Thaindian News

Bangalore, Oct 2 (IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was declared winner against Warriors of South Africa late Saturday, as the group A match was called off due to heavy rain in the ICC Champions League Twenty20 (CKT20) tournament at the Chinnaswamy stadium here.

Riders won the abandoned tie by 22 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method after rain gods played spoilsport when they were 83 for one after nine overs.

Set to score a modest 156 for a second win in the third edition of the tournament, upbeat Riders began their chase on a breezy note with openers Manvinder and Jacques Kallis posting 35 runs in 3.3 overs.

After Bisla was out for 19 caught behind by Mark Boucher of a Wayne Parnell ball, skipper Gautam Gambhir joined Kallis to accelerate the score to 83 with a 48-run second wicket partnership.

With no-let up in the rain after 36 minutes of play, umpires M. Erasmus and S. Ravi inspected the wet field under covers and decided to call off the match as further play was ruled out even in the extended time.

Playing a cameo innings, Gambhir made 33 in 23 balls with three fours and one six, while Kallis made 31 in 19 balls with three fours and one six.

Earlier, put to bat first, Warriors were restricted to 155 for four wickets in 20 overs in the second tie of the day that was delayed 30 minutes due to heavy rains evening.

Riders’ attacking bowling and tight fielding tamed Warriors from accelerating the score in the middle and slog overs.

With three sixes and three fours, Colin Ingram was the highest scorer - 61 in 47 balls, while opener JJ Smuts hit 46 in 43 balls with six fours.

Keeper Mark Boucher remained unbeaten 38 in 27 balls with five fours.
For Riders, Lakshmipathy Balaji took two wickets while Brett Lee Kallis shared one wicket each.

Earlier in the day, the Group B match between Somerset and South Australian Redbacks was also abandoned due to heavy rain in the evening.

– Indo-Asian News Service
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