Kolkata Knight Riders 164/3 (20/20 ov)
Kings XI Punjab 157/9 (20.0/20 ov)
Kolkata Knight Riders won by 7 runs
Kolkata Knight Riders clung on to defeat Kings XI Punjab by seven runs at Eden Gardens on Wednesday evening to move to the top of the Indian Premier League table.
Having been put in to bat by Punjab, Kolkata’s Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir quickly established a strong opening partnership, with Uthappa hitting 70 and Gambhir 54.
However, a slightly below-average run rate of 8.20 meant that they could only set a reachable target on 164-3.
All three Kolkata wickets were run-outs.
It was a different story at the start of Punjab's innings as Murali Vijay, Marcus Stoinis and Manan Vorha all went with only six runs between them, and they were 13 for three in the fourth over.
Thankfully for them, Glenn Maxwell answered the call and smacked 68 off 42 balls to get the chase back on track.
However, once he was removed, and despite a late cameo from Axar Patel (21), the visitors came up seven runs short.
Kolkata had Andre Russell to thank for doing most of the damage with the ball, accounting for four wickets in the final three overs, including three in the last five balls.
“We didn’t start well and for Maxwell to put on a knock like that was unbelievable,” Punjab captain Vijay told Star Sports.
“Axar got run out at the wrong time but there are a lot of positives for us to take.
“Our bowlers were up to the mark and Sandeep [Sharma] has been excellent, but we needed a strong start with the bat.
“The momentum is with us and we’re looking to take that forward.”
Russell was the pick of the Kolkata bowlers, taking 4-20.
“I love to play here, the fans here are amazing,” Russell said. “Well done to me. We bowled like champions.”
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