Thaindian News

Hyderabad, Sep 25 (IANS) Roelof van der Merwe’s sensational 73 off 40 balls helped Somerset pull-off a nine wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in a Group B fixture of the Champions League T20 here Sunday.

The Knight Riders posted a healthy 161 for three on a slow surface after captain Gautam Gambhir, returning to the side after recovering from concussion, chose to bat on a slow surface at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Somerset, who were cruising at 107 for 1 in the first 10 overs, made things tougher by losing three wickets in quick succession before reaching home in the final over. Peter Trego (28) and Nick compton (19 not out) were the other crucial contributions in the final score of 164 for five.

The win was Somerset’s second one over the Knight Riders in the tournament after they beat the Indian Premier League franchise in the qualifying stage.

Van der Merwe played a gem of an innings, hitting nine fours and two sixes to lay the foundation of a difficult run chase. The South Africa played a variety of strokes but guiding a Kallis half-tracker to the fine leg boundary was easily his stand-out shot.

Van der Merwe and Trego’s wicket in 14th over allowed the Knight Riders to get back in the match but Compton and Arul Suppiah (15) coped up with the pressure towards the end.

Earlier, Jacques Kallis (74 not out) and Yusuf Pathan (39 not out) entertained the crowd with some brutal hitting all around the park.

The explosive duo shared 90-run stand off just 47 balls following an ordinary start by the Knight Riders.

Gamhir’s (0) comeback innings lasted a ball. The southpaw miscued a Lewis Gregory delivery while trying to play it on the side and ended up spooning a catch to Alfonso Thomas at mid-off.

The highlight of the innings was Pathan hitting four mammoth six off spinner Suppiah in the 15th over.