Mohali, May 8:
A play-offs spot having sealed after a resounding victory in their previous match, Kolkata Knight Riders would aim for a top-two finish with a win when they take on an inconsistent Kings XI Punjab in an IPL match here tomorrow.
KKR bounced back from their back-to-back defeats when they registered an easy six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru yesterday.
The Gautam Gambhir-led side are now at second spot in the league table with 16 points from 12 matches with the help of eight wins and they would look to consolidate their position with a win over Kings XI, who suffered a six-wicket defeat to Gujarat Lions last night.
KKR showed why they are one of the strongest teams in this IPL when they inflicted a humiliating defeat on bottom place RCB.
Chasing a modest 159 for victory yesterday, KKR made it easy, racing to 105 for no loss in just six overs, for a record IPL powerplay total.
They achieved the target with 29 balls to spare on the back of Sunil Narine’s (54 off 17 balls) record joint fastest IPL fifty — from 15 balls — and an equally aggressive knock from Chris Lynn (50 off 22 balls).
After the match, Gambhir said that 105 in six overs was unbelievable and it was the best partnership he had seen in his entire career.
KKR will, however, need to watch out in so far as they have been cashing in on the hit-and-miss experiment of using Narine at the top. When Narine gets going, there was no stopping them as more often than not Gambhir and Robin Uthappa have capitalised on the solid starts given by the West Indian. (PTI)
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