IPL 2019: Shubman Gill and Chris Lynn take KKR to an emphatic 7-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab

Kolkata Knight Riders kept their playoff hopes of playoffs alive as they defeated Kings XI Punjab by seven wickets in the 52nd match of IPL 2019 played at PCA Stadium, Mohali on Thursday.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik won the toss and decided to field first. It was not a great start for Kings XI Punjab as Sandeep Warrier took the big wickets of KL Rahul and Chris Gayle cheaply.

Nicholas Pooran came to the crease and put pressure on the KKR bowlers with his aggressive batting. At the end of six overs, KXIP were 41 for 2.

After the power play, Pooran and Mayank Agarwal showed their class with some big hitting. It was an amazing display by Pooran who kept smacking boundaries at will.

But Nitish Rana eventually struck, dismissing Pooran for 48. Pooran and Agarwal had added 69 runs for the 3rd wicket.

Agarwal was looking good for a big score but was run out by Rinku Singh for 36. Mandeep Singh and Sam Curran then added 38 runs for the 5th wicket.

Mandeep was dismissed by Harry Gurney for 25, while KXIP captain Ravichandran Ashwin was dismissed for 1. But Curran then took on the bowlers and reached his half century off just 23 balls.

KXIP ended up posting a competitive total of 183 for 6 in 20 overs. It was an incredible performance by Curran who was simply sensational in the last few overs.

Chasing the target of 184 runs, Chris Lynn played with positive intent to immediately put pressure on the KXIP bowlers. Lynn made batting look easy and scored a quickfire 46 runs, before he was dismissed by Andrew Tye.

At the end of six overs, KXIP were 62 for 1.

Shubman Gill and Robin Uthappa played some superb strokes to keep the scoreboard ticking. Ashwin then struck, dismissing Uthappa for 22; Uthappa and Gill had added 38 runs for the 2nd wicket.

Andre Russell came in at number 4 and showed his power with a blistering 24 off 14 balls. At the other end, Gill reached his fifty off 36 balls.

Gill and Russell added 50 runs for the 3rd wicket before Russell holed out. KKR captain Karthik then scored an efficient 21 off 9 balls to help his team register an emphatic 7 wicket win.

Brief scores: KKR 185 for 3 in 18 overs (Shubman Gill 65*, Chris Lynn 46, Mohammed Shami 1/15) beat Kings XI Punjab 183 for 6 in 20 overs (Sam Curran 55*, Nicholas Pooran 48, Sandeep Warrier 2/31) by 7 wickets.