Gautam Gambhir - 56 from 36 balls
Kolkata's captain is in almost Sehwag-esque form at the moment as he, along with Brendon McCullum (42 from 43), handed KKR a cracking start that had Pune well and truly on the back foot. Gambhir got off to a flyer in the powerplays, hooking the pace of Dinda over the fence as well as his signature pick up over mid-wicket for another maximum, not to mention plenty of boundaries too. I'm not his biggest fan in all honesty, but as a batsman he is pure class and highly dangerous in this format given his wide range of shots to both pace and spin. When he fell, holing out to a full toss from Karthik, a great platform had been set at 113/1 in the 13th over and Pune looked to be in plenty of trouble.
Angelo Mathews - 4-0-17-2 & 35 from 27 balls
However, the second half of the KKR innings saw just 52 runs scored and the loss of 5 wickets, an incredible turnaround from the Pune boys. Mathews was greatly responsible for this, coming on in the 10th over to bowl his 4 overs straight through and his change-ups in pace and length accounted for McCullum and later Kallis, bowled through the gate by the perfect off-cutter that clipped the top of off. Karthik (4-0-22-1) and Kumar (4-0-26-2) were also important in slowing the rate down and their efforts were equally vital. Mathews came in to bat following a top order collapse from PWI and with the score at 53/4 in the 8th over the target of 151 looked a long way off. He and Ganguly steadied the ship to put their side in a good position with a fairly risk free partnership until deciding to take the bowling on in the 14th over, needing 61 from the last 6 overs with 5 wickets in hand. Mathews hit 3 consecutive sixes over the leg side to start with off the bowling of Pathan and from nowhere Pune were probably the favorites, particularly with the required rate dipping below 8. Yet the man at the other, enjoying the adulation of the 60,000+ crowd, was undoing the Sri Lankan's hardwork with some poor cricket in my opinion. Once again, as he has done so many times this year, Ganguly was playing out far too many dot balls (15 in his 35 ball innings) when all he needed to do was rotate strike and get the in form Mathews at the danger end. Pune ended up falling just short despite Mathews' all-round heroics, a good deal of credit must go to the KKR bowlers for defending such a low total.
Marchant de Lange - 4-0-34-3
Brett Lee was under the weather today and this allowed de Lange a chance to show off his vast potential and he did not disappoint. The South African made the perfect start by bowling Michael Clarke first ball, the ball grazed the top of the bails to just about dislodge them, as Clarke looked beaten for pace. This pace, coupled with his considerable height, makes de Lange a terrifying looking bowler and he filled Lee's role as strike bowler nicely today. He got Uthappa, slashing to point, in his next over and came back well at the death to show that there are several sides to his game and the hype surrounding the 21 year old certainly looked justified on this performance, I wouldn't fancy facing him that's for sure.
Sunil Narine - 4-1-13-1 & MoM
Another name I'm getting used to writing is that of the unplayable Narine, at his mercurial best today, Ganguly named his as the matchwinner in his post match interview and he was rightly awarded MoM. He beat Steve Smith first up with the doosra and then sent him back with the next LBW, albeit luckily as replays showed an inside edge. Narine's class was all to good for Ganguly as he followed it up with 4 dots to the clueless batsman to complete a wicket maiden, not a bad start at all. He's played a huge role in KKR's success this year and that's partly because he is so good at the death, his 17th and 19th overs combining for just 8 runs and this turned the match well and truly in Kolkata's favour. Narine has undoubtedly been the best, and most versatile, spinner so far this IPL and is a huge asset for KKR.
Punjab vs Rajasthan
Shane Watson - 36 from 17 balls, 4-1-22-2 & MoM
Rajasthan will be glad that their star man has returned from the West Indies and Watson's all round efforts today showcased just how important he is to the side, playing the role of top-order batsman and opening bowler. Following the early wicket of Rahane, Watson immediately put RR back in the front side with a quick fire innings, 6 of the 17 balls he faced went to the boundary and two of these were 6s. He is at his strongest when playing back down the ground and this makes him a daunting opponent for the bowlers who would have been glad to see the back of him, expertly caught by Harris on the cover boundary. Not done there though, the Aussie sent back the in-form Punjab opener Mandeep Singh in the 2nd over of the Punjab innings (a wicket maiden) and KXIP never recovered from there. He bowled his 4 overs in the powerplay and at the death, clearly a key man for Rajasthan who'll be hoping his arrival and kickstart a push for the play-offs.
Ryan Harris - 4-0-34-4
Just the wicket taking bowler that Punjab have been searching for, another late arrival from the Caribbean. His figures may seem expensive but, like Watson, he bowls his 4 overs at the most hittable stages of the innings. Harris generates some good pace, consistently topping the 140kphs and beyond and this can worry some of the inexperienced domestic players in particular. That said, 3 of his 4 wickets were crucial Rajasthan batsmen in the forms of Dravid, Rahane and Hodge and without those breakthroughs Punjab would certainly have gone on to more than 177/6.
Shaun Tait - 4-0-18-2
I've been waiting for the day that 'The Wild Thing' made his 2012 debut because he is truly brilliant to watch in that you never know whats about to happen next, he did not disappoint and hopefully will get a few more games. 150kph is seriously quick and combined with his slingy action makes the prospect of trying to survive, let alone score runs, particularly worrying, the wicket-taker the Royals have been lacking all year. Tait was struck for just the one boundary, a leading edge from Hussey, and was tough to hit throughout, 4 of his 18 runs leaked came through wides. Having Tait and Watson in the side gives the Rajasthan bowling line-up a new look and it will worry any batting side going, Dravid was impressed and hopefully he'll be a regular in their side from here on in.
Johan Botha - 4-0-21-2 & 14* from 8 balls
The experienced South African has struggled in this edition, consequently dropped for a few games, so he'll be delighted that he was able to prove his worth. The pitch was offering some turn and bounce and as a result Botha was tough to get away, but he was not only capable of playing the holding role as he took the big wicket of Shaun Marsh that essentially sealed the win for RR, bowled as he came down the track. He also chipped in with some handy late order runs, showing the impressive balance he brings to the side. Mind you, the batting did seem light today so whether or not the changes seen will remain we'll have to wait and see. A top performance from Botha and part of a good win for Rajasthan that puts their top 4 hopes back on track.
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