Kolkata aim at top-two finish playing Punjab

MOHALI: On a high after sealing a playoffs berth, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) would aim for a top-two finish when they take on Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match here on Tuesday.

KKR bounced back in resounding fashion from their back-to-back defeats when they scripted a facile six-wicket win over hapless Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru on Sunday.

The Gautam Gambhir-led side are now at second spot in the league table with 16 points from 12 matches with the help of eight wins and they would look to consolidating their position with a win over Punjab, who suffered a sixwicket loss to Gujarat Lions on Sunday.

Chasing a modest 159 for victory, KKR raced to 105 for no loss in just six overs, for a record IPL powerplay total.

They achieved the target with 29 balls to spare on the back of Sunil Narine’s (54 off 17 balls) record joint fastest IPL 50 — from 15 balls — and an equally aggressive knock from Chris Lynn (50 off 22 balls).

Robin Uthappa, out with a hamstring injury, is expected to return, as Piyush Chawla indicated on Sunday after the match. Bowlers Umesh Yadav, Chris Woakes and Narine will be tasked with the responsibility of getting the wickets with Ankit Rajpoot and Chawla also having the ability to support them.

Punjab, on the other hand, have a thin chance to make it to the knockouts as they have only five wins from 11 matches and are placed at the fifth spot with 10 points. They now need to win all their remaining three matches if they wish to have any chance of making it to the knock-out stage.

Their chances of a playoffs berth were dented by their sixwicket defeat at the hands of Gujarat Lions.

After posting 189/3, courtesy opener Hashim Amla’s century, Punjab bowlers failed to restrict Gujarat Lions, who rode on a 39-ball 74 by their top batsman Dwayne Smith.

Amla has been their mainstay amassing 400-plus runs, which include two tons — against Mumbai Indians and Gujarat.

Besides Amla and Maxwell, they have batsmen of calibre like Martin Guptill, Shaun Marsh, Manan Vohra, Wriddhiman Saha and Axar Patel but they will need to fire in unison. CUTTACK: Defending champions Mohun Bagan began their title defence with a 4-0 win over DSK Shivajians in the Federation Cup football tournament at the Barabati Stadium here on Monday.

A Balwant Singh brace (24th, 71st) and a goal each by Darryl Duffy (65th) and Jeje Lalpekhlua (90+ 2) proved enough for Sanjoy Sen’s men to start their campaign with a win.

With the win, Mohun Bagan went on top of Group A, despite being level on points with Bengaluru FC (3 points each), but edging them in goal difference. It was a cautious beginning to the match by both teams as neither committed bodies in the attack in scare of opening up their own defence and hence the match culminated in the midfield. Chances in the opening minutes were rare for both sides, even after Mohun Bagan dominated possession. Duffy produced a sensational half-volley after Katsumi Yusa had assisted him in the attempt, but the venomous shot went past the goal in the 13th minute. Shivajians wary of Mohun Bagan’s attacking threat played deep and constructed the midfield.

Sony Norde proved to be a threat from the flanks and in the 24th minute, his cross for Balwant Singh gave Bagan the lead. Balwant connected with a precise header to send the ball home, giving Mariners a solitary goal lead. The half-time scoreline read 1-0.

The DSK attack looked more comfortable going ahead in the second half. Halicharan from the wings and Sanju Pradhan from the midfield added to the numbers upfront but an experienced Bagan defence line saw all the dangers away with acumen. Even Katsumi Yusa dropped back to do the dirty work and beef up the defensive numbers for Bagan. In the 52nd minute, Norde initiated a counter attack for the green and maroon brigade from the wings. The Haitian cut in from the left flank and released a curling shot that went inches past the goal.

Eight minutes later Balwant failed to connect on a Sehnaj Singh cross from the right flank, had he connected it would easily have gone into the net. Shivajians tried to breach the Mohun Bagan defence line and chances for Dave Roger’s side came but from distance. Quero’s shot in the 63rd minute went over the bar as the Mariners restricted DSK to shooting from outside the box. In the 65th minute, Duffy headed the ball home from a Sony Norde corner after the DSK defence line failed to clear the ball to double the Mohun Bagan’s lead. A minute later, Norde’s shot from inside the box, with no real pressure, went over the bar. NEW DELHI: Chairman of selectors MSK Prasad on Monday dispelled any doubts about Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s future in international cricket, terming him the world’s best wicketkeeper right now.

The 35-year-old Dhoni’s heir apparent in limited overs, a 19-year-old Rishabh Pant, has made a strong case for himself but he is being groomed as one for the future when the Jharkhand dasher decides to call time on his career.

When asked if Dhoni’s erratic batting form is a concern, Prasad’s emphatic response made it clear that selectors still have faith in him.

“How many of us still believe that MSD is still the best wicketkeeper in the world? We all believe he is still the best wicketkeeper in the world. We are only talking and focussing on his batting form,” Prasad said. “He is an invaluable asset to the team and his inputs in crunch situations, he has got one of the best brains. He is the best person to guide Virat,” Prasad said about the two- time World Champion skipper.

Prasad said Dhoni’s safe keeping has gone unnoticed all these years and people only tend to focus on his batting.

“Not many people realise, that in last 10-12 years, Dhoni has never had a bad day with the gloves. We always treat him as a batsman but phenomenal stuff he does behind the wickets, not many people appreciate that. According to me, he is still the best wicketkeeper in world cricket.” But he had words of encouragement for Pant and made it clear that he is a “long term solution”.