This Day That Year: Kolkata Knight Riders lift their maiden IPL title
Under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir, Kolkata Knight Riders
lifted their maiden IPL title by stunning Chennai Super Kings in the finals
played at M Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 27th May 2012.
CSK captain MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first. Murali
Vijay and Mike Hussey got the hosts off to a superb start scoring 54 runs in
the first six overs. Both openers put the pressure on KKR bowlers.
After the power play overs, Vijay and Hussey made the
batting look easy. Rajat Bhatia got the breakthrough for KKR dismissing Vijay
for 42 off 32 balls. CSK openers added 87 runs in 10.2 overs to lay a strong
foundation. Suresh Raina came to the crease and kept the momentum going. The left-handed
Australian completed his fifty off 38 balls. On the other hand, the experienced
Indian raced to his fifty off 27 balls. Jacques Kallis dismissed Hussey for 54.
Raina and Hussey added 73 runs for the 2nd wicket.
MS Dhoni came to the crease and played a quickfire cameo
scoring 14 off 9 balls. Raina was finally dismissed for 73 off the final ball.
Chennai Super Kings posted a competitive total of 190 for 3 in 20 overs.
Chasing 191 runs to win, it was not an ideal start for KKR
as they lost an early wicket of Gautam Gambhir for 2. Manvinder Bisla was
simply sensational with his batting taking on CSK bowlers. At the end of the first
six overs, KKR were 56 for 1.
After the power play overs, Bisla showed his class and
completed his fifty off just 27 balls. Kallis complimented him well taking
singles and hitting occasional boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking. Albie
Morkel got the all-important breakthrough dismissing the dangerous Bisla for
89. It was an amazing inning by Bisla who
hit 8 fours and 5 sixes in his innings. Kallis and Bisla added 136 runs for the
2nd wicket. CSK made a comeback into the match by taking wickets of
Laxmi Shukla, Yusuf Pathan, and well-set Jacques Kallis. With 9 runs needed to
win, after picking 2 singles off 2 balls, Manoj Tiwary hit 2 successive
boundaries to give KKR a memorable 5 wicket win with 2 balls to spare. For his
brilliant 89, Bisla was awarded the man of the match.
The Journey of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2012
Kolkata Knight Riders had a brilliant league stage with 21
points which included 10 wins and 5 losses. Because of finishing in the top
two, KKR got one extra chance of qualifying into the finals.
In the qualifier 1, KKR defeated Delhi Daredevils by 18 runs
played at Subrata Roy Stadium, Pune on 22nd May 2012.
Gautam Gambhir led from the front as he was 2nd
leading run-getter in IPL 2012. He made 590 runs from 17 matches (17 innings)
with 6 half-centuries to his name. His best score in the tournament was 93.
Sunil Narine took the 2nd the greatest number of
wickets in IPL 2012 season. He took 24 wickets from 15 matches (15 innings) at
an economy of 5.47 runs per over. His best figures in the tournament were 5/19.
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| KKR win their maiden IPL title in 2012 |
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