Knight Riders take their second IPL title

Jun 01, 2014

IPL final day, and Knight Riders chose to bowl. Their decision paid off early on, as Umesh Yadav got Virender Sehwag cheaply•BCCI

After captain George Bailey fell for 1 after promoting himself up the order, Wriddhiman Saha provided Vohra with great support•BCCI

While Vohra was eventually caught by Piyush Chawla - who held on to the skier despite the ball giving him a painful blow to the face - for 67 off 52 ... •BCCI

Manish Pandey, batting at No. 3, fired on all cylinders though. He slammed 94 off 50•BCCI

But it was legspinner Karanveer Singh who picked up a bagful of wickets, despite being quite expensive•BCCI

A little earlier, too, Bailey had been in the middle of action as Kings XI kept fighting in their bid for a first IPL title. Shakib Al Hasan was run out by a direct hit from Bailey, which was reminiscent of Bailey's game-changing run-out of Suresh Raina in the second qualifier•BCCI

But Manan Vohra held firm at the other end, extending his run of fine form•BCCI

Both batsmen got lives, and both capitalised on them. Sunil Narine dropped a sitter to let off Saha•BCCI

... Saha kept tearing into the Knight Riders. He went on to score the first century in an IPL final, lifting Kings XI to an imposing 199 for 4•BCCI

Yusuf Pathan teed off when he got the chance, adding 71 in 7.2 overs with Pandey to put Knight Riders well on track•BCCI

Glenn Maxwell eventually caught Pathan right on the boundary, off Karanveer's bowling ...•BCCI

This time though, it was not as influential, Piyush Chawla made sure of that. He hit a crucial six off Johnson in the penultimate over, before sealing it with a four over point in the final one to spark wild celebrations from his team•BCCI

Robin Uthappa stumped Vohra, but it was a no-ball as he had collected the ball in front of the stumps•BCCI

In the chase, Mitchell Johnson struck a huge early blow, having the tournament's leading run-scorer, Robin Uthappa, caught for 5•BCCI

Akshar Patel produced another tidy spell of left-arm spin•BCCI

... but the biggest of his four wickets on the night was Pandey, who was caught by Bailey at cover•BCCI