Hyderabad: Put in to bat first by Kolkata Knight Riders, Lahore Lions squandered the early advantage to post a below par total of 151 in the 7th match of the CLT20 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Here is the live cricket score.
After being watchful for first two overs, Lahore Lions attacked the Kolkata Knight Riders. While Nasir Jamshed was a bit sedate, his opening partner Ahmed Shehzad did not waste too much time before he started to smash the KKR bowling arond the park without any visible trouble.
Manvinder Bisla meanwhile had a horrible time behind the wickets as he missed out on two stumping chances; one off the bowling of KKR debutant Kuldeep Yadav, India's only chinaman bowler.
However, Lahore Lions could not keep KKR at bay for too long as Andre Russell's brilliance in the field ended Jamshed's stay in the middle. But barring Russell, KKR fielders were ordinary in the fielding, misfielding, misjudging and failing to keep Lahore Lions under pressure.
And just when it seemed that KKR fielding would let down yound Kuldeep Yadav, Andre Russell came to his rescue as he took an easy catch to dismiss Mohammad Hafeez.
Shehzad who batted with a lot of ease brought up his fifty. However, he played a shot too many and was caught at long-on by Robin Uthappa off Piyush Chawla. Sensing an opening, Gautam Gambhir attacked the Lahore Lions. His move paid off immediately as Sunil Narine removed Saad Nasim even before he opened his account.
The mystery spinner struck two more time to leave Lahore Lions reeling and ended his 4-over spell with the impressive figures of 3 wickets for 9 runs.
Although Umar Akmal showed some fight during the final stages of Lahore Lions' inning, it may prove out to be too little too late.
Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa provide KKR with solid start with half century stand in 6 overs
Rasool gets rid of Dangerous utahppas as he loses his wicket for 46 runs
Mustafa Iqbal clean bowled's Gambhir for 60 as KKR lose second wicket
Teams:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Robin Uthappa, Manvinder Bisla (wicketkeeper), Yusuf Pathan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Suryakumar Yadav, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav.
Lahore Lions: Umar Siddiq, Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez (captain), Saad Nasim, Umar Akmal (wicketkeeper), Wahab Riaz, Asif Raza, Mustafa Iqbal, Adnan Rasool, Aizaz Cheema.
Preview:
After struggling early in chase, KKR successfully toppled Chennai Super Kings in their first game. The Shah Rukh Khan owned unit, while aiming for their second win in a row, would be keen to secure another victory minus any hiccups.
Lahore Lions who overcame the qualifiers hurdle though must be eager to disturb KKR’s plan to seal their 11th win in a row (9 IPL wins + a victory against CSK on Wednesday). The Mohammad Hafeez-captained side have the batting and bowling power at their disposal. However, they must also improve on their fielding as they seek to beat IPL 7 champions KKR.
Key players:
Sunil Narine:
While Pakistanis like their other Asian counterparts are good players of spin, it would not be an easy task to come good against one of the best T20 bowlers in the world, Sunil Narine. Not only the West Indian is a wicket-taker, but he is an absolute miser with ball in hand.
Umar Akmal:
Although Umar Akmal has played his share of breathtaking knocks in his career, he is always criticised for failing to live up the great potential he has. It would be great if he comes good against Narine and co. tonight.
