Super Pathan Does It For The Royals

Hollywood could had saved this for the final. What a game. The IPL carnival is truly alive and kicking. Well, on the field this time. The Knight Riders needing 151 to win collapsed after the Gayle (41) innings to 94 for 5. It required the old war horse Saurav Ganguly to step in and improvise the chase. and improvise he did. Playing like his younger self Ganguly got them 6 runs short of the target off the penultimate over. Then Kamran Khan happened.

Shane Warne is like a war general marshaling his troops around every now and then. All players including another brilliant captainin the form of Graeme Smith adhere to him. He kept the conversations going all over and made sure every man on the field was pumped up enough. He gave a pep talk to the young 18 year old Kamran Khan who grinned back and promised to deliver. He bowled a tight over and snapped Ganguly and equation left for the Knights was 2 off 2. Ishant Sharma could keep it only to a single and that meant the super over with the scores tied.

Now the Super Over rules: Each team gets one over to bat and the team which scores the most wins. If it's a tie then the team which scores the most sixes in the match wins. 3 batsmen and 1 bowler to be used in case a wicket goes down. Fielding rules are the same.

Kamran Khan once again started good and limited the first 2 balls to singles amidst a wide delivery. The next 3 balls however were dispatched all around the ground for boundaries by Chris Gayle's brute power. One delivery to go and the Knights were 15/0 and Gayle hit one on the off side where the sweeper took a sharp catch. Target: 16 to win

Yusuf Pathan walked in, cool as ice. He has the reputation of not taking other reputations seriously. Mystery bowler Ajantha Mendis bowled the first one and it was dispatched it high over long off. None of the fielders were required to move and the equation read 10 from 2. A carrom ball up next and Pathan mistimed it over the bowler's head. Brad Hodge couldn't get a finger on the ball and I'm sure he couldn't get some sleep as well later in the night. The third delivery, Pathan decided enough was enough and smashed it rows back over mid-wicket. 3 to go, 2 required. All the fielders by now were in no doubt to whom the points would be allotted.

Super Pathan on strike and everyone just knew it was over. 4th delivery of the over became a formality and Pathan decided enough of the aeriel hits and simply sweeped the ball wide of square leg for a boundary. The stadium erupted and Yusuf Pathan charged to celebrate with his team-mates. It felt like a final. KKR must have been thinking they made the wrong choice with the bowler but Mendis was the one who got Pathan earlier in the game. Full credit to Pathan and his brute force.