Commanding win takes KKR to top of table

The Kolkata Knight Riders took flight to the top of the VIVO IPL 2016 standings after they defeated Kings XI Punjab by six wickets at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Tuesday. After putting the hosts in, KKR did well to restrict KXIP to an under-par 138-8 and then knocked off the required runs in 17.1 overs.

Robin Uthappa set the tone for the innings with two boundaries – one of them coming off the pad – of the first two deliveries of the chase, while his opening partner Gautam Gambhir firmed up his grip on the Orange Cap with yet another measured innings. Uthappa was confident and definitely the more aggressive and adventurous of the two KKR openers; he hit over cover, worked the ball of the pads and pulled through midwicket. The pair brought up 50 on the board in 4.4 overs and stretched their association to 65 runs before the fielding restrictions were relaxed.

When the spinners were introduced into the attack, Gambhir nudged the ball into the gaps and continued to drop and run while Uthappa employed the sweep and reverse sweep, and brought up his half-century off 24 balls. Uthappa was dismissed in the ninth over when he didn’t make contact while attempting a sweep off Pardeep Sahu and was trapped in front the stumps; he made 53 from 28 balls and hit nine boundaries.

Gambhir’s innings was curtailed by an outstanding catch by Maxwell running in from the midwicket boundary; he was dismissed for run-a-ball 34 in the 11th over with KKR 42 runs away from a win. Though KKR lost Manish Pandey (12 from 11 balls) and Shakib-al-Hasan (11 from 15 balls) thereafter, the platform set by the openers meant there was no pressure on the batsmen who followed. Suryakumar Yadav (11) and Yusuf Pathan (12) took the team past the finish line.

Sahu (2-18) and Axar Patel (2-19) were the wicket-takers for KXIP, while 8.1 overs of pace cost the home team 82 runs without any returns.
Earlier in the evening, Kings XI Punjab got off to a steady start – this, despite losing the wicket of Manan Vohra cheaply. 41 for 1 when the field restrictions were eased, KKR lost their second wicket soon after in the eighth over when Murali Vijay was castled by a well-disguised googly from Piyush Chawla. KXIP 47 for 2.

That wicket opened up the floodgates and there was a procession thereafter as the next six KXIP batsmen were all dismissed for single-digit scores. Wriddhiman Saha, promoted to number four, edged Sunil Narine to Robin Uthappa in the eleventh over, David Miller was brilliantly pouched by Uthappa off the bowling of Yusuf Pathan and Glenn Maxwell’s switch-hit – which came off the middle of the bat – was pouched by Chawla at cover moving swiftly to his left.

It was only a mature and responsible half-century from Shaun Marsh, and a cameo from Kyle Abbott right at the end that helped them to 138-8. Marsh remained unbeaten on 56 from 41 balls, aided with five boundaries and a six, while Abbott hit 12 from 6 balls. Seven KXIP batsmen were dismissed for single-digit scores on the day.

The visitors were much disciplined with the ball. The spinners in particular bowled extremely well on a surface that afforded them turn. Narine bowled his four overs for 22, accounting for the scalps of Saha and Maxwell. Chawla returned with figures of 3-0-18-1, while Yusuf Pathan, who picked up a wicket with his very first ball, bowled the one over for six runs. Shakib kept things tight too, conceding only 28 runs in his four overs. The pacers did their bit as well; Morne Morkel (4-0-27-2) – who generally bowled back of a length – gave the team the first breakthrough in the form of Vohra and returned to dismiss Mohit Sharma, while Umesh Yadav bowled his three overs for 17 and dismissed Axar Patel. It was surprising to see the KKR skipper throw the ball to Andre Russell to bowl the final over, when he could have got one more over from Yadav.