Ken Borland

Heinrich Klaasen, the replacement for the injured Quinton de Kock as wicketkeeper, really grabbed his opportunity as he blasted a tremendous 81 off 46 balls to lead South Africa to a four-wicket win with 10 balls to spare in the second T20 against India in Cuttack on Sunday.

Klaasen’s remarkable innings came after seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar had the Proteas batting reeling as they went in search of a moderate target of just 149.

South Africa won the first T20 as they chased down a record target of 212, but Sunday’s two-paced pitch at the Barabati Stadium really tested the batsmen on both sides, with inconsistent bounce and providing seam movement off the surface.

Bhuvneshwar undermined the Proteas chase from the start, using his remarkable skills to take 3/10 in his first three overs. Reeza Hendricks (4) and Rassie van der Dussen (1) were both bowled by deliveries that nipped back through the gate, while Dwaine Pretorius (4) was well-caught by Avesh Khan at deep backward square-leg off a knuckle ball.

Bhuvneshwar returned when just a handful of runs were needed and bowled Wayne Parnell for 1 to end with 4/13.

Captain Temba Bavuma scored a defiant 35 off 30 balls to begin the recovery with Klaasen, who came in do to De Kock’s finger injury suffered in the first game. The pair added 64 in seven overs before Bavuma was bowled by spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

But Klaasen charged on, hitting seven fours and five sixes, with David Miller doing his usual efficient job at the death to finish the run-chase with 20 not out off 15 balls.

South Africa had won the toss and once again elected to chase, with Kagiso Rabada yet again delivering up front as he dismissed Ruturaj Gaikwad (1) in the first over and went on to bowl his four overs for an exceptionally economical 15 runs.

Ishan Kishan (34) and Shreyas Iyer (40) added 45 for the second wicket in six overs, before fast bowler Anrich Nortje had Kishan out hooking a bouncer and Pretorius surprised Shreyas with a delivery that stood up outside off stump and induced a catch behind.

Nortje and Pretorius were the dearest of the Proteas bowlers, however, conceding 36 and 40 runs respectively, and it was left-armer Parnell who backed up Rabada most effectively, bowling the dangerous Hardik Pandya for nine and conceding just 23 runs in his four overs.

Stalwart Dinesh Karthik hit 30 not out off 21 balls at the death to lift India to 148/6, which seemed a tricky target before Klaasen’s phenomenal innings.

The Deccan Chargers suffered another blow as the Kolkata Knight Riders beat them by five wickets in their Indian Premier League match at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday.

 – http://www.supersport.com/cricket/article.aspx?id=1351481

It was a struggle for the Knight Riders, however, as they needed 19 overs to chase down their mediocre target of 127.

It was mainly thanks to their bowlers and fielders, who operated as a slick unit in restricting the Deccan Chargers to 126 for seven, that the Kolkata Knight Riders claimed victory.

The Chargers, having been sent in to bat after an hour-long rain delay, made a bright enough start as they reached 35 without loss after five overs. But they then seemed to bat well within themselves and the whole innings came to a near standstill as the Kolkata bowlers and fielders tightened their strangulating grip.

The Knight Riders bowling system worked a charm with all-rounders Yusuf Pathan (2-0-19-0) and Jacques Kallis (2-0-16-0) getting their combined share of overs out the way early. Brett Lee (4-0-15-1) bowled tightly up front and then brilliantly at the death, while spinner Sunil Narine (4-0-26-2) was just an absolute handful throughout. Medium-pacers Lakshmipathy Balaji (4-0-22-2) and Rajat Bhatia (4-0-26-1) bossed the non-powerplay overs.

Balaji showed that he is no mug with the ball as he cleaned up the great Kumar Sangakkara, bowling him middle stump for 12, but Shikhar Dhawan made a brisk start as he and Parthiv Patel added 44 in 5.4 overs for the second wicket.

Parthiv was run out for 23 by a top-class piece of boundary fielding by Kallis, while Dhawan lost momentum and completed a battling half-century before he pulled a full toss from Bhatia straight to cow-corner to be out for 50 off 50 balls.

Dhawan’s dismissal meant the Chargers had slipped to 102 for four after 16 overs and they managed to add just 24 more runs in the last four overs, including just a four and a six. In fact, the whole innings featured just nine fours and two sixes.

VERBAL JOUSTING

JP Duminy ensured that Deccan weren’t bowled out within the 20 overs as he finished on 16 not out off 15 balls, while Dale Steyn scored seven, that included a lovely straight six off Narine off the first ball of the final over.

The Barabati Stadium pitch is clearly not the easiest to bat on and, with Steyn, the most lethal fast bowler in the world, taking the new ball, the Chargers wanted early wickets to have a chance.

New Zealander Brendon McCullum is always a threat and Steyn claimed his wicket after he had scored 10, trapping him lbw with a slower ball that kept low.

Fellow opener Gautam Gambhir made a fluent 30 before his innings had a sad end as he lamely drove seamer Anand Rajan straight to mid-off.

Leggie Amit Mishra accounted for Maninder Bisla (10), bowling him with a beautiful top-spinner and there was more disappointment for the misfiring Yusuf Pathan as he hit impressive slow left-armer Ankit Sharma (4-0-19-1) for a massive six but then missed a swipe at the next delivery and was bowled.

Kallis, however, played an important innings for the Knight Riders, scoring a composed 23 at a run-a-ball to lift them from 72 for four.

Steyn, the best of the Deccan bowlers with 2-24, won the personal battle with countryman Kallis as he had him caught behind with a fine delivery in the 17th over, and there were a few anxious moments thereafter for the Knight Riders as Manoj Tiwary allowed the situation to get to him.

Tiwary was nearly run out as he wandered down the pitch to engage in some verbal jousting with Steyn, and the choice of some of his strokes left a lot to be desired. Nevertheless, he finished the job with his 30 not out as the Knight Riders joined the other leaders on eight points.