Punjab steal a thriller
Kings XI Punjab beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 2 runs in a thrilling IPL match in Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan could not replicate his heroics in the previous match against Rajasthan Royals, bowling tidily for figures of one for 26, before being caught and bowled for just 4 by Punjab leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.
In chase of a modest 135, Kolkata started reasonably well reaching 73 for 2 in the twelfth over with Manvinder Bisla and Manoj Tiwary going well after the early wicket of Jacques Kallis. But four quick wickets followed for just 15 runs as Chawla and Bhargav Bhatt got among the wickets. From 88 for five Debabrata Das and Ryan ten Doeschate carried Kolkata to within 13 of the target off the last two overs. But Praveen Kumar bowled an excellent penultimate over, conceding only four runs, and things became harder for Kolkata when Doeschate was bowled by Harmeet Singh off the third ball of the final over. With seven required off three balls, a boundary was needed but new man Rajat Bhatia could manage only a twoand a single, leaving Das to face the last ball with three needed. A wild swing towards midwicket only yielded a single.
Earlier, mystery off-spinner Sunil Narine foxed Punjab with a brilliant five-for that helped the Riders restrict the visitors to 134 for nine.
Put into bat, Kings XI batsmen failed to read Narine's deliveries as the Trinidad spinner had figures of 4-0-19-5 to show for his efforts.
The Trinidad spinner, after being introduced in the third over took two prized scalps of Adam Gilchrist and an in-form Shaun Marsh in two overs to dent the Kings XI progress.
Gilchrist along with his new opening partner Mandeep Singh started positively with the duo racing to 14 for no loss in two overs but Narine's spell cost them dear as they were reduced to 21/2 in 4.2 overs.
Kallis did a fine job, rather quietly, at the other end, conceding 11 from his three overs to further unsettle the visitors' plan.
In between, Rajat Bhatia did an excellent job with his slow medium pace returning with two for 14 in the slog overs as the Kings XI boys struggled to find a partnership going.
Narine returned to haunt the visitors in the 18th over, picking two wickets as his difficult off-spin with an intelligent mix of the wrong ones foxed the Kings XI batting.
Promoted to the opening slot in place of Valthaty, Mandeep Singh was their top scorer with 38 from 34 balls as he stitched a crucial 52-run third wicket partnership with David Hussey who scored 32 off 31 balls.
SCORES IN BRIEF
KINGS XI PUNJAB: 134 for 9 (Singh 38, Hussey 32; Narine 5-19, Bhatia 2-14, Shakib 1-26)
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS: 132 for 7 (Das 35 not out, Bisla 27, Gambhir 22, Tiwary 20; Chawla 3-18, Bhatt 2-24)
Result: Kings XI Punjab won by 2 runs.
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