During the 18th match of the 11th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at Kolkata, Kings XI Punjab beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 9 wickets (D/L Method).
After Ravichandran Ashwin put Kolkata Knight Riders in to bat, the home team scored 191-7 in their allotted quota of 20 overs. Their innings was powered by their opening batsman Chris Lynn, who top-scored with 74 (41).
At one point in time, the Knight Riders looked set to cross the 200-run mark. Having said that, it didn’t happen as their lower middle order couldn’t finish the match as well as they would have liked. In reply, Kings XI Punjab raced towards the chase without much discomfort. Despite the rain-break, Lokesh Rahul and Chris Gayle played an instrumental role in winning the match for the visitors.
Now, we will look at the hits and flops players in this match.
Hits
Chris Lynn (KKR) – Opening the batting for the Knight Riders, Chris Lynn was unaffected by the dismissal of Sunil Narine in the second over. In which was an utterly calculative innings, Lynn ended up scoring 74 (41) with the help of six fours and four sixes.
Lokesh Rahul (KXIP) – Continuing on his rich form, Lokesh Rahul was on top of his game today as well. He was adjourned the ‘Man of the Match’ for scoring his sixth IPL half-century, 60 (27), with the help of nine fours and two sixes. Rahul is a prime example of the fact that even archetype batsmen can be successful in the IPL.
Chris Gayle (KXIP) – In his decade-long IPL career, today was the first time when Chris Gayle scored three 50+ scores in three consecutive matches. Opening the batting with Lokesh Rahul, Gayle played more of a second-fiddle role before the rain-break. Once Rahul got out, Gayle took onto him to win the match for his team. He ended up scoring 62* (38) with the help of five fours and six sixes.
Flops
Nitish Rana (KKR) – The in-form Knight Riders’ batsman failed to make an impact today. He came in to bat at No. 4 in the ninth over when Robin Uthappa was dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin. Rana had to take the long walk to the pavilion in the following over when he terribly mis-judged a single and was found short of the crease. He ended up scoring 3 (5).
Barinder Sran (KXIP) – Been an economical bowling option for the Kings XI in the last two matches, Barinder Sran was made to face the heat today. Lynn and Uthappa took him for 23 runs in his second over. His overall match figures read 4-0-50-2.
Piyush Chawla – The experienced Indian leg-spinner leaked runs against Kings XI today. It was unfortunate on how the match ended eventually. But that is part of the game. Chawla, who bowled his first over as the last over of the powerplay, conceded 11 runs off it. Overall, his bowling figures read 2-0-24-0.
