IPL 9, Match 13: KXIP v KKR - 5 Talking Points

The Kolkata Knight Riders secured yet another win in the IPL 9 courtesy of the 6-wicket win over a hapless Kings XI Punjab. While the likes of Gautam Gambhir will certainly be one of the happiest players in the KKR side, it is back to the drawing board for the Kings XI. The win witnesses the Knight Riders leapfrog the Gujarat Lions at the first position on the IPL points table while the Kings XI cement their place at the very bottom of the table.

1. KKR spinners on the prowl:

Piyush Chawla and Sunil Narine are the most feared spinners in the IPL at the moment. It is a bonus for the men in purple as both these players play for the Knight Riders. Seven overs from them against a strong Kings XI batting lineup ensured that Gautam Gambhir’s’ side had indeed won the match in the first innings itself. The bowling plan of getting wickets from the pacers in the powerplay has worked wonders. Morne Morkel got the early wicket, setting up the stage perfectly for Chawla and Narine to begin dissecting the KXIP batting lineup. Murali Vijay was the first to go after he failed to pick up the googly from Chawla after which Narine removed the dangerous Wriddhiman Saha and Glenn Maxwell.

2. Murali Vijay stands out of the pack:

While the Kings XI batsmen fell like nine pins, Murali Vijay, and Shaun Marsh were the only players to cross the 13-run threshold. Vijay has the gift of timing, something that has been endorsed by one and all. When he gets going, he is an absolute treat to watch. On the night, he did indeed get going, finding the meat of the bat from the word go. He cracked the ball with relative ease before the spin duo began operating from both ends which put breaks to the innings. Vijay smashed a wonderfully compiled 26 off 22 deliveries before his hard work was undone by the evergreen Piyush Chawla.

3. Return of the King: Shaun Marsh:

Shaun Marsh was the King of the first edition of the IPL. In terms of runs, Marsh was on top of the tree. A few sporadic appearances over eight years and finally, Marsh seemingly is back. This time, he rolled back the years to dig the Kings XI Punjab out of the hole they had dug themselves into. Playing against a quality bowling attack, Marsh showed exemplary temperament and weathered the storm en route to his magnificent half century. Despite constantly losing partners at the other end, Marsh continued on his merry way as the Kings XI Punjab had a respectable total with 138/9 on the board.

4. The Gambhir-Uthappa show – yet again:

As has been said many times, Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa are extremely important to the Kolkata Knight Riders’ cause. While the skipper has hogged much of the limelight, the partnerships these two have stitched have been simply commendable. However, this time, around, it was something different. Uthappa was off the blocks almost instantly as he stroked the frugal KXIP bowling attack missing the fire of Mitchell Johnson. Uthappa needed just 28 deliveries to smash his whirlwind 53 including nine boundaries. Gambhir, as usual, took his time, compiling a steady innings. He played second fiddle to Uthappa’s blitz.

5. KKR finish off contest despite minor setbacks:

The script was crystal clear and written to the last letter. However, the suspense began to add when Gambhir became Pradeep Sahu’s second scalp. The situation officially went into a crisis situation when Axar Patel came on to remove the in-form Manish Pandey and Shakib Al Hasan for 12 and 11 respectively. However, a spirited Suryakumar Yadav and Yusuf Pathan, batting for the first time this season, held their nerve to secure the six-wicket win the Knight Riders so richly deserved.

How did the game pan out? – IPL 9 Match 13, Review: Robin Uthappa sets up an easy win for KKR