Kallis stars as Knight Riders reach final

JacquesKallis

Having reduced the Hurricanes to 140-6 from their 20 overs in Deccan, the Knight Riders eased to the target of 141 with five balls to spare thanks primarily to the batting performances of Jacques Kallis (54 not out) and Manish Pandey (40). 

A defiant unbeaten 66 from Shoaib Malik lifted Hobart's total to somewhere near respectability, but in truth it never looked like being enough to beat a Kolkata side for whom the victory marked their 14th straight success.

The Knight Riders will face either Kings XI Punjab or Chennai Super Kings in an all-Indian final on Saturday.

After winning the toss, the Hurricanes made a dismal start to the innings as Dom Michael and Aiden Blizzard both departed for ducks in the first three overs.

Wicketkeeper Ben Dunk did help steady the ship with a third-wicket partnership of 33 with Malik, whose fine innings included four fours and four sixes.

But Dunk's departure at the hands of Kuldeep Yadav (1-31) left Malik with little in the way of support until Evan Gulbis arrived at the crease, their stand of 44 offering the Tasmanian outfit a glimmer of hope.

The cheap dismissals of Gautam Gambhir (4) and Robin Uthappa (17) will have further boosted the spirits of the Hurricanes, only for Pandey and Kallis to effectively end any slim prospect of a Hobart triumph.

Ben Hilfenhaus (0-28) looked to have claimed the wicket of Pandey caught behind in the 12th over for 22, only for the delivery to be ruled a no-ball.

Kallis and Pandey added another 26 runs following that costly near-miss and, although the latter eventually fell to Ben Laughlin (1-36), Hobart had no answer to the brilliance of Kolkata's South African talisman.

With the Knight Riders needing six off the final over, Hilfenhaus missed an opportunity to offer late hope to the Hurricanes as he allowed a shot from Kallis to backwards square leg to sail through his hands and over the boundary, handing Kolkata the win.

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