Kallis credits his KKR teammates for beating Chennai on their home ground – Cricket News Update
Kolkata Knight Riders’ veteran all-rounder, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JH-Kallis-c1692, credited his teammates after his side claimed their maiden Indian Premier League title following their win against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk last night.
Chasing a stiff target of 191, KKR rose to the challenge and registered the crown, courtesy some sterling contributions from Manvinder Bisla and Kallis. Having lost their highest-scorer and skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/G-Gambhir-c1447, in the first over, both players stood
tall in a 136-run stand for the second wicket, which ultimately proved decisive in sealing the fate of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 and his men, who failed to complete a hat-trick of titles.
CSK had the all-important home advantage going into the clash, with Chepauk firmly seen as difficult for the opposing teams. Super Kings recently thrashed http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780 Daredevils by convincing margins - booking their passage to a third straight
IPL final appearance.
The latter had occupied the top spot from the league phase but tasted the Chennai team’s home dominance in the second eliminator game, where a http://www.senore.com/Cricket/M-Vijay-c1867 century powered his side to 222 before the bowlers rounded off the proceedings by bowling out the
Daredevils on a lowly 136.
The final endured a similar tone half-way through the game, with the home team posting a daunting 190 on the board, with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SK-Raina-c2539 scoring brisk half-centuries.
After Gambhir was cleaned up by their premier pacer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BB-McCullum-c1129 powered his way to a match-winning 89, changing the tempo of the
game.
His wicket however, brought the equation to normal but Kallis held the innings strong, playing the anchoring role to perfection to post 69. Despite suffering from cramps in the final stages, he ensured that his team remained a whisker away from victory –
with the final touches provided by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Manoj-Tiwary-c1890.
"No, not easy to run those ones and twos, lot of hard work, you put hard work and get results like this, it feels good. Being an allrounder is hard work. CSK are a champion side, credit to our guys to beat them at their home ground, they don't get beaten
a lot here. Chasing 195 It is a little bit old age I think [jokes about the hamstring]. But it should be alright. We did not panic, that was the key. At times, you can panic chasing 195,” said Kallis.
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