KKR v GL, IPL 2017: Suresh Raina lords it over Kolkata Knight Riders

KOLKATA: Suresh Raina, one of the leading T20 batsmen in the world, desperately needed a big knock to stamp his class on IPL-10. It came at the majestic Eden Gardens under lights on Friday with Kolkata Knight Riders being at the receiving end.
The Gujarat Lions skipper almost single-handedly guided his team to a crucial win over the favourites with a cracking knock of 84 (46 balls, 9x4, 4x6).The four-wicket triumph gave the beleaguered Lions a revival shot and lifted them above Pune at the bottom of the table.
Raina came to bat after Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum had given Gujarat a rousing start with a 42-run stand in just 3.3 overs. The captain spent some time adjusting to the conditions before exploding after a brief rain interruption. He was severe on both spin and pace and chose Coulter-Nile and Umesh Yadav for special treatment.
Earlier, Sunil Narine once again gave Kolkata a flying start as he walked out with Gautam Gambhir to open the innings after Raina won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Trinidadian set up the platform on which Gambhir and Robin Uthappa latter flourished to help Kolkata post a competitive 187 for six.
Narine, who had struck an 18-ball 37 against Kings XI Punjab here last week, gave an improved performance, smashing nine boundaries and a six in his 17-ball 42. Narine treated Gujarat new ball bowlers ­ Praveen Kumar, who came in place of Shivil Kaushik, and James Faulkner, who replaced Andrew Tye with equal disdain. He smacked three fours off Praveen's first over and four boundaries in Faulkner's next over to give his side a roaring start. The lefthander then meted out similar treatment to Basil Thampi, dispatching him for two fours and one six.
Rattled by Narine's pyrotechnics, Raina brought himself on and succeeded in tricking the Caribbean into miscuing a shot to Faulkner at mid-on.
There was, however, no respite for the Gujarat bowlers as Gambhir and Uthappa continued in the same vein. Raina tried out seven bowlers in the first nine over of the innings in a bid to stem the flow of runs, but it had no effect on the Kolkata duo as they brought up the 100 of the innings in the 11th over.
Gujarat bowling once again was below par. They paid for leaving out Tye, their most successful bowler with seven wickets, including a hat-trick, under his belt. To add to their woes, their fielders often fumbled and gave away extra runs, including over-throws.
Gambhir's dismissal for 33 (28 balls) ended the 69-run second-wicket partnership, but Uthappa powered on. Uthappa, who was dropped by Finch -albeit a difficult chance -at long-on off Raina when he was on six, went from strength to strength and completed his second half-century of the season. He ended up hitting a 48-ball 72 with the help of eight fours and two sixes.
Manish Pandey, the hero of Kolkata's win over Delhi, however, failed to up the tempo. His 24 off 21 balls meant the home team fell well short of the 200-run mark.