Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders cruise to 8-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab.



Kolkata Knight Riders 127 for 2 (Gambhir 66*) beat Kings XI Punjab 124 for 7 (Gilchrist 40*, Lee 2-26, Narine 2-24) by eight wickets.

Kolkata Knight Riders eased to an 8-wicket win with 21 balls to spare against hosts Kings XI Punjab at Mohali. It was a one-side contest at the PCA Stadium after the visitors had restricted the Kings XI Punjab to 124 for 7. KKR have picked up their third victory of the tournament playing six games so far.

 Batting first after winning the toss, Kings XI Punjab lost their momentum when Skipper Adam Gilchrist had to retire hurt after pulling his hamstring while completing a single in the 6th over. The hosts then stuttered losing the key wickets of Shaun Marsh and David Hussey without causing much damage to find themselves at 87 for 4 in the 15th over. Gilchrist returned to the crease in the 17th over to finish at an unbeaten 40 from 30 balls with 3 fours and a six. His side struggled to get any big overs to end with a below par 124 for 7. Brett Lee and Sunil Narine took two wickets each for KKR.

It was an easy run chase for KKR with Skipper Gautam Gambhir scoring a fluent 66* from 44 balls with 7 fours and a six. Jacques Kallis finished the match with him on an unbeaten 30 from 23 balls with 2 fours and a six. Gambhir got the Man of the Match award for his 66*.

None of the Kings XI batsmen could bat through. Adam Gilchrist kept the momentum going with a couple of boundaries through the on side, but pulled a hamstring while completing a quick single. He had to retire, and his untimely departure in the sixth over dented the run-rate.

 Kings XI were going along at 7.50 but post-Gilchrist, it had declined to as low as 5.93. The Knight Riders bowlers didn't allow any big partnerships to develop, nothing higher than 24.