Jacques Kallis was solid in the first 16 overs, and rapacious in the next two. Yusuf Pathan and Manoj Tiwary played aggressive knocks around the solid version of Kallis to take Kolkata Knight Riders to an imposing total, one that could ensure them a place in the top two, and with that two shots at qualifying for the final and an assured place in the Champions League T20. Yusuf and Tiwary were breezy in scoring their respective 30s, and Kallis did the dual job of not hogging the strike and also providing the final kick.
Having put Kolkata in to attempt a big enough win that could get them into the top two - for that plan to come off, they'll have to chase down this target in 5.1 overs - Mumbai Indians got off to a decent start with the early wickets of Shreevats Goswami and Gautam Gambhir. At 22 for 2 in the fourth over, though, Tiwary didn't waste time rebuilding. Instead he shuffled across to the first ball he faced, and flicked Abu Nechim through midwicket for four. The confidence of Tiwary was obvious as he targeted the IPL debutant Ray Price in the next over, a man the international batsmen reserve utmost respect for. Soon Tiwary was 20 off 8, and Kolkata's innings had taken off.
Just as he settled in for a long one, Tiwary was found short of the crease by Harbhajan Singh from short third man. Like Tiwary, Yusuf went after Price too, slog-sweeping him for a six. Kieron Pollard went for back-to-back boundaries - one a fierce cut, the other a delicate one. By the time Franklin frustrated him and had him hole out to a slower delivery, Yusuf had taken Kolkata to 124 for 4 in 16 overs. Kallis had faced only 37 deliveries until then for his 40.
Unobtrusive until then, Kallis 2.0 made the capacity Eden Gardens crowd take notice. First he slog-swept Harbhajan over midwicket. And in the next over, lofted Franklin into the same zone. The next ball went flying over extra cover. Kallis had scored 19 off the last five deliveries. Franklin got his own back by getting Kallis next ball, but Ryan ten Doeschate and Rajat Bhatia managed 26 off the last 15 balls to give their side a good chance of making it to the top two.
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