The Kolkata Knight Riders climbed to the top of the VIVO IPL 2016 standings after they defeated Kings XI Punjab by seven runs at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday night. Returning to their fortress for the first time since April 13, the two-time champions first posted 164-3 riding on the back of a century opening partnership, and then restricted the visitors to 157-9.
Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa, who have been the pillar of many a Kolkata Knight Riders wins in the past, were in the thick of things yet again. After being given first use of the pitch, the right-hand – left-hand opening pair saw their team off to a solid start; they added 40 in the first six overs, and consolidated further, adding 61 more runs before they were separated in the 14th over.
Both batsmen preferred scoring runs on the leg-side; Uthappa picked up nearly two-thirds of his runs through the leg-side, while Gambhir scored 61% of his runs on that side of the wicket. Square of the wicket and down the wicket was the preferred scoring area for both batsmen who matched each other run for run. Gambhir was the first to get to his half-century – his fourth of the season; the left-hander got to the milestone in the 13th over, needing 42 balls to get there. The KKR skipper perished in the following over when he took off for a non-existent single – with the ball hit straight to the man at cover – and his innings was curtailed at 54 (45 balls, 6 fours, 1 six). The association between the two KKR openers was worth 101.
Uthappa brought up his half-century in the following over when he creamed a Sandeep Sharma full toss through cover; he needed 38 balls to get to the mile-stone. Lady luck smiled at the right-hander as he was offered a reprieve the following delivery. He made the visitors pay for the lapse in the field as he hit Swapnil Singh for a six and four in the following over.
In the 17th over, Uthappa (70 from 49 balls) became the second KKR batsman to be dismissed when he was involved in a mix-up in running with Yusuf Pathan. The home side didn’t quite finish as well as they would have liked, scoring 26 runs in the final three overs. KKR finished their twenty overs at 164-3; Andre Russell was the third KKR batsman to be run out off the last ball of the innings.
With the ball, Sandeep Sharma and Mohit Sharma were exceptional especially at the death when they executed the yorkers to near perfection. The left-arm spinner Axar Patel had a good outing too going at only a run-a-ball in his four overs.
Kings XI Punjab, needing 8.25 runs per over, were off to a dreadful start. They lost skipper Murali Vijay, Marcus Stoinis and Manan Vohra before the fourth over. 13 for 3 at that stage, the chase was put back on track through a 40-run association between Wriddhiman Saha and Glenn Maxwell. Both batsmen picked up boundaries early on, before settling down to pick up singles. The partnership was culled when Saha attempted to sweep a Piyush Chawla delivery from way outside the off-stump, but only succeeded in dragging the ball back onto the stumps; he made 24 from 20 balls. KXIP 53-4.
Fast running out of partners, Maxwell pulled out the improvisations and the power-hits from his repertoire to put the pressure back on the fielding side. 16 from 17 balls at one stage, he smashed his way to a 29-ball 50. He smashed the leg-spinner Chawla for a six and a four in the eleventh over and then got stuck into Brad Hogg, hitting him for a six, followed by a four, followed by another four in the twelfth over.
In the 16th over, the Australian paid the price for being a little too adventurous. He attempted the reverse sweep against Piyush Chawla – this at a time when he was scoring runs fluently down the ground – made no contact, and was trapped in front of the stumps. Maxwell made 68 from 42 balls, studded with six fours and four sixes. Despite Axar Patel’s blitz at the end – the left-hander scored 21 from 7 balls – KXIP only got to 157-9 – finishing 7 runs short.
Andre Russell was sensational with the ball; the Jamaican at one stage had staggering figures of 2.3-0-3-3, before finishing with figures of 4-20. He also contributed in the field, running out Axar Patel in the final over. The leg-spinner Chawla returned figures of 2-27, while Morne Morkel accounted for the wicket of Vijay.
Brief Scores
Kolkata Knight Riders 164-3 in 20.0 Overs (Robin Uthappa 70, Gautam Gambhir 54) beat
Kings XI Punjab 157-9 in 20.0 Overs (Glenn Maxwell 68, Andre Russell 4-20) by 7 runs.
Man of the Match: Andre Russell, for his bowling spell of 4-0-20-4, which included 15 dot balls.
