The bowlers worked together and Sunil Narine’s brilliant fifty-run knock helped Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Lucknow Super Giants by 98 runs.
In the Indian Premier League at Ekana Cricket Stadium on Sunday, Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Lucknow Super Giants by 98 runs thanks to a brilliant fifty-run score from Sunil Narine and a team effort from the bowlers. LSG’s intention to bowl first was thwarted when KKR became the first team to reach the 200-run milestone at the Ekana stadium. Narine (81 off 38 balls) demonstrated his value with the willow once more by going on a six-hitting rampage, smashing seven maximums and six fours to lead the visitors to 235/6.
As the LSG batsmen attempted to chase a formidable score, they were forced to bat first. However, they struggled to get big smashes and were eventually bowled out for 137 in 16.1 overs.
Captain KL Rahul (25), Arshin Kulkarni (9), Deepak Hooda (5), and heavy hitters Marcus Stoinis (36) and Nicholas Pooran (10), along with half of the LSG team, were gone in the first ten overs.
Varun Chakravarthy completed a caught and bowled after Ashton Turner delivered some powerful strokes and appeared eager to display his batting prowess. The Australian was extremely unfortunate as an inside edge ricocheted off his boot.
After winning, KKR ascended to the top of the standings. Despite playing one extra game, they have the same number of points (16) as the Rajasthan Royals.
Conversely, LSG fell to fifth place with 12 points from 11 games, dropping out of the top four. Their Net Run Rate plummeted from 0.094 to -0.371, likewise suffering greatly.
Prior to being dropped twice in the space of two balls, the form Narine hit five boundaries in five balls, laying the foundation for the KKR innings.
In the final two balls of the third over, he hit back-to-back fours against Naveen-ul-Haq. After that, he went after the offside, hitting three boundaries in as many overs against Mohsin Khan.
As expected from their dynamic duo, Narine and Phil Salt (32) provided the two-time winners with a blazing start. They quickly racked up 61 runs together, but Naveen-ul Haq quickly removed the pace off the ball and dismissed the Englishman.
Yash Thakur, a medium pacer, then controlled the run-flow in the last over of the powerplay, conceding only two runs to help KKR reach 70/1.
The unfazed Narine, though, carried on with his assault and reached his fifty off 27 deliveries with a sly late dab that drove the ball past short third.
He had a special fondness for Marcus Stoinis, as seen by the three times he hit the ball over the fence in the eleventh over.
Nevertheless, Narine’s incredible effort came to an end when Ravi Bishnoi, whose bowling had previously seen two previous dismissals, struck third time around.
The LSG spinners continued to take wickets and contained the KKR batsmen.
Andre Russell(12) was removed by Naveen-ul Haq, and in the following over, Yudhvir Singh (a concussion substitute for Mohsin Khan) removed young Angkrish Raghuvanshi (32).
As Thakur dismissed Shreyas Iyer (23), the Afghan pacer returned to action to trap the big-hitting Rinku Singh (16).
However, KKR passed the 230-run barrier thanks to Ramandeep Singh’s unbeaten 25 from 6 balls.
