Kolkata Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab in high scoring IPL match, stay alive in contest
Indore, May 12 (IBNS): Beating Kings XI Punjab by 31 runs at the Holkar Cricket Stadium here on Saturday, Kolkata Knight Riders kept their hopes alive to reach the playoffs in the 11th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), just couple of days after Dinesh Karthik's men suffered a massive 102-run defeat against Mumbai Indians.
Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin's decision to send the Knights to bat after winning the toss backfired, as Kolkata piled up 245/6 in 20 overs.
Sunil Narine has once again provided an impetus to Kolkata to get a good start.
The Windies left-handed batsman scored a 36-ball 75 runs knock, which was crafted by nine fours and four sixes.
In the middle-order, skipper Dinesh Karthik played an aggressive knock of 50 (composed of five fours and three sixes), which required just 23 deliveries.
Punjab's Andrew Tye, the purple cap holder, clinched four wickets conceding 41 runs in four overs.
Chasing a target of 246, Punjab started off well with Christopher Gayle and KL Rahul but lost wickets in the middle overs to score 214/8 in 20 overs.
Rahul has once again scored the maximum runs (66 off 29) for his team.
Ashwin's contribution of 45 (22) lower down the order proved to be futile as Punjab fell short of the required runs.
After playing a valuable 31-run knock off just 14 for Kolkata with bat, Andre Russell was a star with ball too as he dismissed three top-order Punjab batsmen (Christopher Gayle, Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair).
After the win, Kolkata has once again moved to the top four in the IPL standings. The Knights are at the fourth position with 12 points.
Punjab are at the third position with the same points.
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