CATCH OF THE MATCH- Manish Pandey
MAXIMUM SIXES- Sunil Narine (three sixes)
STYLISH PLAYER OF THE MATCH- Gautam Gambhir
MAN OF THE MATCH- Sunil Narine
Summary- The Knights played at home and the ruled on their home turf defeating the Kings of Punjab by a commendable 8-wicket victory at Eden Gardens on April 13. This is their eighth consecutive win over Kings XI Punjab since 2011.
The Kings indeed started off on a stronger note at their first away encounter this season with Vohar and Amla taking their opening stand past the 50-run mark and finally it was Vohra to depart early. Marcus Stoinis came in next and he too walked back early and the in form skipper walked in. He was still to be dismissed in this season.
He started of with his pyrotechnics, but it was too short lived today at the Eden Gardens as both Amla and Maxwell walked back to the pavilion in quick succession. It was all up for Killer Miller and Wriddhiman Saha to pull off a good partnership and post a brilliant total for the Kings. And they did. A fifty run partnership as they were cracking fours and sixes all round the stadium until Umesh Yadav came back in the 18th over.
A brilliant spell from the pacer dismissed three in one over, despite missing his hat-trick. An indeed match-turning over and the entire shape of the game turned upside down.It was only a few deliveries to go as the Kings fell nine down to cease to 170.
KKR stepped onto the field brewing with confidence after their brilliance with the ball. But surprisingly it was Sunil Narine and Gambhir who opened up with their innings. But much to the delight the spinner curled a mastery as he knocked a whirlwind at Eden. Striking 37 off 18 deliveries, the new opener provide that initial grip that Kkr needed. Post his dismissal it was Batman-Robin once again ruling their home pitch. Finally Manish Pandey walked in to support the skipper and finish off the battle in style with a six. Gautam Gambhir, the one man who stood their tall, was commendable with his bat.
Thus the knights of Kolkata grabbed the much needed two points to climb to position 1.
KKR win by 8 wicket with still 21 balls remaining.
Kolkata Knight Riders Innings; Target 171
Over 16.3 | Score 171/2 | Pandey 25 (16) ; Gambhir 72 (49)
Stoinis back into the attack. Six and Manish Pandey finishes it of in style. A brillinat eight-wicket victory over the Kings of Punjab at home. This was their eighth consecutive win over KXIP since 2011.
Over 16 | Score 164/2 | Pandey 19 (14) ; Gambhir 70 (48)
12 more needed off 28 deliveries as Sandeep comes into the attack. Wide offside and Gambhir chips it to Miller at point and Miller makes an appeal for a catch out. But soft decision, umpire denies. And Gambhir answers back with a boundary.
Over 15 | Score 156/2 | Pandey 18 (13) ; Gambhir 65 (43)
Mohit Sharma in his third over now. And he is being hammered now and again. 14 runs more needed as KKR is few yards away from their first win on home turf this season. Of course its their first match at Eden after all.
Over 14 | Score 148/2 | Pandey 12 (10) ; Gambhir 62 (40)
Axar Patel in his last over now. Three runs off the first three deliveries. Outside the leg stump and Gambhir makes himself that rooma nd edges it apst the keeper to third man to get a boundary. And another boundary, from Pandey now. 12 off the over.
Over 13 | Score 136/2 | Pandey 6 (7) ; Gambhir 56 (37)
Mohit Sharma back into the attack. Places it to the off side and Gambhir drives it timely down cover for a bounadry. Off side has been his region and KXIP have subdue him with more straighter deliveries. 36 more needed off 43 deliveries now. Eight off the over.
Over 12 | Score 128/2 | Pandey 4 (4) ; Gambhir 50 (34)
Axar back into the attack. Three runs off the first three overs. Another single and skipper gets his 33rd IPL fifty.
Over 11 | Score 123/2 | Pandey 2 (2) ; Gambhir 47 (30)
Aaron returns to attack now. Manish Pandey is the new batsman at crease. Another dangerous one for the Kings. Gets off the mark with a single. Rather tidy over.
Over 10 | Score 116/2 | ; Gambhir 43 (25)
Axar Patel returns to attack only to glance all the boundaries struck by the duo at crease. They have been splendid with the bat.
And what was that! Axar spun it to the leg side and Uthappa went for a unorthodox leg scoop, but the ball paced through over the bat to click off the bails. Uthappa departs.
RV Uthappa b Patel 26 (16b)
Over 9 | Score 107/1 | Uthappa 20 (12) ; Gambhir 42 (24)
Stoinis now into the attack. A single and 100 comes up for the Knights. An astonishing 12 + run rate now and they are looking well over the word 'confident' now. Shorter delivery and Uthappa angles it over square-leg for a boundary. Came off the middle off the bat, using Stoinis' pace.
Over 8 | Score 99/1 | Uthappa 14 (8) ; Gambhir 40 (22)
Axar Patel introduced now. Was good in the previous game, against RCB. Beauty from Uthappa. Opens the bat for a late cut down to third man, for a boundary. RR well over 12 now. Its just time now that the knights will get to the target put forth to them. Ten off that over.
Over 7 | Score 89/1 | Uthappa 8 (5) ; Gambhir 36 (19)
KKR is in absolute splendid position right now. KXIP need a couple of more wickets to get back into the game. But the way the knights are building the game, it is more like a distant dream.
Mohit into the attack. First ball, easy short delivery to pick up and Gambhir gets a boundary off it. Pulls it past square leg to get that four.
And its time for Uthappa to strike. Gets off the mark with a front foot pull, top shot over long-on to get a six.
Over 6 | Score 76/1 | Uthappa 0 (2) ; Gambhir 31 (16)
Ohh goodness gracious! Narine goes for a six down the line to Varun Aaron. And more of him comes as he hits yet another six. Highest score by him in T20 cricket. Absolute piece of delight from Narine. And a carnival continues as a four comes up this time. 16 off 3 deliveries. Varun perplexed.
Narine's innings finally ends. Short, ramps it up to deep-midwicket and Axar Patel takes the catch. Astounding contribution from Narine as Gambhir lauds the West Indian as he walks back. He indeed has done his job.
SP Narine c Patel b Aaron 37 (18b)
Robin Uthappa comes up. Good delivery to wlecome the new man. Seams it close past his bat. This is KKR's highest powerplay score.
Over 5 | Score 60/0 | Narine 21 (14) ; Gambhir 31 (16)
The skipper Maxwell gets into the attack. Tucks it to the leg side and Narine directs the turn down leg slip, through the fielders for a boundary. And now down extra cover. Exquite form Narine. Third boundary of the over, over the deep square-leg. The spinner is on fire. Gambhir cracks a four to finish off the over.
Over 4 | Score 42/0 | Narine 12 (9) ; Gambhir 22 (13)
Gambhir is looking illustrious with his boundaries. Already two boundaries off the over. Crowd going all Mexican wave at Eden Gardens.
Over 3 || Score 31/0 - Sunil Narine 11(8b); Gautam Gambhir 17(10b)
Then, Sunil Narine proved why he was sent out to open the innings. He pulled one over long-off boundary. Some hitting. That was off the first ball.
A single, and a dot, then Gautam Gambhir hit back-to-back fours. A single to end the over. 16 runs from Sandeep Sharma's second over.
Over 2 || Score 15/0 - Sunil Narine 4(6b); Gautam Gambhir 8(6b)
'Unsold' Ishant Sharma gets his first over of the 2017 IPL. A wide to start, then a dot ball. It was followed by a wide.
Then, his Delhi sate-mate Gautam Gambhir hit back-to-back fours. Then, three dots. There were lots of swing and miss.
10 runs from the over.
Over 1 || Score 5/0 - Sunil Narine 4(6b); Gautam Gambhir 0(0b)
Yes, it finally happens in IPL too. Sunil Narine opened for Kolkata Knight Riders.
A wide to start the innings, then a dot ball. Narine hit the second legal ball for a four. Then all dots. Five runs from the over.
Sandeep Sharma will be more than happy.
KKR need 171 runs to win off 120 deliveries.
Over 20 | Score 170/9 | ; Sandeep 0 (0)
Woakes in to the last over for him and his team too. Four deliveries down and no big usual firework till now. But of course from KKR indeed. Another King down- Mohit Sharma.
MM Sharma c SA Yadav b Woakes 10 (8b)
Last ball, and a wicket. Gambhir fumbles with the ball...one, two..four and finally takes that catch. Lovely juggling!
VR Aaron c Gambhir b Woakes 4 (5b)
Over 19 | Score 166/7 | Aaron 1 (1) ; Mohit 10 (6)
Kings are finished it seems, as far as that big total dream is concerned. Three wickets in one over and the entire scenario has changed. At one moment Miller-Saha combo was looking deadly with their 50-run stand and then with the end of the over all have departed.
Fifth delivery, four runs by just running. Comedy of errors!
Over 18 | Score 156/7 | () ; Mohit 1 (1)
Killer from Miller! Umesh into the attack and Miller cracks it over the square-leg to strike that hige six. And fifty partnership comes up for the duo. Dangerous for KKR now. And now a four. Form Miller.
Waist high full toss and Miller, off the upper edge of the bat and Manish Pandey at long off dives to get that catch. Big loss for the KXIP. Important for KKR, as those boundaries in the early part of the over gave an idea of a 180-run target, but now, probably not.
DA Miller c Pandey b UT Yadav 28 (19b)
And now Saha too departs. Not a good length, but Saha strikes it late to the extra cover region and Woakes there to take it.
Two ball, two wickets as Umesh dismisses two important batsman.
WP Saha c Woakes b UT Yadav 25 (17b)
And another from Umesh. Axar is the man to depart.
AR Patel c Narine b UT Yadav 0 (1b)
Over 17 | Score 145/4 | Miller 18 (16) ; Saha 25 (16)
Last four overs to go and Kings have to strike hard now to post a good total for the knights to chase. While the Knights have to get these two in form batsman off the pitch quickly to restrict the Punjab team below 160.
Boult into the attack. First ball, changed pace, extra bounce and Miller gets the leading edge, but the ball lands in the no man's land. Lucky Miller! Boult is troubling Saha with shorter delivery. But finally gets the touch. Jumps to ramp it over to the third man, one bounce and Narine...misses it again. What is up with him?
Over 16 | Score 138/4 | Miller 16 (14) ; Saha 20 (12)
Sunil Narine comes back into the attack for his last over. His figure so far- 1/16. Four off the over. Strategic time-out.
Over 15 | Score 134/4 | Miller 14 (12) ; Saha 19 (8)
Chawla back into the attack. Saha at strike. Second ball, turns outside and Saha steps out to strike astoundingly high six down the line. Saha this time again. Chips it over cover for a six. These two are firing.
Over 14 | Score 119/4 | Miller 12 (8) ; Saha 6 (6)
Grandhomme into the attack now. The high-flying Kings of Punjab are surely at dismay with those quick wickets. They losing them at constant intervals.
No ball. KXIP gets a free hit and Miller bullets it down the line for a brlliant six. And yet another. Free hit again...Miller this time pulls that short delivery, top edge and whistles over the keeper for a four. 10 off the two no balls.
Over 13 | Score 104/4 | Miller 1 (2) ; Saha 5 (4)
Umesh Yadav into the attack. Seams it to leg side and and Maxwell makes himself some room to strike it to offside, but gets a healthy edge and Uthappaa back there to take it. Maxwell, big wicket for the Knights. Departs for the first time this season.
GJ Maxwell c Uthappa b UT Yadav 25 (14b)
Wrddhiman Saha is the new batsman. Two new batsman at crease. Four to end the over. Saha gets the edge down third man.
Over 12 | Score 98/3 | Miller 0 (1) ; Maxwell 25 (13)
Debutant de Grandhomme into the attack. He was included in the place of Andre Russell. Offside, slower delivery and Amla...slight Brain Fade! Wanted the leg side scopp, but ball turned to of and he changed his direction, but failed to strike it.
Third ball, flat, slow and Amla wanted to strike it down leg, but top edge and over foats over cover and skipper there to take it. Debutant gets his first wicket and KKR gets his important one. Amla is the man to depart.
HM Amla c Gambhir b de Grandhomme 25 (27b)
Over 11 | Score 97/2 | Amla 25 (23) ; Maxwell 24 (12)
Sunil Narine is back into the attack. Maxwell at strike. Excellent over so far. One run off five deliveries. Single to finish off the over.
Over 10 | Score 95/2 | Amla 24 (19) ; Maxwell 23 (10)
Piyush Chawla into the attack. First ball, Maxwell picks up the length and ramps it down the line for a six. Extravagant! Then a four and again a four, Piyush getting hammered now. First down extra cover and then down long-off. That was one wonderful over for the kings, courtesy the skipper.
Over 9 | Score 78/2 | Amla 23 (18) ; Maxwell 7 (5)
The skipper walks in now. He is yet to be dismissed in the tournament. Woakes returns to attack. His second over in this match. And the fireworks start. Not a short delivery, Maxwell lifts it past deep square leg for a boundary.
Third ball, short and Amla calmly pulls that stunner and the ball rockets down past square all the way to the boundary. 11 off the over. Strategic time-out
Over 8 | Score 67/2 | Amla 17 (14) ; Maxwell 1 (1)
Sunil Narine back into the attack. Good lenght, and Stoinis scoops it back past the leg slip to take two runs. After a couple of loose deliveries, Narine presses the fifth delivery to the off stump, turning it in and Stoinis going for the cut shot. Ball touches the inside edge and then the stumps. Important wicket for KKR. Gambhir knew that Stoinis is good with the fast bowlers, thus went in for that spin attack. And it served him good.
MP Stoinis b Narine 9 (12b )
Over 7 | Score 62/1 | Amla 17 (14) ; Stoinis 6 (9)
Umesh Yadav into the atack. Offside delivery and Amla directs it down to third man to take a single. Four off the over. Tighter over this time for the pacer.
Over 6 | Score 57/1 | Amla 15 (9) ; Stoinis 4 (5)
Piyush Chawla comes into the attack. He has replaced Kuldeep Yadav for this match. And he does it. Vohra is dismissed. The ball turns inside out and Vohra goes for the late cut but the ball cleverly seeps through to strike off the off stump.
M Vohra b Chawla 28 (19b)
Marcus Stoinis is the new batsman. And he gets off the mark with a boundary over deep midwicket.Umesh makes that effort in the deep but misses it.
Over 5 | Score 53/0 | Amla 15 (9) ; Vohra 28 (18)
Sunil Narine comes into the attack now. Starts with a wide. And yet again, but the ball dancing along its way travels to the boundary. What a start for the Kings! On the other hand, Narine is having a rather dismal start. First that drop and now these extra runs. This is KXIP's highest opening stand against the knights. Eight off the over.
Over 4 | Score 45/0 | Amla 15 (9) ; Vohra 27 (15)
Chris Woakes introduced now. Second ball, Amla, intentional drives it down point for a boundary. Classic display of batting from the Proteas. Fifth delivery, flatter to the leg side and Vohra flicks it over square-leg and gets another boundary. And another boundary to end the over. Short, off side and Vohra ramps it over the leg side to get a four down third man. Narine too far to take that.
Over 3 | Score 30/0 | Amla 10 (7) ; Vohra 18 (11)
Trent Boult returns. Goes across the pitch with the ball and Vohra onece again with his timely cover drive. Gets that boundary. Second ball, straight ball, to the leg side and Vohra with a baclanced leg glance and another boundary in two ball. Fifth ball, perfect delivery. Shorter delivery, offside and Vohar goes for the pull, top edge and flies to the third man and... Narine fails to clutch on to it. What a failed opportunity!
Over 2 | Score 21/0 | Amla 9 (6) ; Vohra 9 (6)
And Umesh Yadav into the attack. His first IPL match this season. Had a brilliant home season and is back to the KKR squad after injury rest. Dangerous third ball, short delivery, seams around the leg side and just about to appeal. Umpire gives it a wide. Another short delivery, slightly to the off side and Vohra, in style pulls that one over the midwicket for a four. Splendid.
Over 1 | Score 10/0 | Amla 10 (6) ; Vohra 0 (0)
A crucial third match for the knights of Kolkata to bounce back to winning ways while for the Kings, they would love to get that hat-trick. Brewing with confidence after their consecutive wins in the first two matches, KXIP have been put to bat after losing the tosws.
Amal and Vohra are out on the crease, Trent Boult is the bowler to lead the attack for KKR.
Here comes the first ball, beautiful in swing. That is what you will expect from the changed Ednd Gardens, more for the seamers. But Amla pushes the second ball past square leg to get a boundary.
Fourth ball, backfoot on drive and through the fielders at cover. Amla gets a two. Ball indeed is swinging, but for Amla, he his getting his job done. Classy indeed.
#IPL Match 11 - Here are the Playing XIs for @KKRiders vs @lionsdenkxip #KKRvKXIP pic.twitter.com/MrEOMOpoDo
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 13, 2017
TOSS TIME- KKR win the toss and decide to chase
The possible playing XIs for KKR vs KXIP
KKR vs KXIP - Here are the players to watch out for today
Meanwhile, the trailer of Tendulkar's biopic 'Sachin: A Billion Dreams' has been released. Watch it here
Actor @ShraddhaKapoor LIVE at #IPL #KKRvKXIP @KKRiders pic.twitter.com/DROGhyIXzn
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 13, 2017
Opening ceremony hasn't finished yet. As the very elegant Shraddha Kapoor makes her way to the Eden Gardens.
Both the captains, Gautam Gambhir of KKR and Glenn Maxwell of KXIP make their way to the podium.
Play Hard, Play Fair - Spirit of Cricket at #IPL - @GautamGambhir and @Gmaxi_32 pic.twitter.com/3XiVnLm7kn
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 13, 2017
And we kick-off today's schedule with an opening ceremony at the Eden Gardens. First the perform- Shillong Chamber Choir of India's Got Talent fame. It follows by a Bengali folk performance. Finally singer Monali Thakur makes her way to the podium to enthrall the crowd with few of her Bollywood numbers.
Singer @monalithakur03 stages a scintillating performance at #IPL #KKRvKXIP pic.twitter.com/x1pgKSCzO2
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 13, 2017
The @Shillong_SCC set the ball rolling at the Eden Gardens #IPL #KKRvKXIP - @KKRiders pic.twitter.com/iNyOziqegx
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 13, 2017
New Delhi: It's too early to call, but Kings XI Punjab are in a good shape. They have won both their matches so far, and are up against a strong Kolkata Knight Riders today, at Kolkata.
In its tenth season, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has seen the best and worst of the Punjab franchise, but every year, the so-called kings have always managed to enthrall the crowd, playing good cricket. But, there have always been a big 'but', here and there.
Then, again, they are now the table toppers, with four points from two matches, and a net run rate of +1.598. A win today will give the Glenn Maxwell-led outfit the impetus to press for more, and in the process, take an earnest claim to one of the play-off spots.
Now, as stated above, it's still too early, for them or any other outfit to even think about play-offs. IPL is a long carnival, not the ordinary tournaments which last a week or two.
Coming to the play-offs, Gautam Gambhir's outfit has always been there, fighting for the big title. In fact, they have won the title twice. Indeed, a rare feat. And this season too, they looked good in both the matches, though they ended losing the second match against Mumbai Indians.
Results can be deceiving, and it was what we witnessed in the Mumbai match.
But, tonight's match doesn't have any room for such conjecture; for, both the sides know it too well the enormosity it brings. A win for Punjab, and they extend the lead at the top of IPL table. A lost for them, and they find themselves sharing the lead with others.
For the record, defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians too have four points from two matches. And KKR are also looking for their second win.
Here's everything you need to know about the match:
Likely XIs for today's match:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (C), Robin Uthappa (wk), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Woakes, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Trent Boult.
Kings XI Punjab: Hashim Amla, Manan Vohra, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Glenn Maxwell (C), David Miller, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Varun Aaron, T Natarajan.
When and where to watch the match:
Date & Time: April 13 (Thursday) at 20:00 IST
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
TV Listing: Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD and SET MAX.
Online Streaming: Sony LIV, Hotstar
