It was a stroll in the park for Kolkata Knight Riders as they marched to an emphatic six-wicket victory over Kings XI Punjab on Tuesday.
KKR’s spin trio – Sunil Narine, Shakib al Hasan and Piyush Chawla – laid the foundation for the win and openers Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa completed the formalities with the bat.
When Kings XI batted, some astute captaincy by Gambhir tilted the game in the Knights’ favour. Just two overs had been completed in Kings XI’s innings when Gambhir went towards his vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav and the duo contemplated bringing on their spinners, since the pacers weren’t getting much help on the Mohali deck.
Gambhir went with his instinct and got Shakib al Hasan bowling the third over of the innings. Shakib didn’t get success straight away but it was a sign of things to come. Knight Riders were going to set a spin trap for the Kings XI batsmen, who duly obliged.
Piyush Chawla (118), in his first over, bowled a sharp spinning leg-break to Shaun Marsh.The Aussie was taken aback by the amount of traction the ball generated and Murali Vijay, who was watching proceedings from the other end, seemed alarmed. Off the fifth ball of the over, Vijay (26 off 22b; 4×4) tried to play one of his favourite shots – the cut -but found his stumps disturbed by a beautifully disguised wrong one.
KKR spinners then tightened the noose. On a comeback trail, Sunil Narine (222) was the pick of the bowlers. His first victim was Wriddhiman Saha, who tried to cut the ball that kept a touch low and the bottom edge was snaffled up by wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa.
The second was Glenn Maxwell, who fell to his own impetuosity. Even before Narine had delivered the ball, Maxwell had taken up the switch-hit position. The canny Narine fired it on middle and leg, and though Maxwell managed to strike the ball, his shot went straight to Chawla at cover point region.
Even Yusuf Pathan, bowling for the first time in the tournament, tasted success. If it had not been for Shaun Marsh’s (56 off 41b; 5×4, 1×6) gritty knock, then Kings XI wouldn’t have reached their eventual total of 1388. The chase was more or less sealed after an 82-run first wicket partnership between Gambhir and Uthappa. While Gambhir (34 off 34b; 3×4) played a steady hand, Uthappa (53 off 28b; 9×4) came out all guns blazing and the duo smashed 65 runs during the Powerplay overs.