While two teams matched the score, Kolkata couldn't control the tempo in the Super Over
The Twenty20 format was still at a nascent stage in 2009, and so was the Indian Premier League (IPL), which started only in 2008. Therefore, the Super Over concept was also alien to cricket enthusiasts. There have been Super Overs earlier international cricket, but none have been in the IPL. However, the 10th match of the IPL 2009 season between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) witnessed one – the first of the fifteen that have taken place so far.
The match wasn't one-sided, given both teams had ended with a tied score. However, RR's Yusuf Pathan stole the show with his willow. In the first innings, it was his 42 runs off 21 balls at a strike rate of 200 that helped RR post a score of 150.
If it wasn't for him, the team wouldn't have reached the Super Over stage, given that only three of the rest of the batting line-up had scores in the 20s. The rest did not live up to expectations.
KKR, despite having a team full of stars, struggled in 2008, and the story was no different in 2009. In this particular match, five players went back to the dugout with single-digit scores. Laxmi Shukla and Yashpal Singh scored 13 and 20 runs, respectively. Amidst the chaos, Chris Gayle's 41 off 33 balls and Sourav Ganguly's 46 in 30 deliveries helped KKR tie the game.
One must not forget 2009's one-season wonder Kamran Khan, the son of a woodcutter from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, who had no experience playing first-class cricket. He was just a tennis ball player who stole the show in one of Rajasthan Royals' warm-up games. He caught Shane Warne's eye and found a place on the team.
In the game, Kamran Khan took three wickets in four overs by giving away only 18 runs. When it comes to defending the target, he became one of the major hurdles that stopped KKR from winning the game.
In the Super Over, the Knight Riders managed 14 runs, which should've been enough to defend. However, an in-form Yusuf Pathan didn't rest and kept his foot on the pedal. He started the over with a six, followed by two runs and another six. Finally, scoring a single to win the match within four balls of the Super Over made it a pretty one-sided affair.
