IPL 2019: 52nd Match – KXIP vs KKR – Match Report, Turning Point of the Match, Scorecard
May 4, 2019 at 11:15 AM
Kolkata Knight Riders cruised to a comfortable win against Kings XI Punjab in the 52nd match of the IPL 2019 to keep themselves alive in the season. The visitors chased down a par total of 184 with seven wickets in hands and had two overs left in the bank. Shubman Gill scored a fine fifty combined with good cameos from Chris Lynn and Andre Russell. Thus, Kolkata Knight Riders are still in contention to make their way into the last four but they would be cheering for Royal Challengers Bangalore to win against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Turning Point of the Match:
Kolkata Knight Riders got off to a flying start as Chris Lynn and Shubman Gill added 62 runs in the first six overs. It was a much-needed start for KKR as they were chasing an imposing target of 184.
IPL 2019: Kolkata Knight Riders Innings:
The visitors catapulted their innings in the top gear as Chris Lynn and Shubman Gill was able to attack. The Australian batsman was the aggressor as the combative right-hander scored 46 runs from 22 balls with the help of five fours and three sixes. Thus, the tourists added 62 runs in the powerplay overs to begin their run-chase on the right path.
However, Lynn could not time a length ball from Andrew Tye and the bowler took a good return catch. Subsequently, the experienced Robin Uthappa was sent at number three. Uthappa once again got off to a good start but failed to convert it into a substantial score.
The flamboyant batsman could not clear Mayank Agarwal at the long-off position when he decided to take on Ravichandran Ashwin. In the meantime, Shubman Gill was holding up one end and brought up his 4th IPL fifty, which was his third of the current season.
Andre Russell once again looked threatening as he swung hard from the word go. In fact, the hard-hitter gave a chance to Mayank Agarwal but the Karnataka player could not hang on to a simple catch. The drop didn’t prove to be costly for the hosts as Russell was dismissed in the next over when he mistimed his pull shot to Andrew Tye. However, the equation was still simple for the tourists as they required 24 runs from the last 21 balls.
IPL 2019: KXIP Innings:
The hosts could not get off to a good start as they lost two early wickets of their in-form openers Chris Gayle and KL Rahul. The right-hander was flummoxed by a slower delivery from Sandeep Warrier. The right-handed fast bowler had another big fish in his web when Chris Gayle found Shubman Gill on the leg-side boundary.
Subsequently, a good partnership was the need of the hour for the Punjab side. Nicholas Pooran and Mayank Agarwal were able to hit the ground running with the former playing the aggressive role. Both the batsman added a good alliance of 69 runs in quick time. Meanwhile, Nicholas Pooran scored a fine knock of 48 runs from 27 balls with the help of three fours and four sixes. The left-hander innings was put paid by part-timer Nitish Rana when the Caribbean batsman found Sandeep Warrier at cow corner.
Consequently, the hosts lost two of their wickets in quick succession which took a blow at their run-rate. Meanwhile, Sam Curran who was drafted back into the playing XI in place of David Miller was able to add the finishing touches to the side.
Sam Curran added the finishing touches.
The southpaw batsman who has impressed with his compact technique was able to hit the ground running. The England left-hander completed his maiden IPL fifty off just 23 balls and finished with a quickfire 24-ball 55 with the help of seven fours and two sixes.
The prodigy batsman scored 22 runs from the last over of Harry Gurney and smashed his England teammate for three fours and one six in the 20th over. On the other hand, Sandeep Warrier was the pick of the Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers as he scalped two wickets and conceded only 31 runs in his four overs. Furthermore, Andre Russell, Harry Gurney and Nitish Rana scalped one wicket each.