South Africans excel in last-over thrillers

South African seamer Yusuf Abdulla and batsman Mark Boucher held their nerve under pressure in last-over finishes in the Indian Premier League here on Wednesday.
Bangalore Royal Challengers needed 10 runs in the last over to achieve a 140-run target against Kolkata Knight Riders before Boucher smashed spinner Chris Gayle's penultimate delivery for a winning four.
Wicket-keeper Boucher was named man of the match for his unbeaten 25 off 13 balls in Bangalore's five-wicket victory.
Kings XI Punjab owed their three-run win over Mumbai Indians to Abdulla, who bowled an eight-run last over when the opposition required 12 to win. Mumbai were restricted to 116-7 in reply to Punjab's 119-8.
Abdulla ensured Punjab's win in the final over when he dismissed well-set Jean-Paul Duminy, caught in the deep after making a responsible 63-ball 59 -- the day's only half-century.
Deccan Chargers currently lead the eight-team tournament with eights points from four matches, followed by Punjab (6/5), Delhi (6/4), Mumbai (5/5), Rajasthan (5/5), Bangalore (4/6), Chennai (3/5) and Kolkata (3/6).
Mumbai were struggling at 45-4 in the 10th over before South African Duminy sustained his team's hopes with a solid knock containing four boundaries.
Punjab seized the early initiative through pacemen Irfan Pathan, Vikramjeet Malik and Abdulla, who grabbed three of the first four wickets, including those of hard-hitting openers Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya.
Jayasuriya fell for a duck in the opening over, caught by skipper Yuvraj Singh in the slips off Pathan. Skipper Tendulkar contributed just one before cutting Malik to Mahela Jayawardene at point.
Punjab earlier failed to build a partnership against a disciplined Mumbai attack, with Sri Lankan wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara alone offering stiff resistance with an unbeaten 45 off 44 balls.
Teenager Shreevats Goswami also played a big role in Bangalore's victory, top-scoring with 43. The 19-year-old opener hit six fours in his 46-ball knock.
Australian spinner Brad Hodge put pressure on Bangalore with three wickets, but Boucher batted sensibly in the crucial last over to steer his team home.
Bangalore skipper Kevin Pietersen used his spinners intelligently to restrict Kolkata to a modest total. Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble was the most successful bowler with 2-16 off four overs. South African Morne van Wyk top-scored for Kolkata with 43 not out.
Part-time off-spinner Pietersen himself bowled the opening over and struck with his first delivery, having hard-hitting New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum caught by Virat Kohli at point.
Kumble was pressed into the attack early in the innings and got a wicket in his opening over when he trapped Hodge (17) leg-before before accounting for Wriddhiman Saha (21).
Left-arm spinner Prabhu Appanna claimed a big wicket when he had West Indies skipper Gayle caught in the deep. Gayle, batting with a runner due to leg cramps in the later part of his innings, hit a 37-ball 40.