Kolkata Knight Riders had almost sealed a win against Rajasthan Royals but a bizarre turn of events, that included a unique Pravin Tambe hat-trick, saw them crash to a 10-run defeat at the Sardar Patel Stadium yesterday.
Chasing 171, Kolkata got off to their best start this season as captain Gautam Gambhir (54 off 34 balls) and Robin Uthappa (65 off 52) raised 121 runs in 14 overs. And with another 50 needed from 36 balls with all ten wickets in hand, victory was theirs for the taking.
However, the next two overs saw them lose six wickets for the addition of just two runs and with it the game.
Shane Watson triggered Rajasthan’s fightback by dismissing Gambhir when the left-handed batsman went for a big hit but ended up edging it to wicketkeeper Sanju Samson.
One ball later, Uthappa followed Gambhir to the pavilion by flicking Watson’s slower delivery to Rajat Bhatia at deep mid-wicket. Andre Russell, a surprise at No3, was the next to depart, bowled by another slower one from Watson.
Three wickets in six balls was probably just the inspiration that the 42-year-old leg-spinner Tambe was seeking as he claimed a rare ‘two-ball hat-trick’.
A charging Manish Pandey was stumped by Samson as Tambe fired his first delivery wide to outfox the batsman.
His next victim was Yusuf Pathan who drilled a return catch to the bowler and Ryan ten Doeschate was next trapped lbw by a fuller length ball off the third.
That made it three wickets off two legitimate deliveries and Tambe had become the first bowler to claim a hat-trick in IPL7.
In the final over, Kolkata needed 17 but Watson returned to deny the batsmen any width – Shakib Al Hasan (21 not out) and Surya Kumar Yadav (9 not out) – conceding just six runs to cap a memorable day for Rajasthan.
“It was a nice way to close out a game,” Watson, who earlier smashed a 20-ball 31, said. “That’s what we talk about in our team set up.
“PT (Tambe) just keeps going and going, getting big batsmen out all the time. He deserves a pay rise and he is making my life easier for sure.
“Definitely a few things went my way in that over. Hadn’t had much of an impact with the ball, so it was good to get those wickets.”
A delighted Tambe echoed his captain’s sentiments and insisted Rajasthan never lost hope despite Kolkata’s strong opening, saying: “Cricket is a funny game. An over or two can change the entire game.
“We all kept believing in each other and that helped us win today. We never thought of giving up, till the last ball was bowled. We kept fighting, like we usually do. The confidence the team gives me, I will never forget. This was my first hat-trick.
“I always plan to bowl tight in between the wickets. I know that the batsmen tend to make mistakes then. That’s how I got the hat-trick,’’ added the leg-spinner who now tops the wicket-takers list in the tournament with 12 wickets from 7 games.
Gambhir was at a loss for words at the shocking loss.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow. I have not seen this kind of cricket. We have to move on,” the KKR captain said.
A forlorn Kolkata coach Trevor Bayliss also found it tough to explain the turn of events.
He said: “We gave too many runs away and didn’t get enough runs. I haven’t seen that before, the loss of six wickets in nine balls for just two runs.
“Rajasthan bowled very well and our guys succumbed to the pressure. That’s the game of cricket. I would have liked to have one of those guys to go on and make 80-90 after that kind of start. But I can’t explain this, it’s a devastating one.”
Earlier, a collective effort by Rajasthan batsmen saw them post a respectable 170 for six after being put into bat.
In-form openers Karun Nair (44 off 35 balls) and Ajinkya Rahane (30 off 22 balls) provided a 52-run start while Samson (37 off 31 balls) and Watson propped up the score.
