The eastern greats, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was empowered by the hitting skills of Andre Russell in the game against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on Wednesday. The hosts went over the line against the KXIP easily in the end in a high-scoring affair at the Eden Gardens. Chasing a total of 219 runs, the visitors lost the game by 28 runs as even the David Miller show couldn’t take them to the victory.
KL Rahul failed again for the Kings as he was done by the pace of Lockie Ferguson in the second over of the innings. Chris Gayle threatened a bit but he was dismissed by his Windies teammate Russell with a bouncer. Sarfaraz Khan also couldn’t make the most of the chance and at 60/3, things started turning against the Punjab side. But Mayank Agarwal and David Miller got together to stitch a crucial stand, but it wasn’t sufficient for a win.
Moreover, the KKR bowlers varied their pace well which kept the Punjab batsmen guessing. In the end, despite scoring a half-century, the Proteas southpaw had to end up on the losing side.
ALSO READ: Match 6 (KKR vs KXIP): Turning Point Of The Game
Earlier in the match, the KKR were put in to bat first and they didn’t disappoint their home crowd. Sunil Narine started the fireworks despite the early dismissal of Chris Lynn. After his dismissal, Nitish Rana and Robin Uthappa took it up on them to up the ante. The former was in brilliant touch on the day as he was timing the ball straight into the stands.
Rana amassed 63 off just 34 balls and his innings was laced with two fours and seven massive sixes. Andre Russell arrived to the scene then and everything changed in a matter of few overs. The Kings XI had a set plan for him to bowl around the wicket and in the blockhole. The plan was executed brilliantly by Mohammed Shami as he got him in the 17th over. But only three fielders were there in the circle which led to the umpires calling it a no-ball and then it was no looking back for the big man.
WATCH – Andre Russell Punished KXIP Bowlers After The Lifeline
Russell’s carnage followed thereafter as the KKR scored 55 runs in the last three overs. Russell ended up with 48 runs to his name of just 17 balls as the KKR ended up scoring 218 runs for the loss of four wickets after 20 overs and it proved more than enough for them.
Here’s how Twitter reacted during the match:
KKR have exposed KXIP's lack of balance today. KKR's brilliant attacking batting opened up KXIP's bowling, forcing them to bowl Mandeep & in the run chase Miller's reluctance to accelerate betrayed an understandable lack of faith KXIP's shallow batting order. #IPL #KKRvKXIP
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) March 27, 2019
Andre Russell clearly the difference between the two sides. His was the knock that actually took the game out of Kings XI's hands. Also few wickets added icing to the cake. #IPL #KKRvKXIP #KKR
— Anmol Mohta (@anmolmohta24) March 27, 2019
Kolkata Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab by 28 runs. Great batting by Andre Russell and Nitish Rana. Congrats KKR, Better luck next time Ashwin 🤪 #KKRvKXIP
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) March 27, 2019
This match is a perfect example of how captaincy can cost you a game.
If Ashwin was bit more proactive to take 4 fielders inside the circle , things could have been a lot different for KXIP.
Fielding lapse costed them the match. #KKRvKXIP— Siddharth Jha (@jha_siddhus91) March 27, 2019
So no ball (wrong field setting) did cost the match for Punjab, but it was Ashwin's fault not Shami's fault, because of Ashwin's poor captaincy @lionsdenkxip lost the match #KKRvKXIP
— Amar Rana 🇮🇳 (@amar_tilakrana) March 27, 2019
Karma is a Bitch, Ashwin got it back from in the form Russel #IPL2019 #KKRvKXIP
— Sivaram✌️ (@sivaram501) March 27, 2019
Ashwin Captaincy Cost Punjab one Match.
Unpredictable Captain 🤷♂️#Ashwin
— Cricket Freak🤷♂️ (@naveensurana06) March 27, 2019
Hey Ashwin, never forget:
Karma is a Bitch! 😂😛😂#KKRvKXIP #IPL2019pic.twitter.com/OhUSbIq67T— Rofl Republic (@i_theindian) March 27, 2019
