IPL 2018, KKR vs KXIP: 5 Talking Points 

After being put into bat by Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders got off to a good start despite losing Sunil Narine early.

Chris Lynn roared back into form with a superb 41-ball 74. Robin Uthappa looked good for his 34 while Dinesh Karthik’s 43 helped KKR post 191 in their 20 overs.

Like the previous games, KXIP were off to a wonderful start as KL Rahul and Chris Gayle smashed the KKR bowlers all around the Eden Gardens and put on 96 before rain halted play.

More than 90 minutes were lost to rain but once the game resumed, it was reduced to 13-overs and KXIP were set a revised target of 125.

Rahul and Gayle came and continued from where they left off as they polished off the chase with ease to give KXIP their fourth win of the season.

This win helped KXIP move to the top of the points table.

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#5 KXIP try to review against a no-ball

Andrew Tye was clearly unhappy with the no-ball decision

After Narine was dismissed early by Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Lynn and Uthappa brought Kolkata Knight Riders back on track. The duo had helped KKR go from 10/1 in two overs to 42/1 in five overs.

Andrew Tye was introduced into the attack in the sixth over of the innings. He started with a full delivery which was driven for a single but the umpire raised his arm to signal a no-ball.

However, replays showed that Tye had some part of his heel behind the crease and the Aussie quick understandably was not amused.

He even wanted to review that no-ball decision as he signalled the ‘T-sign’ to the umpire. However, there was no review as the game went on despite the KXIP players disappointed with the umpiring howler.

But the free-hit didn’t cost Punjab much as Tye bowled a good yorker as Lynn drilled it to long-on for a single.

#4 Lynn finds form while Uthappa wastes another start

Lynn was in total control during his innings

Lynn has been struggling with injury issues in recent times. He’s had a lot of shoulder problems and has had a couple of surgeries which has resulted in him missing quite a lot of cricket.

After returning from yet another shoulder injury, he struggled in the first few games of this IPL.

Despite getting starts, he struggled for most parts of his innings. It was very unlike Lynn as he also had low strike-rates in these first few games.

But in this game, he found his rhythm and touch. He smashed the KXIP bowlers all around the park as the Brisbane batsman scored a superb 74 in 41 balls. He struck six fours and four sixes as he helped KKR provide a perfect platform for a big finish.

Along with Lynn, it was Uthappa who led KKR’s charge with the bat. The Karnataka-born batsman has been in sublime touch but hasn’t converted his starts.

In this game, he failed to convert yet another start as he scored a fluent 23-ball 34. He once again looked sublime in his 23-ball knock.

He hit Rahman for three consecutive fours to help KKR kick-start their innings after the early loss of Narine.

But the 32-year-old fell trying to clear the mid-wicket boundary against Ashwin.

#3 KKR falter at the death

Karthik scored 43 as he took KKR to 191

The last few games have followed a certain pattern. Teams batting first have got off to a flying start and looked good for a big score.

But they have faltered towards the death and have ended up with a few runs short. And this game was not too different from the last few games.

Despite losing wickets, KKR were looking really good at the end of 15 overs as KKR were 146/3.

With Lynn and Karthik set and Andre Russell still to come, the hosts looked good for 200. However, Lynn was dismissed in the 16th over. But Karthik continued to score runs freely and it was his dismissal that put the brakes on KKR’s scoring.

Despite a 17-run 18th over, KKR scored 45 runs in the last five overs as KXIP snatched the momentum away from the hosts. It kept KKR down to 191 as KKR looked at least 15 runs short.

#2 Gayle, Rahul once again set the stage on fire

Gayle and Rahul were once again destructive

One of the main reasons for KXIP’s success has been their in-form openers. In the first two games, Rahul provided with fast starts but the introduction of Gayle has worked wonders for Punjab. The Rahul-Gayle opening combo has helped KXIP get off to flying starts.

In this game, chasing 192, the visitors needed a good start and they got that from the lethal duo of Rahul and Gayle. Rahul began with four boundaries off his first four deliveries while the West Indian opener hit just one four in his first six deliveries.

But it was the third over that Gayle got going with a couple of boundaries and a couple of sixes in consecutive overs.

KXIP once again got off to a flying start as they got to 73/0 in the first six overs. The carnage continued after the powerplay as well as the Rahul-Gayle duo took the KKR bowlers to the cleaners. Just before rain stopped play KXIP had raced off to 96/0 in 8.2 overs.

#1 KXIP go the top of the points table after rain reduces the game to 13 overs

The groundstaff did a wonderful job to get the ground ready in time

After the auction this year, KXIP for the first time in the last few years looked really strong. On paper, they had one of the best teams in the competition.

They started off with a bang as they comprehensively beat Delhi Daredevils before going down fighting against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

But they were back to winning ways as they beat Chennai Super Kings by four runs before handing Sunrisers their first loss.

In this game, after coming back well at the death with the ball, the KXIP openers once again got them off to a flier. Gayle and Rahul put on 96 in just 50 deliveries before rain halted KXIP’s chase of 192.

There was heavy rain for almost 40 minutes which resulted in play stopping for more than one and a half hours.

However, after the groundsmen did a terrific job in getting the ground ready, the game was reduced to 13 overs and the target was revised to 125.

Rahul and Gayle who were batting in their 40s completed their respective half-tons and took KXIP to a comfortable win.

Rahul scored a 27-ball 60 before he was dismissed with KXIP on the cusp of victory. On the other hand, Gayle struck his third successive 50+ score as he remained unbeaten on 62.

This win helped KXIP jump to the top of the points table as they now have four wins out of their five games.

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