JAMES Faulkner was named man-of-the-match on his 24th birthday after taking three wickets in one crucial over, to spark his Rajasthan Royals to a dramatic, Super Over victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.

The Royals batted first and made 152-5, and when Faulkner took the ball in the 19th over of KKR’s run chase it seemed likely the latter would reach the target.
Faulkner, who had been going for more than 10 runs an over in the tournament, not only contained KKR but took three wickets in the over – including two consecutively.
A wicket from the final ball of his over would have given the Tasmanian all-rounder a hat-trick, but despite beating the batsman it sailed just above the middle stump.
Fellow Australian Kane Richardson (1-28 from four overs) then bowled the final over, but KKR batsman Shakib Al Hasan managed to guide his side to 152-8 and tie the scores at the end of the 20 overs.
Enter Faulkner again, who was given the ball by Royals skipper Shane Watson at the start of the Super Over format.
In an eventful over, where Suryakumar Yadav and Shakib were both run-out, KKR finished on 11-2.
Rajasthan only needed 11 to win the match, as they had hit more boundaries in their earlier 20 overs (which is how a winner is determined if scores are still tied after a Super Over).
Spinner Sunil Narine was chosen to bowl for Kolkata while the Aussie pair of Watson and Steve Smith had Rajasthan’s hopes resting on their batting.
After the pair moved to 9-0 from the first five balls, which included a Watson boundary, Smith was on strike for the final ball needing two runs.
Cleverly, Smith hit a soft push on the off side with most of the field back on the rope and he and Watson scampered through for the match-winning runs.
Earlier Ajinkya Rahane top-scored for the Royals with 72 while Watson made 33 before being run-out. Smith made a very handy 19 from 11 balls at the death.
Gautam Gambhir finally found some form after scores of 0, 0, 0 and one to make 45 for KKR but it was Yadav (31 off 19) and Shakib (29 n.o. from 18) that looked likely to give their side a regulation win.
But with Faulkner’s 11-3 from two overs leading the way for the Royals, Kolkata were denied.(CA)