Yusuf powers Rajasthan to victory

Sohail Tanvir took 3 for 26 as Kolkata Knight Riders were restricted to 147...

A disciplined performance with the ball, followed by a counterattacking blitz from Yusuf Pathan, sealed a six-wicket win at Eden Gardens for the Rajasthan Royals, who with 18 points from 11 matches, become the first team to firm a spot in the semi-finals. At the toss, Shane Warne had said his intention was to knock out the Kolkata Knight Riders, and the loss leaves the home side nearly out of the running for a semi-final place.

Rajasthan were on top for most part of the game, barring a spell in the chase when wickets fell in a flurry. Warne decided to stick with his tried-and-tested policy of fielding first, with the pitch offering assistance to the bowlers. They kept Kolkata on the leash, and a regular stream of wickets ensured the home side could manage only 147.

Warne made innovative bowling changes, and tried to unsettle the batsmen by rotating his fast bowlers for each of the first six overs. The faster bowlers varied their deliveries, changing their lengths and pace to keep the batsmen on their toes. Sohail Tanvir, Munaf Patel and Shane Watson kept the batsmen in check during the Powerplay, conceding just 32. Munaf's bowled a maiden first up, snapping Mohammad Hafeez.

Salman Butt, fresh from his 73 against Chennai Super Kings, attempted to give the innings a push by striking a few fours, including a superb cover drive on one knee off Munaf - before falling leg before as he moved across his stumps. Sourav Ganguly, though, struggled for fluency: he needed seven balls to get off the mark and scored his first boundary to third man just when Warne played mindgames by bringing the fielder in the 30-yard circle. The battle between the two captains continued when Warne brought himself on. Warne had conceded only one off his first over but Ganguly broke the shackles by launching Warne over square leg in his second.

The regular loss of wickets from then on hampered Kolkata. A frustrated David Hussey was bowled as he tried to charge Yusuf, while Ganguly later hit Siddharth Trivedi straight into the hands of long-on. However, Kolkata did well to go from 59 for 2 after ten overs to 147 in 20 largely due to Debabrata Das's sparkling 31 off 20 balls. He announced his arrival with a dead-straight six off Warne, and later dispatched Pathan over midwicket. Laxmi Ratan Shukla and the batsmen to follow also chipped in quick runs, and despite Kolkata losing wickets regularly, the big hits helped them post a challenging 147.

Kolkata needed early wickets, and they got just that as Swapnil Asnodkar edged an awayswinger from Ishant Sharma to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. Warne hadn't had enough of surprises, and sent Tanvir, who had taken three wickets, at No. 3. Graeme Smith and Tanvir then took charge, and when 16 runs came off the fifth over from Ajit Agarkar, Rajasthan were on the rampage. Umar Gul though, turned things around quickly to the delight of the home crowd with a double-wicket maiden. Tanvir holed one to mid-on, and Smith got a faint edge to a delivery down leg, Saha completing an acrobatic one-hand take.

Watson had been Rajasthan's key player in the tournament, and it seemed another match-winning knock from him was on the cards. He picked Agarkar and deposited him over square leg, and then smashed him through midwicket. Ganguly was deftly guided past short third man, but Watson was bowled as he tried to play across the line to an inswinger.

Enter Yusuf Pathan, whose hand-eye coordination and powerful strokes quickly took the game away from Kolkata. Umar Gul had troubled the batsmen, but Yusuf wasn't to be daunted. He steered a full toss past midwicket, although he was lucky an inside-edge the next ball missed the stumps.

He then took a liking to Ganguly, and the whole of Kolkata was silenced as the local hero was carted for huge in the midwicket region off consecutive deliveries. Runs came at ease as Kolkata's bowlers and fielders failed to break the partnership. Kaif, who had been dominated by his partner, took a hat-trick of fours off Ashok Dinda, before Yusuf sealed the game in the 17th over from Gul.

The first ball was lofted over extra cover, the next through midwicket, and he finished the game off in style, sending the ball sailing over square leg for six. He already had the fastest fifty in the tournament, off 21 balls, and with a 48 off 18 today, he was just one hit away from breaking that mark.