IPL 2018, KKR vs KXIP: 3 reasons why Kolkata Knight Riders lost

It was a match between the two first-time skippers, leading their side in this year's IPL as Kolkata Knight Riders were raring to go against the formidable Kings XI Punjab at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Following the trend, KKR were put into bat as they registered 191 runs in their 20 overs for the loss of seven wickets.

The Kings, in the quest to chase the target, came to all guns blazing with their openers getting them off to a flier.

It was just a matter of time before the home team succumbed to defeat in a rain-curtailed match after Punjab required just 125 runs in 13 overs.

Let's take a look at some of the reasons that propelled the loss for Kolkata Knight Riders:

---

#1 Economical death over bowling by KXIP bowlers

The death bowling by the KXIP bowlers was incredible

After some recovery in the middle overs courtesy a fifty plus knock from Chris Lynn and some elegant boundaries from the skipper Dinesh Karthik, Kings XI Punjab bowlers seemed to pull things back to prevent the home team to go anything big in the final five overs.

At one stage, a target that looked inching towards 210-215, Kings managed to take the prized scalp of the big hitter in Andre Russell before he could unleash his shots.

The comeback was possible riding on the back of Barinder Sran and Andrew Tye, as the duo didn't allow easy runs and picked wickets at crucial junctures to stop Knight Riders at 191.

#2 Routing the KKR bowlers in the first six overs

Gayle and Rahul got off to a flier

Chasing 192 to win, the men in red got off to a flier as the duo of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul continued their form from the previous encounter.

It was a treat to watch some exciting cricketing shots as the bowlers were routed all over the park.

They made full use of the powerplay restrictions to stroke runs at a rate of more than 12. It was some brutal batting on display as Rahul smashed a quick fiery 46 and remained unbeaten with Gayle on 49 before rain stopped play in the match.

#3 Batting failures for big guns

Russell was not at his destructive best today

KKR always found it difficult to get a good score in their first innings considering the loss of wickets at regular intervals.

The failure of big guns and their consistent performers in the previous matches came as a setback for the home team.

The run-out of Nitish Rana and Russell's inability to fire in the end made it impossible for Kolkata to score runs in excess of 200 runs.

The lower order crumble in the death overs, thus became the prevailing reason for low DLS par score in the end for Kings XI.

---

Our tournament homepage has IPL live score, Match Analysis, Detailed Stats, Fantasy Tips, Controversies, Match Predictions and much more. Bookmark it now!