Kings XI Punjab pulled off an incredible 2-run win against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens despite putting up only 134 on the board. Leggie Piyush Chawla was the hero for the Kings XI Punjab striking thrice and giving away only 18 runs in his 4 overs. Chawla took the key wickets of Manvinder Bisla, Yusuf Pathan and Shakib Al Hasan.
Left arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt complemented Chawla at the other end with 2 for 24 runs in his four overs. When it really mattered, Harmeet Singh with his slower ones ensured that Kings XI won the contest as KKR failed to get the 9 runs to win from the final over.
KKR were off to a sound foundation at 73 for 3 in the 12th over but messed it up to get reduced to 88 for 6 in the 15th over. Just when KKR seemed to have lost any chances, came a superb knock of 35* (from 23 balls with 3 fours and a six) by Debabrata Das. However, KKR struggled to finish the match with Praveen Kumar giving away only four runs in the penultimate over and then Harmeet Singh bowling a tight final over. Sunil Narine whose 5 for 19 for KKR went in vain got the Man of the Match award.
Narine 5-wkt haul keeps Kings XI down to 134
West Indian off spinner Sunil Narine grabbed dream figures of 5 for 19 in 4 overs to help hosts KKR to restrict Kings XI Punjab to 134 for 9. It was a struggle for the Kings XI Punjab after they lost the wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh early.
Sunil Narine along with Rajat Bhatia (4-0-14-2) strangled the Kings XI Punjab completely. Towards the end, a couple of sixes got Kings XI Punjab to a competitive total on what is a turning pitch at the Eden Gardens. The top scorer for Kings XI Punjab was opener Mandeep Singh with 38 (from 34 balls with 3 fours and a six) followed up by David Hussey who scored 32 (from 31 balls with a four and a six).
Toss and Teams: Hosts Kolkata Knight Riders have won the toss and asked Kings XI Punjab to bat first at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. In form bowler L Balaji has been rested by the KKR and in his place comes left arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat. For the Kings XI, left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt replaces Parvinder Awana.
Kolkata Knight Riders: MS Bisla (Wicket Keeper), G Gambhir (Captain), JH Kallis, MK Tiwary, YK Pathan, RN ten Doeschate, Shakib Al Hasan, R Bhatia, DB Das, SP Narine, JD Unadkat
Kings XI Punjab: AC Gilchrist (Captain & Wicket Keeper), P Dogra, DJ Hussey, SE Marsh, Mandeep Singh, AD Mascarenhas, Bipul Sharma, PP Chawla, Harmeet Singh, P Kumar, BA Bhatt
