AHMEDABAD, India, CMC – Chris Gayle was a no show as his Kolkata Knight Riders crashed to their second loss of the lucrative Indian Premier League, as his West Indies teammates Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard failed to prevent the Mumbai Indians from defeat yesterday.
Without Gayle Kolkata slipped to a 34-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals while Mumbai lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets with five balls to spare at the Brabourne Stadium.
The big-hitting left-hander arrived Thursday from the Caribbean but did not feature in Kolkata’s final XI with media reports indicating he was suffering with a slight fever.
Gayle, the Windies captain, was forced to do without his luggage and cricket gear for a few hours after he arrived after it was misplaced by the airlines during his trip. He subsequently went through a light practice session on Friday.
Chasing 169 for victory at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Kolkata could only muster 134 for five from their allotted 20 overs with no Gayle to provide fireworks at the top of the order.
Australian Brad Hodge top scored with 36 but scored his runs slowly, requiring 34 balls with just three fours, while former India captain Sourav Ganguly also scored a pedantic 33 from 29 balls.
Indian seamer Yusuf Pathan kept a tight rein on the scoring, finishing with two for 23 from his four overs.
Earlier, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala top scored with 43 from 36 balls while Australian Adam Voges slammed a cameo, unbeaten 37 from 22 balls to rally the loser order after the Royals opted to bat first.
In Mumbai, Bravo fell for one while Pollard cracked 21 from 19 balls with a four and a six as the home side managed 151 for nine.
The Trinidadian duo then proved expensive with their medium pace, spoiling disciplined efforts by new ball bowlers Zaheer Khan amd Lasith Malinga who were cheap up front.
Bravo’s 3.1 overs cost 35 runs while Pollard’s two overs leaked 24 runs as South African Jacques Kallis top- scored with an unbeaten 66 from 55 balls to lead Royal Challengers to victory
