Chandigarh, May 3 :Shah Rukh Khan couldn’t make it to Mohali for the match, and had he followed the action on the telly, he must be left with a lot to think about. His side, Kolkata Knight Riders, made a grand start to the Indian Premier League, but the dream is turning sour.

Halfway through the match, and sixteen deliveries into their pursuit of the 179-run target, Kolkata Knight Riders stood eye to eye with their rivals. But just then, Tragedy No. 1 struck. Having sliced a Sreesanth delivery over his favourite point region for four in the first over of the innings, Kolkata skipper Sourav Ganguly went for another one in the third, only managing Irfan Pathan at third man holding on to the catch.

Barely had Ganguly taken off his pads in the dressing room than Mohammad Hafeez, Brad Hodge and Debrata Das also fell as Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan were getting the ball to swing. Kolkata Knight Riders lost four wickets in 14 deliveries, 22 for no loss became a tragic 29 for four, and a defeat was a mere formality.

Tough fight

Not that Kolkata Knight Riders would be ashamed of all they could do here. The Punjab batsmen kept the scoreboard ticking, but at no stage were they allowed to look menacing. Runs kept coming, wickets kept falling and in between, there were a few inspired pieces of fielding.

Almost all the batsmen managed double digits, but none could score more than 40. Three got into the 20s, skipper Yuvraj Singh fell in a strange manner, but the diminutive Piyush Chawla was the turning point. The young leggie smashed an unbeaten 21 off just seven balls, including 20 off the last over, which was bowled by Ishant Sharma. It was his effort which took the home team to a challenging 178 for six in their 20 overs.

In the end, Kolkata Knight Riders fell short by just nine runs. The blazing sixth-wicket partnership between David Hussey and wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha of 104 runs in 55 balls provided a ray of hope to the visitors, but Hussey’s dismissal three overs before the last over meant it would be a huge task for his team.

The impressive Saha continued his flurry of shots and kept the crowd on the edge of their seats, but in vain. Nineteen runs were needed in the last over, which was bowled by Irfan Pathan, and some big shots were required from the Riders. But Ganguly’s men lost the battle.

Saha remained unbeaten on 59 runs, which he put together in just 32 deliveries, even as wickets fell at the other end.

Match corner

kings XI Punjab

S Marsh st Saha b Hussey (32b, 5x4, 1x6) 40

J Hopes c Hodge b Dinda (12b, 4x4) 18

K Sangakkara b Umar Gul (21b, 5x4) 28

Yuvraj Singh st Saha b Hafeez (10b, 2x4, 1x6) 17

M Jayawardene c Ganguly b Gul (6b, 1x6) 10

K Goel run out (Das/Hussey) (7b, 1x4) 6

I Pathan not out (26b, 2x4) 24

P Chawla not out (7b, 3x4, 1x6) 21

Extras (B-4, Lb-5, W-4, Nb-1) 14

Total (6 wickets; 20 overs) 178

FoW: 1-28, 2-82, 3-98, 4-102, 5-106, 6-155

Bowling: I Sharma 4-0-41-0, A Agarkar 3-0-26-0, A Dinda 3-0-24-1, M Hafeez 3-0-28-1, D Hussey 3-0-23-1, U Gul 4-0-27-2

Kolkata knight riders

Mohd Hafeez b Pathan (12b, 1x4, 1x6) 13

S Ganguly c Pathan b Sreesanth (7b, 1x4) 5

D Das c Yuvraj b Sreesanth (8b, 1x4) 5

B Hodge lbw b Pathan (3b) 1

D Hussey c Hopes b Gagandeep (46b, 4x4, 4x6) 71

L Shukla b Singh (10b) 7

W Saha not out (28b, 1x4, 4x6) 52

A Agarkar not out (1b) 1

Extras (W-6) 6

Total (6 wickets; 19.1 overs) 161

FoW: 1-22, 2-23, 3-25, 4-29, 5-50, 6-154

Bowling: S Sreesanth 4-0-25-2, I Pathan 3.1-0-11-2, VRV Singh 4-0-31-1, Gagandeep 4-0-43-1,

J Hopes 3-0-35-0, P Chawla 1-0-16-0

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