IPL 2018: Match 44, KXIP v KKR: Kolkata Knight Riders Thump KXIP By 31 Runs in Indore

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) kept their hopes alive in the 44^th match of the tournament by defeating Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) by 31 runs. It was a sensational batting performance by Kolkata which helped them register their sixth victory in the competition.

Kolkata needed the victory badly. It was a sensational knock from the blade of Sunil Narine which proved to be decisive for posting a mammoth total.

Skipper Dinesh Karthik also played a brilliant knock as he scored another half-century (50 off 23) to propel Kolkata to 245 for six in their allotted 20 overs. It is the highest score in the tournament so far.

Punjab got off to a brilliant star. KL Rahul scored yet another half-century which got Punjab off to a flying start.

However, the target proved to be way too much for Punjab. In the end, Kolkata ended up on the winning side.

It was Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin, who won the toss and put Kolkata in. However, Ashwin would have ruined the decision as Kolkata scored the highest total in the tournament.

Andre Russell also smashed a couple of fours and three sixes during his brief stay in the innings. He scored 31 off 14 balls. The run rate never went down and Kolkata was pushing for a score of more than 250.

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It was just superb hitting by the Kolkata batsmen. The Punjab bowlers were all over the park. Almost, all the batsmen provided the much-needed strokeplay which never really allowed Punjab to bring the run rate down.

Andrew Tye was the pick of the Punjab bowlers who bagged four wickets. However, he also went for 41 runs in four overs. It was always going to be a very difficult target for Punjab. They needed to score the highest total in the ongoing competition to win the game.

Punjab needed a great start, to begin with. Openers KL Rahul and Chris Gayle got them off to a pretty steady start. Rahul, in particular, continued his rich vein of form and smashed yet another half-century.

The duo of Rahul and Gayle shared a fluent partnership for the opening wicket which was quite essential if Punjab needed to chase the total down.

Rahul smashed a couple of fours and seven sixes during his knock of 66 off just 29 deliveries. Ravichandran Ashwin played a brilliant knock of 45 towards the end of the innings. He smashed three fours and four sixes during his brisk innings.

However, the target was way too much as they eventually fell short by 31 runs.

Brief Scores:

Kolkata Knight Riders 245/6 in 20 overs (Sunil Narine 75, Dinesh Karthik 50, Andrew Tye 4/41)

Kings XI Punjab 214/8 in 20 overs (Lokesh Rahul 66, Ravichandran Ashwin 45, Andre Russell 3/41, Prasidh Krishna 2/31)

Kolkata Knight Riders won by 31 runs.

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