IPL 2017: Twitter Reacts As Suresh Raina Guides GL To Comfortable Win Over KKR
Apr 21, 2017 at 11:58 PM
Suresh Raina roared back to form with his second fifty of the tournament to guide Gujarat Lions to an emphatic four-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Chasing 187, the visitors came out all guns blazing with Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum taking the team total to 40 after three overs. The first success for the home side came in the fourth over when Aaron Finch hit a Nathan Coulter-Nile bouncer straight to Manish Pandey at deep square leg.
But before that, the Australia opener had already set the tone for the chase with a 31-run knock that came off just 15 balls. However, McCullum continued to play in the same manner and had fired Gujarat Lions to 72 runs in the powerplay before being dismissed by Chris Woakes for 33.
The in-form Dinesh Karthik could not do much with the bat and became Coulter-Nile’s second victim after scoring just three. Ishan Kishan (4) and Dwayne Smith (5) could not do much with the bat either but Suresh Raina held firm from one end and shared a 58-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja to put his team on the path to victory.
The southpaw was finally dismissed after scoring 84 off 46 balls but by then Gujarat Lions needed only eight runs in 13 balls. The visitors eventually chased down the total within the 19th over.
Earlier, Robin Uthappa’s second consecutive fifty and a whirlwind knock from Sunil Narine had propelled the home team to a big total after they were invited to bat first by Suresh Raina. Promoted in the batting order once again, Narine smashed 42 runs off only 17 balls to give his team a blazing start.
Robin Uthappa then scored 72 off 48 balls to guide the two-time IPL champions to a good total. Gautam Gambhir and Manish Pandey also played handy knocks of 33 and 24 respectively.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:
The @IPL is @ImRaina's territory and once again, he has revelled in it.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 21, 2017
I can't believe my eyes ☔️☔️☔️☔️☔️☔️☔️☔️☔️☔️☔️☔️☔️in Kolkata
— Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) April 21, 2017
84 is Raina's second-highest score when chasing in IPL. Highest is 87 against KXIP in 2014 qualifiers. #KKRvGL
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) April 21, 2017
Very good start from @TheGujaratLions opening with @AaronFinch5 was the right call.
— Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) April 21, 2017
When your bowlers give away 60 runs in 4 overs. #KKRvGL pic.twitter.com/n6EASLJsX0
— সৌগত ভট্টাচার্য (@SlumDogReviewer) April 21, 2017
Robin Uthappa to the Indian selectors #IPL #IPL2017 pic.twitter.com/8spRNXihJh
— Manya (@CSKian716) April 21, 2017
Narine is on 42 off 16. Gauti is on 2 from 2. We've all been in relationships like that 😄😄 #KKRvGL
— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) April 21, 2017
Narine's gone mad and he's driving Gujarat Lions nuts!
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 21, 2017