In-form Uthappa latches onto another opportunity

Kolkata Knight Riders have specialised in victories that involve strangling the opposition and giving their batsmen par-scores to chase. Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa have often been at the forefront of those efforts - they are the only two batsmen to make more than 2,000 runs in IPL chases. They were at it again today, and Uthappa led the charge.

For the second game in a row, Sunil Narine was sent back early in a chase. This time too, Uthappa made sure Knight Riders wouldn't miss out on the momentum from the spinner's pinch-hitting abilities. He hit a four first ball and looked to be timing everything nicely till he top-edged a pull on 9; a mix-up between Amit Mishra and Sanju Samson would keep him at the crease for the next 23 balls. That's all he needed to snatch the game away from Daredevils.

The two balls after the reprieve went for eight - although one was off his pads - and the next three overs saw Uthappa hit three fours and three sixes. By then he was one away from completing a 24-ball fifty and KKR's required rate had rapidly fallen to nearly a run-a-ball.

In recent interviews, Uthappa has often mentioned that he has never felt as good about his batting as he does now. The start of the eighth over showed a man who knew what he was talking about. He was on the front foot to a short ball from Chris Morris, but fully in control of the pull that followed. That was six. He punched the next ball, pitching on off stump, to the midwicket boundary.

For the finishing touch, he unleashed an Uthappa classic - a length ball climbing at his hips, whipped over the square leg boundary with a high elbow.

Mishra had already gone for 14 in the previous over, and Uthappa's attack meant Morris had conceded 19. If the morale was stooping after the missed catch, it was truly buried after this over.

"I think the timing of the drops is crucial, today's was at a wrong time, someone like Uthappa, if we got him out it could have been different."

"If India were playing a T20 tournament immediately after the IPL, Robin should be one of the names on the team sheet."

Aakash Chopra, on Twitter