Riding on some unbelievable batting by Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn, Kolkata Knight Riders hammered Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets on Sunday (May 7) to all but seal their place in this year’s playoffs.
After suffering defeats in their last two matches, the two-time Indian Premier League champions were in dire need of getting back to winning ways to get their campaign on track and Gautam Gambhir’s men responded in style. First, the bowlers managed to restrict the Royal Challengers’ star-studded batting lineup for 158 for 6 before the new opening combination of Sunil Narine and Chris Gayle wreaked havoc at a stunned M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The onslaught by Lynn and Narine began in the first over of the chase as Lynn took 14 runs, two fours and a six, off the Aniket Chaudhary over. The second over went for four runs but Lynn broke the shackles again in the next over, hitting a couple of fours and a six. Narine joined the party soon and hit Samuel Badree for three consecutive sixes. The West Indian did not look back once he got into the groove and completed his maiden IPL fifty in just 15 balls- the joint-fastest fifty in the history of the tournament.
On the other hand, Lynn also made a stunning comeback from the long injury layoff as he completed his second fifty of this season in just 21 balls.
The Knight Riders openers put on an astonishing 105 runs from just 6.1 overs as the visitors chased down the target of 159 in a jiffy. They romped home with over 4 overs remaining.
The win over the Royal Challengers was Kolkata’s eighth of the season and has put them in a good position for the play-offs berth with 16 points from 12 matches. Gautam Gambhir’s men have now moved up to the second spot in the points table.
Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan, the team owner, congratulated his team and the two openers in his own unique style. The Bollywood superstar took to Twitter to heap praise on Kolkata’s new opening combination.
Referencing to his film ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’ where his character’s name was Sunil and fellow actor Deepak Tijori’s character was Chris, a delighted Shah Rukh Khan tweeted:”After Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa in ’94, Sunil n Chris come together to make 105… well played boys! Ami KKR…”
After Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa in '94, Sunil n Chris come together to make 105… well played boys! Ami KKR… pic.twitter.com/30JSbFaqVE
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) May 7, 2017