Auckland Aces put a serious dent to reigning IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders hopes of qualifying for the semifinals of Champions League T20. Auckland picked up a seven wickets victory over the IPL outfit to hand them their second successive defeat in the tournament.

Kolkata batting first in the match, started off well but then some disciplined bowling performance got Auckland back in the match. From 72-1 at one stage they collapsed to 98-5. They could not recover from that stage and limped to 137-6 in their stipulated 20 overs.

In their pursuit of 138, Auckland got off to a flier and some good batting performances saw them reach the target with 14 balls to spare.

The match saw some good performances and bad performances alike that shaped the outcome of the match:

Here are the hits and flops of the match:

Auckland Aces:

Azhar Mahmood: The seasoned all-rounder was the main architect of their comprehensive win. Azhar bowling the 10th over of the match took two wickets in that over to shift the momentum of the game in his teams’ favour. Kolkata could not get back into the match after that and as a result put up a very meager total. He ended the match with figures of 3-12. While batting he led the innings from the front and scored a brilliant 51 off 42 deliveries including three fours and couple of sixes.

Lou Vincent: The aggressive right hander got Auckland’s chase off on a great note. He took the attack to the Kolkata bowlers from the word go and ensure a smooth platform for the middle order batters. He scored 30 off 12 balls laced with three fours and two sixes.

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Hits:

Manvinder Bisla: After missing out in the first match, Bisla played well in this game. He gave Kolkata a good start and provided a perfect launch-pad for the middle-order batsmen but unfortunately they could not capitalize on the good start. He scored 38 off 24 ball including six fours and a six.

Brendon McCullum: Brendon McCullum was the highest run scorer for Kolkata Knight Riders in the match. He was not as aggressive as Bisla and played cautiously. He scored 40 off 35 balls and hit three fours and two sixes.

Sunil Narine: Sunil Narine as usual was the best bowler for Kolkata in the middle. On a day, when other bowlers were finding it difficult to create any substantial threats for the Auckland batters, he bowled beautifully and created problems for the batsmen. He was the best bowler for Kolkata and took two wickets by giving away just 24 runs.

Flops:

Gautam Gambhir: He is going through woeful form and this tournament could have helped him in getting back his touch. After a duck in the first match, he failed again yesterday and could score only five.

By Indian Sports News Network