IPL Results 2016: Scores, Updated Points Table and Fixture Schedule on April 16
The Kolkata Knight Riders coasted to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.
An Eoin Morgan half-century saved a poor batting effort from the Sunrisers, who decided to bat after winning the toss. They were only able to post 142 for seven in their 20 overs at the crease, a score that the Knight Riders chased down with time to spare thanks to a superb innings of 90 from skipper Gautam Gambhir.
Later in the day, the Mumbai Indians were limited to just 143 by the Gujarat Lions, who made it three wins from three after a thrilling chase. Another half-century from Aaron Finch saw them win on the final ball.
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Here are the updated standings and a look back at how the action panned out.
| 1 | Gujarat Lions | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0.714 | 6 |
| 2 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +0.995 | 4 |
| 3 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +2.250 | 2 |
| 4 | Rising Pune Supergiants | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +0.837 | 2 |
| 5 | Delhi Daredevils | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +0.152 | 2 |
| 6 | Mumbai Indians | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -0.775 | 2 |
| 7 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1.630 | 0 |
| 8 | Kings XI Punjab | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -2.024 | 0 |
| April 17 | 11:30 a.m./4 p.m. | Kings XI Punjab vs. Rising Pune Supergiants | Mohali |
| April 17 | 3:30 p.m/8 p.m. | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Delhi Daredevils | Bengaluru |
| April 18 | 3:30 p.m/8 p.m. | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Mumbai Indians | Hyderabad |
| April 19 | 3:30 p.m/8 p.m. | Kings XI Punjab vs. Kolkata Knight Riders | Mohali |
| April 20 | 3:30 p.m/8 p.m. | Mumbai Indians vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore | Mumbai |
| April 21 | 3:30 p.m/8 p.m. | Gujarat Lions vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad | Rajkot |
| April 22 | 3:30 p.m/8 p.m. | Rising Pune Supergiants vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore | Pune |
| April 23 | 11:30 a.m./4 p.m. | Delhi Daredevils vs. Mumbai Indians | Delhi |
| April 23 | 3:30 p.m/8 p.m. | Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Kings XI Punjab | Hyderabad |
Mumbai Indians vs. Gujarat Lions
Gujarat, 147 for seven (Finch 67, Tambe 12 for two) beat Mumbai, 143 for eight (Patel 34, McClenaghan four for 21)
A strong bowling performance from the Lions helped them restrict the Indians to a poor run haul early on. Save for Parthiv Patel's 34 from 29 balls, which included two fours and two sixes, many of Mumbai's top-order batsmen struggled to make double figures.
Rohit Sharma made it to seven before he flicked Dhawal Kulkarni's delivery to Shadab Jakati at short square leg in the second over, and Hardik Pandya scored just two before he did exactly the same, despite Kulkarni's ponderous ball being short and easily dealt with.
Jos Buttler's 16 gave Mumbai a brief respite, but he soon fell, and Pravin Tambe saw Kieron Pollard out for one on his first delivery.
Indeed, even as Ambati Rayudu grabbed 20 the Indians were on just 99 for seven after 17 overs, but further late flourishes from Krunal Pandya (20 not out) and Tim Southee (25) salvaged the innings, per Sky Sports Cricket:
Former cricketer Aakash Chopra was critical of James Faulkner for allowing the late revival, while the Times of India's Jamie Alter believed Tambe should have been given more than two overs:
Hardik dealt an early blow to the Lions, as he saw Brendon McCullum dismissed in the second over, but his replacement, Suresh Raina, scored 27 for two to ensure they otherwise made a strong start. As ESPNcricinfo noted, Gujarat would also have been hoping for big things from his partner Finch:
His runs were sorely needed, as Karthik and Dwayne Bravo scraped together just 11 runs between them, and those who followed them did little better—Akshdeep Nath made it to 12 before being dismissed by Mitchell McClenaghan, who then claimed Faulkner and Praveen Patel in quick succession as the match built up to a tense finish:
Fortunately for the Lions, Finch provided yet another excellent performance at the crease as he steadily worked his way to 67, hitting his seventh four on the final ball to seal the dramatic win in style despite dealing with a hamstring issue late on. Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle noted his exceptional start to the competition:
With the Australian playing so well, the Lions will continue to pose a formidable threat and could well maintain their winning streak in their next outing against the struggling Hyderabad.
Kolkata vs. Hyderabad
Kolkata, 146 for two (Gambhir 90*, Reddy one for 14) beat Hyderabad, 142 for seven (Morgan 51, Yadav three for 28) by eight wickets
After deciding to bat first, the onus was on the big-hitting duo of David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan to put some quick runs on the board. But the openers were both out inside the first four overs, giving the Sunrisers the worst possible beginning to the contest.
Dhawan was the first to fall for just six off the bowling of Morne Morkel, while Warner followed in the very next over for 13, caught off the excellent Umesh Yadav. When the dangerous Moises Henriques also went for six, Hyderabad were in deep trouble at 36 for three.
After struggling for form lately, it was left to Morgan to lead a fightback, per cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle:
The England Twenty20 captain had to rein in his natural aggressive instincts, with Deepak Hooda also falling for six, playing every ball with patience and consideration. He gave the Sunrisers a platform and Naman Ojha breathing room to smash a quickfire 37 from 28 balls.
As we can see here courtesy of the tournament’s official Twitter feed, it took some excellent work on the rope from Andre Russell and Piyush Chawla to snaffle him off the bowling of Morkel:
Morgan eventually fell in the penultimate over for a gritty 51, and a snappy 13 from eight balls from Ashish Reddy helped the Sunrisers post a below-par 142 for seven.
That it was a meagre total was reflected by the calmness Kolkata played with as they began their chase, with Robin Uthappa and Gambhir keeping things ticking over nicely. The former, usually such a destructive player, was content to take singles, while the skipper was in complete control at the crease.
The duo put on 92, which effectively ended this one as a contest, with Uthappa eventually departing for 38.
It left Gambhir with the task of finishing the match off, and when Russell fell for just two, the Indian took it upon himself to up the ante of the chase. As cricket statistician Mohandas Menon noted during the chase, he’s a player who excels in this format:
The result was a processional last few overs, in which the required rate was short of a run a ball. Eventually, the captain knocked off the winning runs, taking him to an impressive unbeaten 90, with 10 balls to spare, giving the Knight Riders their second win from three matches.
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