BHAJJI GAMBLE AND A FRANKLIN SPECIAL

Poor running and a defiant Kallis: Kolkata needed a win over Mumbai to finish off as the number 2 ranked team on the points table. But when they were asked to bat first, the Knight Riders lost early wickets and it appeared doubtful that they would end up with a good total. Shreevats Gosami forgot to do the basics right which resulted in his run-out on 1. Instead of responding to his partner's call, Gosami was just ball-watching and Kallis had gone past him at the non-strikers end when Rayudu collected a throw from Suman to remove the bails. Gautam Gambhir, who was the next man in, hit Abu Nechim for a six off the first ball of the 4th over the but missed the very next delivery to be out bowled for 8. Manoj Tiwary's aggressive approach helped Kolkata progress forward but he too fell to a lazy piece of running to depart on 35 off 22 balls. Jacques Kallis, who was there from the start, looked like he had taken the responsibility of playing till the end while Yusuf Pathan was his usual self, belting boundaries at a regular rate. While Pathan fell after an aggressive 36, Kallis scored a gritty half-century before getting out towards the end. Thanks to his well-composed 59, Kolkata managed to finish with 175/7.

Bhajji gamble, Bhatia triple and a Franklin special: Chasing a daunting target, Mumbai sent in Harbhajan Singh at number three after the early dismissal of Suman. The gamble initially seemed to work well as the off-spinner dealt in boundaries at a regular rate to keep the scorecard moving forward while Sachin Tendulkar was happy getting the singles and twos with occasion shots to the ropes. Harbhajan tried to make the most of it and his unorthodox style with the bat never allowed the Kolkata bowlers to settle into a rhythm. However, boundaries started drying up for Harbhajan after the power-play. He was struggling to time the ball well and eventually departed on 30 off 29 balls, holing out to Tiwary off Rajat Bhatia. Rohit Sharma, who was the next man in, did not stay for long as he nicked a Bhatia delivery to the keeper to head back on 10. Bhatia was not finished yet as he picked up the all-important wicket of Tendulkar (39 off 27) to dent Mumbai's chances. Then came James Franklin who tried to make a game of it and brought it down to 21 off the final over. He hit 4 fours off Balaji and took a single while Ambati Rayudu who came down the order, hit a full-toss off the last ball for a mighty 6 to help Mumbai to a thrilling win.