IPL 2018: Match 44, KXIP vs KKR – Most Valuable and Liable Player of the game

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) tried their best to make up for the biggest defeat ever in the previous match with a record total in the game against Kings XI. KKR batsmen were all over the home team bowlers at the Holkar Stadium that is known for its short boundaries. A collective batting show helped them finish with 245/6; 22 more than their previous highest total in the IPL. Kings XI Punjab fell way short of the KKR’s total with only KL Rahul and their captain Ravi Ashwin playing knocks of substance.

Andre Russell had a couple of quite matches against Mumbai Indians (MI) where his team ended up on the losing side. He produced a solid performance with both bat and ball in crucial moments tonight to turn the match KKR’s way. He scored a 14-ball 31 with five boundaries after they lost two set batsmen in the middle overs.

With the ball, Russell sent back the dangerous Chris Gayle cheaply and took three wickets in the four overs he bowled. He was the Most Valuable Player of the match earning a value of 1 crore as per the CricTracker’s Player Value algorithm. Mayank Agarwal was the Liable Player of the match for bagging a golden duck.

Andrew Tye continues to don the purple cap with his 2nd consecutive four-wicket haul but Kings XI Punjab lost on both the occasions. He was the team’s Most Valuable Player as he earned a value of 92 lakhs for his performance. Sunil Narine’s 36-ball 75 while opening the innings was a game-changing knock for the Knight Riders. His match performance was valued at 96.5 lakhs slightly behind Russell’s match value. Piyush Chawla returned with the lowest value among the KKR players as he bowled only two overs for 16 runs.

Karun Nair didn’t make any difference to the scoreboard like his Karnataka team-mate Mayank. Nair scored only three runs earning him a low value of 1.5 lakhs. Mujeeb Ur Rahman got injured while bowling his 2nd over which made a difference to the KXIP’s bowling attack. He was taken for 21 runs in the only over he bowled after returning on to the field. He conceded 28 runs in the 2.2 overs he bowled that earned him a match value of only 2 lakhs.