The best thing about Kolkata Knight Riders in this season of the Indian Premier League has been their versatility. Different players have performed in different matches. Chris Lynn, Gautam Gambhir, Manish Pandey and today, Robin Uthappa, all have taken responsibilities at various stages in the tourney.

Uthappa rose to the occasion with a 39-ball 68 which was comprised of five fours and four sixes. Kolkata Knight Riders’ ploy of sending Sunil Narine as a makeshift opener failed as he was sent back to the pavilion in the third over without disturbing the scoreboard much.

Had the umpiring been of a decent standard, Bhuvneshwar Kumar could have got another wicket on the following delivery. Kumar induced an edge of Uthappa’s bat on the first ball that he faced. The Sun Risers appealed in unison but the umpire had some other views. Uthappa did not look back post that decision.

The Karnataka boys in Uthappa and Manish Pandey made sure that the fall of Gautam Gambhir did not affect Knight Riders’ scoring rate. Uthappa was the aggressor whereas Pandey provided the crucial support in the beginning. Pandey took on the responsibility once Uthappa got out. Watch the full video of Uthappa’s 18th IPL half-century:

Robin Uthappa notches up his first half century this seasonhttps://t.co/kevsq5Bwiq

— CricShots (@cric_shots) April 15, 2017

Featured image source: iplt20.com (screen grab)

Video Credits – IPL.