Pandey powers Knights to second IPL crown

IPL Final: KKR chase down KXIP's 199 with three wickets and as many balls to spare.

POWER PACKED: This was a clear case of a ninety overshadowing a hundred.

BANGALORE: Piyush Chawla scythed Parvinder Awana behind point for a boundary and broke into a frenzied sprint, which ended up in a sprawl on the turf as his Kolkata Knight Riders teammates engulfed him. Chawla had perhaps played the most important shot - and the most important cameo - of his career: the four on the third delivery of the 20th over, which handed Gautam Gambhir’s team their second IPL trophy in three years, by three wickets, this time at the expense of the most explosive team of the season, Kings XI Punjab.

It was a rightful shot for Chawla to have played. For though his five-ball 13 was but a droplet in the IPL ocean of of runs, it came at a time most crucial, and also included a courageous hooked six off the pace of Mitchell Johnson. The chubby leg-spinner had even shed his blood for the team cause when he clumsily smacked the ball on to his mouth while taking a catch in the first innings. This was Kolkata’s ninth win on the trot in 2014 and it came after they held their nerve in a tricky chase during which they had the required rate in control, but did not have their top order around to see it through.

For Punjab the loss marked a horrendous climactic fortnight that saw their talisman Glenn Maxwell go off the boil and their inadequate bowling attack flogged. The woeful Awana was an apt representation of  Punjab's misery. Rancacked for 33 in an over by Suresh Raina in Qualifier 2, the medium pacer leaked 43 in 3.3 overs in the final. Even their most successful bowler on the night, leggie Karanveer Singh with four wickets, went for 54 in his four.

Not like KKR had done better with the ball. Which meant that the title clash hadn't quite follow its billing: a contest between the best batting side versus its mightiest bowling outfit. What it turned out to be was typical T20 fare. After Wriddhiman Saha’s swashbuckling 55-ball 115 (the first century in an IPL final and the first by an Indian wicket-keeper) propelled a slow-starting Punjab to 199 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Manish Pandey’s 50-ball 94 helped Kolkata overhaul it.

ORANGE CAP UTHAPPA FAILS

Punjab would have considered themselves favourites after Johnson sent back the Orange cap holder Robin Uthappa in the first over of the chase. Skipper Gautam Gambhir too perished for 23 – the first of Karanveer’s four – and it was left to Pandey and Yusuf Pathan to sort things out. Pathan did it the only way he knows: clubbing four sixes in a 22-ball 36. He added 71 in 7.2 overs with Pandey before holing out to Karanveer.

Pandey was almost fanatic, and mostly successful, in his search for the mighty blow and in its pace and setting the knock was reminiscent of Manvinder Bisla's 89 that had helped KKR to their first IPL crown, against Chennai in 2012. Pandey reached fifty in 34 balls and was dropped by George Bailey on 59. As if to redeem himself – with KKR needing 49 off the last five overs – Bailey ran-out Shakib Al Hasan (12) with a direct hit, in a reprisal of what he had done to Raina and CSK in Qualifier 2. The plot thickened when Pandey and Ryan ten Doeschate (4) were out in quick succession trying to force the pace off Karanveer. But with 15 needed in the last two overs, Chawla took it upon himself, hooking Johnson over deep backward square-leg before hitting the winning runs and taking off in celebration.

Punjab’s prolific M’s, Maxwell and Miller, and a resurgent Virender Sehwag had earlier contributed just 8 in 12 balls and Kings were 32/2 after 6 overs and 58/2 after 10 overs – their lowest scores this season after Gambhir invited them to bat. Sehwag (7) fell to an Umesh Yadav bouncer that grew on him. Bailey promoted himself over Maxwell, only to be bowled by Narine’s first ball of the match, the first of the sixth over. Even more of a surprise was watching Saha pad out instead of Maxwell to join Manan Vohra. 

Saha and Vohra (67) went on to add 129 in 12 overs following a watchful start against Kolkata’s second-line of spinners. Saha was spectacular with his power and placement and seemed to be perpetually aware of changes to the field. He caught up to reach a half-century in just 29 balls and then mauled the bowling. Morne Morkel was whipped to the leg-side, the pacy Umesh slapped arrogantly for six and Narine, usually the most miserly of them all, was carted for 46 in his four overs.

It was off Narine that Saha cracked the six that gave him a century – a shot that was parried over the boundary by the fielder. And although Narine dropped Saha off his own bowling when the batsman was on 60 - and also had Vohra’s stumping missed by an over-eager Uthappa - it was undoubted that the ‘mystery’ spinner had been cracked open. Unfortunately, for Punjab, a cracking more severe awaited their own bowlers.