Gayle-Rahul demolish Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers, Kings XI Punjab register nine-wicket win
Kolkata, Apr 21 (IBNS): Daring a target of 192, Kings XI Punjab openers Chris Gayle and KL Rahul demolished Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers to register a thumping win by nine wickets in Duckworth Lewis method at the Eden Gardens here on Saturday.
Chasing a revised target of 125 runs in 13 overs after resumption of play, which was halted by rain, Punjab scored the required number of runs with 11 balls to spare. Punjab scored 126/1 in 11.1 overs.
After play resumed, Punjab needed just 29 runs from 28 balls and the job was done in style by the formidable pair of Gayle and Rahul.
The latter however was was dismissed by Sunil Narine at 60 runs from 27 balls, by which time Punjab had the match in its grasp.
At a time when the entire Kolkata bowling unit was sustaining blows from Gayle and Rahul, the usually parsimonious Narine didn't hamper his reputation.
He was by far the best bowler from the home side, operating with an economy rate of 7.67 runs per over.
He conceded 23 runs in three overs and picked up the only wicket that was in offer.
Rahul built his innings with nine fours and two sixes to crush Kolkata’s dream of making a hat-trick of wins in the tournament.
A former Knight Riders player, Gayle remained unbeaten at 62 runs from 38 deliveries, hitting five fours and half-a-dozen sixes.
Earlier, asked by Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin to bat first, Kolkata posted 191/7 in 20 overs.
Lynn, who started his innings slowly, upped the tempo later and smacked boundaries all-round the park.
When Lynn was caught behind by KL Rahul in a delivery of Andrew Tye (2/30), he had already entertained the Kolkata crowd with a 74-run knock, which required 41 balls.
Tye was supported by Barinder Sran, who picked two wickets for 50 runs in four overs.
After surviving the initial jitters post Narine-dismissal, Lynn partnered Robin Uthappa to register 50 runs in the power play overs.
As the Lynn-Uthappa combine was looking ominous for the visiting team, Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin took charge with ball.
Conceding just five runs in the seventh over of the match, Ashwin tried to check the free flow of runs.
It was skipper Ashwin who brought Punjab back into the game immediately after the strategic timeout, uninstalling the 72-run stand between Lynn and Uthappa, who failed to capitalise on a good start yet again.
Uthappa went out after scoring an aggressive but brief knock of 34 runs. Ashwin ended his bowling with a figure of 1/33 in four overs.
Allowing the visitors to establish a strong hold into the match, emerging star Nitish Rana almost thrown his wicket by trying an impossible run. He fell short of the ground when the ball thrown by Ankit Rajpoot had hit the stumps.
On a day which was not for Andre Russell show, Dinesh Karthik’s 43 runs from 28 balls powered the home team to inch closer towards 200.
Even before the Kolkata fans could get over Lynn’s brilliant knock in the first half, KL Rahul and Chris Gayle took Punjab to a brazing start. In almost no time, Punjab went past 50 runs in just 3.4 overs.
The moment when the visitors were in an advantageous position, rain halted the match with the scoreboard reading 96/0 in 8.2 overs.
However rain-god could not change the fortune for Kolkata. Gayle started exactly where he had left after the match resumed.
Win at Eden Gardens lifted Punjab to the topmost position in the points table with eight points.
Dinesh Karthik’s Kolkata slipped one place to three with six points.
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