IPL 10, Match 49, KXIP v KKR Review: Lynn's heroics went in vain as some great death bowling gave KXIP a crucial win

Kolkata Knight Riders visited Kings XI Punjab at the PCA Stadium in Mohali for the 49th match of the season. As the league enters its business end, every game becomes crucial and this was one such game where both sides were seeking a win. KXIP needed a win to stay alive in the league whereas KKR were looking to affirm their position at the top. But the hosts did not let KKR get an easy victory and fought till the end that gave them a crucial victory.

The visitors won the toss and asked KXIP to have a bat. The openers Martin Guptill and Manan Vohra provided a decent start and especially the latter struck some delightful boundaries. Vohra was looking set to get a big score but his stay at the crease was ended by a bouncer from Umesh Yadav that took the glove of the batsman and ended into the gloves of the keeper. Vohra went back after scoring 25 off 16 balls and was soon followed back to the pavilion by Guptill courtesy Sunil Narine as they moved to 41/2 at the end of the powerplay.

Shaun Marsh who had come in at number 3, took his time initially but came to the fore with back to back boundaries off de Grandhomme in the 8th over. But a beautiful in-dipper from Chris Woakes dismantled his stumps and he was forced to make the long walk back for 11 off 10 balls. The skipper Glenn Maxwell walked in to join Wriddhiman Saha in the middle and the duo focussed on rebuilding the innings after the 3 quick losses. Both were watchful at the start but Maxwell launched de Grandhomme for 2 consecutive sixes in the 12th over to get going.

They brought up the fifty partnership in the 15th over and resurrected the innings. Maxwell went berserk in the 16th over and smashed Kuldeep Yadav for 2 back to back sixes. He looked to go for the third one as well but the bowler smartly bowled the googly outside off that induced a top edge from the batsman as he was caught on the long-off boundary for 44 off 25 balls that included a four and 4 sixes. Saha too looked to up the ante but lost his wicket in the process in the 18th to Kuldeep for 38 off 33 balls with 2 fours and a six.

Swapnil Singh became the second victim of Woakes as he fell in the penultimate over. But Rahul Tewatia played a useful cameo during the dying stages of the innings and his 15 off 8 balls propelled the KXIP score to a fighting 167/6 after the end of 20 overs. It was a score that didn’t look enough against the strong batting line-up of KKR but the bowlers had something to bowl at.

The KKR innings began with the usual flare of Sunil Narine as he struck 2 boundaries off the first 2 balls. Chris Lynn too joined in the act and hit a four to collect 14 runs off the first over. The onslaught from the duo continued as they took the score to 31 after 3 overs. Narine was facing up to Mohit Sharma in the 4th over and hit him for 2 consecutive fours but the bowler made a terrific comeback and dismantled the stumps of the batsman courtesy a slower delivery as the West Indian walked back for 18 off 10 balls.

Narine’s wicket didn’t make any difference to Lynn as continued on his merry way. He kept hammering sixes and fours and the score was boosted to 61/1 after 6 overs. Gautam Gambhir who was struggling to time the ball lost his wicket in a bid to clear the fence and held out to deep mid-wicket boundary off the bowling of Rahul Tewatia. The leg-spinner bagged another one in the same over as this time it was Robin Uthappa who was caught on the boundary for a duck. After 10 overs, they were tottering at 79/3.

The spinners bowled some tight overs in the middle and brought KXIP back into the game. Lynn was holding the fort alone and went past his fifty. Manish Pandey at the other end was struggling to find the big shots and as a result, the required run rate kept climbing and they found themselves needing 37 off the last 3 overs. Matt Henry who had gone for plenty thus far, came in to bowl the 18th over and removed Pandey off the first ball for 18 off 23 balls. KKR then suffered a body blow when Lynn was run-out in the same over courtesy an accurate throw from Axar from the boundary. The Australian went back after scoring 84 off just 52 balls with 8 fours and 3 sixes.

The equation kept getting tougher as they needed 29 off the last 2. Yusuf Pathan lost his wicket off the first ball of the penultimate over off Mohit Sharma. A six from Woakes in the over meant that they needed 20 from the last. Sandeep Sharma then bowled a wonderful last over and executed his yorkers perfectly and gave away just 5 runs that meant KXIP won the match 14 runs and bagged the important 2 points to keep their campaign alive.

Brief Scores:

Kings XI Punjab: 167/6 in 20 overs (Glenn Maxwell 44; Chris Woakes 2/20, Kuldeep Yadav 2/34)

Kolkata Knight Riders: 153/6 in 20 overs (Chris Lynn 84; Rahul Tewatia 1/18, Mohit Sharma 2/34)

Check out – Full scorecard here

Check out – Full points table here