain. Brief scores: Ruhunu XI 160/6 in 20 oves (D Chandimal 62 n.o,S Karunanayake 28,H Gurney 3/33,A Razzaq 2/30); Foxes 156/8 in 20 overs (A Razzaq 68,A McDonald 24,J Gunaratne 3/27,A Silva 3/29)
