Kxip Continue Winning Streak As Kkr’s Top-order Fails Again

Kxip Continue Winning Streak As Kkr’s Top-order Fails Again
Kings XI Punjab continue their winning streak. This was their 5th win on a trot as they defeated KKR comfortably. They now sit on the 4th position in the points table while KKR slips to 5th. KKR’s top order failed yet again and they will now be in a do-or-die situation in their remaining matches.

PERFORMERS OF THE DAY

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS Bat: Shubman Gill 57(45) Eoin Morgan 40(25) Bowl: Varun Chakravarthy 4-0-34-1
KINGS XI PUNJAB Bat: Mandeep Singh 66*(56) Chris Gayle 51(29) Bowl: Mohammed Shami 4-0-35-3 Ravi Bishnoi 4-1-20-2

AS IT HAPPENED

KXIP won the toss and chose to bowl first. Both the teams went into the game with an unchanged eleven. Mayank and Russell were two important players who missed the game. Yet another team won the game chasing.

KKR’s Top Order Woes Continue

KKR and their top order woes continue. An ideal start is what they have been missing since many games now. They have lost 3, 2, 4 and 1 wickets in the powerplay in their last 4 games respectively. KKR is the only team in this year’s IPL to not have an opening stand of 50+.

After Rana got out for a golden duck to Maxwell, Shami rattled their top order by dismissing Tripathi and Karthik in the same over. Credit to some excellent counter-attack by Morgan and Gill that saw KKR make 54/3 in the powerplay.

Spin Chokes KKR
Murugan Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi did well to give away just 47 runs in their 8 overs in a ground like Sharjah. They along with Jordan ensured that Gill, who was the only proper batsman left standing, didn’t get much strike. Gill faced just 9 balls in a span of 6 overs where these three bowled.

Lockie Ferguson provided some momentum towards the end of the innings and scored 24 off 13 balls. He was only the third KKR batsman to pass the double digits barrier. KKR managed a below par total of 149.

No Pressure on The Chasing Team
Chasing a target of 150, KKR bowlers weren’t able to put any pressure on the KXIP batsmen. Rahul and Mandeep formed a good foundation and happily avoided exorbitant risks. They started off slow but with the required run rate well under control, it was never going to be an issue. KXIP were 36/0 after the powerplay. Kxip Continue Winning Streak .

Mandeep Plays an Inspirational Knock

Mandeep Singh lost his father a couple days ago and he opened for Punjab that day against SRH. He couldn’t go big in that game but he capitalised on the opportunity today. It was an inspirational knock by him and it was not lost on Rahul as he was seen applauding him in the time-out.

Rahul couldn’t accelerate after his good start but Gayle took that role and scored 51 from 29 balls. Mandeep hung onto his end and saw his team through. He scored an unbeaten 66 and Punjab won in the 19th over itself.

Kings XI Punjab have now jumped to 4th spot in the points table and their hopes for that playoffs spot is no more off limits. They have an edge over KKR in terms of net run rate. Should both the teams finish with the same points, it will most likely be Punjab who will win that playoffs spot.

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