Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL champions, became the first side to be knocked out of the Champions League Twenty20 when their third game, against Perth Scorchers yesterday was washed out in Durban with only 14 overs having been bowled in the first innings. Knight Riders, who had lost their first two games in the tournament, needed a win to remain in contention for a place in the knockouts.
The skies had gone overcast before the toss happened, and Gautam Gambhir, with one eye on the expected rain, chose to bowl on what his counterpart Marcus North called a “bat-first wicket”.
Knight Riders’ bowlers stuck to their goal of restricting Perth Scorchers to a reasonable total till the rains came down.
Brett Lee had Herschelle Gibbs caught at cover-point off the fifth ball of the game. Yusuf Pathan, bowling for the first time in the tournament, used the turn and bounce available on a brown Kingsmead surface to get through three tight overs of offspin.
The usually free-flowing Shaun Marsh was more circumspect but built Scorchers’ innings in a 70-run second-wicket stand with a belligerent Simon Katich, who was put down twice off difficult chances.
Katich hit Jacques Kallis for consecutive fours in the fifth over, but L Balaji came in and bowled three stingy overs to ensure Scorchers did not get away. Marsh did try to break free in Yusuf’s last over, slog-sweeping him for six, but was given out leg-before in the next over, the eleventh, off Kallis, despite the full delivery striking his boot outside the line of leg stump.
Sunil Narine, who had three overs left, came back to concede just four off the 14th over, but by then the rain had got heavy enough to stop proceedings, and ultimately play a decisive role.
Knight Riders will play their final game against current group toppers Titans in Cape Town on October 21. Scorchers, who also have the same number of points as Knight Riders, have an extra game in hand. (ESPNcricinfo).
