Bravo pulls off a Miandad

With five to win off the last ball,all-rounder hits KKRs Rajat Bhatia for a six to keep Chennai in playoffs hunt.

Rajat Bhatia,the Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder,had to experience the ignominy of being hit for a last ball six as Chennai Super Kings Dwayne Bravo smashed him over long-on. Chennai needed nine off the last over but Bhatia bowled smartly to make Kolkata the favourites. Chennai needed five for victory off the last ball.

Chasing 159 for victory,Mahendra Singh Dhonis side won by five wickets in a match in which fortunes swung on more than one occasion. This was the second successive loss for Kolkata,while Chennai continued a good run of form. The defending champions seem to be peaking at the right time as the race for the play-offs enters the final stretch.

In their last game on Saturday,they had beaten Delhi Daredevils by nine wickets and with 28 balls to spare. Mondays thrilling win moved them into fourth place in the standings. However,it was a game in which Chennai didnt start off as favourites as their decision to field backfired as Kolkata got off to a great start.

Kolkata were set for a formidable total after they put on 99 for the first wicket in 11.3 overs. But the good work of Gambhir and Brendon McCullum was eroded by a middle order collapse. Chennai fought back through their spinners and restricted Kolkata to 158/6 in 20 overs.

Chennai middle-order too failed to make the most of a good start provided by the openers. Michael Hussey 56 and Murali Vijay took their team 36 to 97 in 10.2 overs. But the excellent Sunil Narine,the mystery spinner who batsman failed to pick,brought Kolkata back into the contest by dismissing the openers in his third over the 11th of the game. Then,Suresh Raina stumbled while going for the second run and Gautam Gambhirs throw from the deep was flat and right on top of the stumps. Raina fell short by a yard.

Target practice

Forty-nine runs were needed in 40 balls and the pressure started to build. But Mahendra Singh Dhoni,one of the best finishers of the game was still at the wicket. The equation changed to 27 runs off 12 balls. Dhoni targeted the inexperienced Marchant de Lange for special treatment. Two brutal boundaries one of them almost took de Langes head off,and a helicopter shot that sent a length ball about six rows back later Chennai began to sniff victory. Nine runs were needed in the last over and Kolkata eventually paid for playing with one bowler short. The choice was between Jacques Kallis and Bhatia and Gambhir went for the latter.

Bhatias last hurrah

Bhatia started off well,accounting for Dhoni and holding his nerve till the penultimate delivery. But the last ball,an attempted yorker was a little fuller than he liked and Bravo was waiting for the mistake.

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Earlier,Dhonis decision to bowl first was based on his team composition. With Albie Morkel out indisposed,Chennai were playing an extra batsman in Faf du Plessis and Dhoni backed his team to chase anything in the range of 160. He was extended a favour by the hosts as they ended about 20 runs short.

Gambhir continued his good run,taking on Ben Hilfenhaus and treating the spinners with disdain. His 50 came in just 31 balls. McCullum,back to the side,supported him well. Yusuf Pathan failed yet again,Manoj Tiwary didnt make the most of the opportunity while Kallis paid the price for attempting a reverse sweep.

Chennai have to win their last match to secure qualification for the play-offs. Kolkata has a bigger leeway. They need to win at least one of their last two matches. Gambhir will hope and pray that Mondays loss is only a temporary blip in the form graph.