Kanpur: The first-ever IPL match at the Green Park had a festive look about it on Thursday night. While the fans in the stands cheered and danced to the blaring music, the Kolkata Knight Riders dug out remained the only forlorn place in the stadium.
Aiming to return to the Eden after cementing their place in the play-offs with a win here, the Knight Riders found themselves in a difficult position as they went down to Gujarat Lions by six wickets.
Gautam Gambhir's boys are still very much in the race because of a better run-rate, but several other factors might come into consideration. The Knight Riders now have 14 points from 13 games and face a must-win situation in their last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at home on Sunday.
The battle for the four spots in the play-offs has become a complicated issue, and Thursday's victory would hugely boost the Lions' position in the points table. They now have 16 points and are placed second in the table. They are almost sure of a place in the last four. In their last match, Suresh Raina and Co. would take on the Mumbai Indians.
The Knights, who slipped to fourth spot, lost their sixth match in IPL 2016 but they definitely did not go down without a fight. Defending a paltry total of 124 for eight, their lowest of the season, the Knight Riders bowlers put up a gallant show. But then, the target was too small and the Lions took full advantage of it.
The Knight Riders did raise some hopes by sending three Lions batsmen back to the pavilion by the fourth over and only 38 on the board, but skipper Raina was determined not to let this opportunity go. His unbeaten 53 off 36 balls laid the foundation for the Lions victory on their 'home' turf. He hit seven fours and one six as the Lions romped home in 13.3 overs.
In fact, the Knight Riders lost the tie in the first part of the encounter after Raina won the toss and invited them to bat first. The Knight Riders flopped miserably with the bat and it completely put paid to their ambitions.
Barring an innings of 36 by Yusuf Pathan off as many balls and 25 by opener Robin Uthappa, none of their batsmen contributed or stayed at the wicket to help the team's cause. At times, they looked casual and threw away their wickets with irresponsible shots at crucial moments.
Opener Gambhir lived a charmed life during his short stay at the wicket - he could manage only eight off as many balls. Twice he offered catches, though difficult ones, but the Lions fielders could not take advantage. Praveen Kumar was the first offender as he misjudged a lofted hit at mid-on, and then Dwayne Smith was not quick enough to react in the slips in the next over.
The Knight Riders captain, however, did not last long as Shadab Jakati's terrific direct throw from short midwicket had him run out in the fourth over.
The Knight Riders had little to cheer about thereafter - half their side were back in the pavilion by the 12th over with just 61 on the board. Smith, the West Indian medium pacer, was the wrecker in chief with four wickets. Introduced in the fifth over, Smith picked up a wicket in each of his four allotted overs. He finished with the impressive figures of four for eight runs.
It was indeed a fine piece of bowling by Smith but the Knight Riders batsmen also contributed a lot towards making him look unplayable. The Knight Riders batsmen surely could have done better.
But for the one wicket of Uthappa when the delivery did turn to force the batsman offer a catch to the wicketkeeper, all three other dismissals were rather 'soft' ones. Manish Pandey gave away an easy catch to Raina, who was the lone slip and Piyush Chawla was bowled while trying to go after the bowling.
The match had generated tremendous enthusiasm in Kanpur despite the fact that the city is experiencing a heat wave these days. People lined up to enter the stadium long before the gates were opened and it caused huge traffic jams around the Green Park in the evening. At one point of time, the police even had to restore to a mild lathicharge to control the crowd.
