IPL 2018: Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine Clinch a Comfortable Win for Kolkata Knight Riders
Published - 04 May 2018, 02:23 AM | Updated - 22 Aug 2024, 11:51 PM
Kolkata Knight Riders (KK) won their fifth match of the season while beating Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by six wickets and with 14 balls to spare. The young sensation Shubman Gill and skipper Dinesh Karthik were the architects of the Kolkata’s chase of 178 runs.
Consequently, Men in Purple has continued their fine form while chasing in their home ground of Eden Gardens.
Interestingly, the Kolkata franchise has now won 14 matches out of the 15 when they bat second at their fortress.
Sunil Narine once again did the job for KKR.
Meanwhile, all the top order batsman of the Super Kings were able to get off to a good start but none of them were able to get past the 40-run mark.
Chennai skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni once again provided the finishing touches to the Men in Yellow to shot the target to 177 runs.
However, the visitors were sloppy in the field. Kolkata opener Sunil Narine was dropped twice by Chennai’s best fielder Ravindra Jadeja in the same over bowled by KM Asif.
Dhoni also admitted the fact they were not at the top of their game in the field and some 10-15 runs would have helped.
Narine was once again right on the money as he scalped two wickets and conceded only 20 runs in his quota of four overs.
Kolkata’s opener Narine was also able to chip in with 32 runs off 20 balls after getting lucky early on in his inning.
For Kolkata, Gill scored his maiden IPL fifty as the 18-year old announced himself at the big stage. The youngster scored quality shots in his knock.
Well, what was more impressive in Gill’s inning was his timing. The Under-19 Man of the Series batsman wasn’t trying to hit the ball as he focused on getting his timing right.
Gill was also able to pierce the gaps which eventually grabbed the eyeballs.
Knight Riders captain Karthik took the pressure if there was any from the shoulders of the young lad.
The wicketkeeper-batsman scored a quickfire 45 off just 18 balls to help take his side over the finishing line.
Well, it was a fine team performance from the home side as they at the top of their game to beat a quality team like CSK.
Kolkata Knight Riders will now take on reigning champions Mumbai Indians on May 6 at latter’s home ground of Wankhede Stadium.
Concluding, it would be interesting to see how Karthik will utilize Shubman Gill after such a remarkable performance.
Also, Read: IPL 2018: Enjoying My Game With Good Performances, Says MoM Sunil Narine