Robin and batsman

Published : Jun 14, 2014 00:00 IST

Robin Uthappa-K. R. DEEPAK
Robin Uthappa-K. R. DEEPAK
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Robin Uthappa-K. R. DEEPAK

A batsman of unflappable temperament, Robin Uthappa aggregated 660 runs (average: 44; strike-rate: 137.78) in 16 innings to surpass Virat Kohli's record of 634 (in 2013) - the most by an Indian batsman in a single edition of the tournament.

A batsman of unflappable temperament, Uthappa aggregated 660 runs (average: 44; strikerate: 137.78) in 16 innings to surpass Virat Kohli's record of 634 (in 2013) - the most by an Indian batsman in a single edition of the tournament.

Though the Karnataka batsman, who is making a comeback to the Indian team for the tour of Bangladesh, scored only five runs in the final against Kings XI Punjab, he was the one who had laid the foundation for the Kolkata outfit's entry into the final with a 30-ball 42. In Qualifier 1, Knight Riders conquered the most successful team in the league stage, Kings XI Punjab, by 28 runs to enter the title round.

Uthappa, whose previous best batting aggregate in the IPL was 434 runs in 16 innings in 2013, could well be mumbling to himself the oft-quoted line, "impossible is nothing".

The 28-year-old batsman, who joined KKR - co-owned by the knight of showbiz, Shah Rukh Khan - this year after experiencing the vagaries of form in the previous six seasons, was the chief architect of his team's ninematch winning streak. (The Kolkata franchise bettered its own mark of six successive wins in 2012, the year it won the title.) And in the process, he created a record by being the only batsman to score 40-plus runs in 10 successive innings. The team, which boasted of a formidable bowling line-up, saw its batting touch new heights with Uthappa's exploits.

The opening batsman credited his success to "holding good shapes".

"I just have been focusing on holding good shapes, especially in the first six overs, because the ball does a bit. If I can hold good shapes and get behind the line of the ball, I have a good chance to put team on course for a good score," said Uthappa after his knock that paved the way for KKR's entry into the final for the second time after 2012.

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