With Kings XI Punjab defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by 14 runs in Mohali tonight, the fourth spot in the points table is wide open for contention now in the Indian Premier League. Had Kolkata chased a target of 168, the current top four would have remained the top four teams (with the possibility of a different order) to have qualified for the play-offs.
Kings XI’s victory was inspired by its bowling performance, especially after the visitors had reached to 61-1 after the powerplay. The spinners, in particular, changed the context of the game for Kings XI. 28-year old Mohit Sharma was declared the Man of the Match for registering figures of 3-0-24-2. Here are a few of the reactions on Twitter regarding Punjab’s victory:
Superb win tonight @lionsdenkxip. What a come back in the field. #KXIP #ipl
— David Miller (@DavidMillerSA12) May 9, 2017
KKR's Indian batsmen – Gambhir. Uthappa, Pandey, Yusuf – combined scored only 28 off 45 balls with just one boundary. Difference. #KXIPvKKR
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) May 9, 2017
Courageous fight back by the boys.
Absolutely resilient when it counted.#KXIPvKKR— Shayamal Vallabhji (@shayamalv) May 9, 2017
KKR got 2 complacent post Narine, Lynn's assault. Immature innings from Robbie and Gauti too added to their misery tonight. #IPL #KXIPvKKR
— Bhartendu Sharma (@Bhartendulkar) May 9, 2017
The stars of today's show! Well done boys! #LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi #KXIPvKKR pic.twitter.com/K71HLINlTY
— Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) May 9, 2017
https://twitter.com/TheGujaratLions/status/862011091563552768
Really proud of the boys for a grt victory.Our spinners spun ball better than few media people spin stories.Picture abhi baaki hai#KXIPvKKR
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) May 9, 2017
What a great game tonight, was thoroughly entertaining. Thanks @KKRiders, hopefully we see you in the playoffs!#KXIPvKKR #KXIP
— Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) May 9, 2017
Punjab successfully defend 167! Still in the race to play-offs #KXIPvKKR #ipl
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) May 9, 2017
