SRK's Knight Riders on the Storm!

Sourav Ganguly’s men have kept themselves in line for a semi-final berth.

The four-match losing streak is a thing of the past. The Riders are brimming with new found confidence. Shah Rukh Khan’s boys haven’t lost their way. They are very much on song. They have lived up to the spirit of korbo, lorbo, jeetbo re.

The captain himself showed the way with an allround performance that left Deccan Chargers 23 short of the 205-run target. A superbly crafted 91 off 57 balls (11x4, 5x6) was followed by a couple of wickets and two important catches that earned him a second consecutive Man of the Match award.

In keeping with the mood, Knight Riders were not short on support at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium. Possibly frustrated at the home team’s pathetic display in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the full house tried to find solace in rooting for the visitors.

The chase wasn’t going to be easy but Deccan Chargers began on a positive note. Once Adam Gikchrist and Rohit Sharma left though, the game was as good as over for them. Yalaka Venugopal Rao did make a valiant effort towards the end with an unbeaten 71 off 42 balls (4x6, 6x6) but it was not to be.

Deccan Chargers have been done in by some poor selection. Herschelle Gibbs and Scott Styris are past their prime and it would be foolish to bank on them in times of crisis. Shahid Afridi’s form has been so poor that he doesn’t even deserve a place in the side.

This was Deccan Chargers' seventh successive defeat. While they are all but out of the tournament, Knight Riders have moved up to the fourth spot with eight points from eight matches.

Delhi DareDevils also have eight points from as many matches but Knight Riders have a superior net run rate.

Sourav showed his class and coupled with a blinder from David Hussey (57 not out off 29 balls) showed the perfect way to build an innings in Twenty20 cricket. In the city of nawabs, Sourav strode like one, making all other players bow in admiration. He was the master of his self and dictated terms to the opposition.

Sourav has always believed in leading from the front and on Sunday he demonstrated that he has not lost one bit of his grit and determination.

Branded as a Test specialist and shunted out of the one-day side, he has always believed he has it in him to excel in all forms. He took some matches to get used to the nitty gritties of the Twenty20 format but there was no stopping him once he was back in groove. He was more certain with shot selection and showed great improvisation.

Sourav’s controlled aggression left the Deccan Chargers’ bowlers dazed. There was the caress through a heavily guarded offside that left the fielders stranded, the delicate late cut against the slower bowlers, the effortless sixes over long on and, lest we forget, the copybook straight drive.

It was not just the power, also the sheer timing and geometry of his strokes that made it tougher for Gilchrist to set fields.

Having been forced to miss V.V. S. Laxman for the second consecutive match, Deccan Chargers struck an early blow, removing Salman Butt with the fourth ball of the match. That was the only silver lining in a long while for Gilchrist’s men.

It meant Sourav was out early and showed that his decision to bat first was justified. As Aakash Chopra held one end up by rotating the strike, Sourav blossomed after the initial circumspection. He adjusted superbly to the slowness of the wicket.

The Knight Riders’ captain picked up Pragyan Ojha for special treatment while Scott Styris and Chaminda Vaas were also not spared. Once Chopra was run out — not that it mattered much — Hussey joined the party. The pair stitched 102 runs that took the wind out of the home team’s sails.

Indranil Majumdar, The Telegraph India