KKR cruise to IPL final

Posting 163 for eight on the scoreboard, KKR restricted Kings to 135 for eight in 20 overs.

It was Robin Uthappa whose willow scored runs in the crucial match for KKR  again as the highest scorer of the tournament contributed 42 runs off 30 balls against the Punjab side which had topped the chart in the group stage of the tournament.

KKR's start was not very convincing as skipper Gautam Gambhir, who was selected for India's upcoming tour to England, went back to the pavilion by scoring only 1 run.

With KKR receiving initial jolt to stand at 1-2, it was Uthappa and Manish Pandey (21) who added 65 runs in the second wicket partnership which stabilised the innings.

Shakib Al Hasan (18), Yusuf Pathan (20), Ryan ten Doeschate (17) and Suryakumar Yadav (20)  got good starts but could not convert them to big scores.

Yadav and the Dutchman added 37 runs in the sixth wicket partnership which turned out to be crucial for the side at the end.

Piyush Chawla had a good outing on Wednesday as he shined both with the bat and then with the ball. Chawla contributed unbeaten 17 runs off nine balls. He hit three boundaries in his knock.

Karanveer Singh took three wickets for Punjab though he gave away 40 run in his four overs.

Mitchell Johnson and Akshar Patel took two wickets each.

Kings XI Punjab's run chase saw the fear of rain haunting both spectators and players.

As it started to rain lightly in the early part of the Kings XI Punjab innings, the groundsmen at one point of the match even dragged down the covers in the stadium but the umpire then decided to continue the match.

Both skipper Gambhir and Punjab batsmen were continuously seen monitoring a small piece of paper mentioning the targets as per the D/L method.

With rains already postponing the match by a day on Tuesday, spectators surely wanted to see a full-40 over match here.

The rain later stopped and full 40 overs were played as Punjab side lost wickets at regular intervals to make things difficult for themselves.

Virender Sehwag departed early by contributing only 2 runs with his willow.

It was, however, Manan Vohra (26) and Bengal lad Wriddhiman Saha (35) who gave KKR bowlers some good challenge.

Both hammered few sixes with Saha hitting two sixes and two boundaries in his knock while Vohra smashing three out of the ground.

It was Morne Morkel who broke the partnership and pulled KKR in the match as he dismissed Vohra in the sixth over.

Kolkata soon took control over the match by picking up the wickets of Saha,

Glenn Maxwell (6), David Miller (8) and Akshar Patel (2) as Punjab was reduced from 2-45 to 6-87.

George Bailey tried to take up the challenge of reaching the target as he smashed 26 runs off 17 balls.

Umesh Yadav, who bowled brilliantly for KKR, picked up his wicket in the first ball of the 20th over to shatter his dreams.

Before Umesh's last over, Sunil Narine bowled well int he 19th over as he gave away four runs as Punjab needed 30 in the last over to reach the final.

Umesh took three wickets by giving away 13 runs as he was adjudged the 'Man of the Match' for his economical bowling performance.

Morkel picked up two wickets while Shakib Al Hasan and Piyush Chawla took one each for KKR.

Gautam Gambhir's side had won the title in 2012.

It is the second time KKR has reached the final of the tournament under his leadership.

After losing five matches, KKR's move to the final once had seemed a fairytale task but  it was good cricket by the side which helped them first finish second in the points table and then cruise to the final on Wednesday.

Punjab will get another chance to reach the final as it will face winner of the eliminator being played between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in the second qualifier.

Brief scorecard:

KKR 163 for 8 in 20 overs (R Uthappa 42; K SIngh 3-40)

Kings XI Punjab 135 for 8 in 20 overs (W Saha 35; U Yadav 3-13)