After losing out by a close margin at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) exacted their revenge on Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) as they beat them at PCA Mohali convincingly by seven wickets. Starting off with the bat, Punjab started off well but soon gave away the advantage to end their campaign on a paltry 124 for seven in their stipulated 20 overs. Kolkata coming onto chase the target down without losing much sweat with their skipper Gautam Gambhir leading from the front.
Here are some hits and flops of the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab:
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Hits:
Bowlers: They took the onus upon themselves to deliver the win and it was Sunil Narine, hero of the last match leading the bowling attack. Fresh from his five wickets haul, he made it count this time around as well as he scalped two wickets by giving away just 24 runs. Following him was Brett Lee who scalped two wickets for 26. Rajat Bhatia and Laxmipathy Balaji also chipped in with a wicket apiece.
Gautam Gambhir: The KKR skipper led from the front and played as an attacking anchor to the team. He scored a breezy 66 off 44 balls and his unbeaten knock comprised of seven fours and a six. He made sure he stayed till the end and ensured that his team does meet up with any hiccup like last time.
Jacques Kallis: Batting at number four position for the first time, he played well to support his skipper. He stitched a partnership of 53 with Gambhir and remained unbeaten on 30 from 23 deliveries and his innings consisted of two fours and a six.
Kings XI Punjab
Hits:
Adam Gilchrist: He showed that even after retirement from international cricket why he still is a force to reckon to. He retired during the innings due to a hamstring injury while attempting a third run but came to bat gain when he saw his team required him. He scored 40 off 30 deliveries which were laced with three fours and a six.
Shaun Marsh: Shaun Marsh their most dependable batsmen and he was playing well and it was looking like as though he would recover KXIP from the dire straits. But a controversial decision ruled him out much to the disappointment of Punjab’s camp. Apparently, Manvinder Bisla, the keeper of KKR caught the ball after it bounced off the ground, but umpires did not refer it to the TV umpires and Marsh walked off the field taking the keeper’s word who said that the catch was taken cleanly. His knock of 33 of 30 deliveries included four well struck boundaries.
Piyush Chawla: Their hero from the last match, he bowled well again in yesterday’s match and gave their team something to enjoy out there in the field when he scalped two wickets by giving away just 19 runs.
Flops:
Batsmen: Batting has remained their problem since the beginning of the tournament. They are not able to execute themselves properly and are looking very vulnerable. They flopped again yesterday and barring the Australian trio of Gilchrist (40), Shaun Marsh (33) and David Hussey (10), none of the other players could breach the double figure mark.
By Samikshan Dutta Choudhary
Indian Sports News
