Twitter Reactions: Shubman Gill and Lynn overcome Sam Curran-inspired KXIP in Mohali to keep KKR alive

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) registered their second win on the trot and have managed to stay alive in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season. It was a clinical performance from the visitors against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). Though at the halfway stage, it felt as if Sam Curran had just done enough with his blitzkrieg, Shubman Gill and other KKR batsmen made light work of the steep chase in the end.

Chris Lynn and Shubman Gill were cautious in the first three overs with the KXIP pacers hitting decent lines. However, Lynn storm was at the brink and the Australian got into his groove at the right time. He started smacking the ball and the bowlers lost their line a bit at that stage. The youngster Arshdeep Singh was at the receiving end and KKR crossed the 50-run mark in no time.

Andrew Tye also conceded 15 runs in his first over but came back well to have the last laugh in the same over. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill got set and looked to play through the innings. Robin Uthappa came out to bat at three after a long time and showed intent right away much to the delight of the KKR fans. But he played one too many shots only to get out to Ravi Ashwin.

The wicket brought Andre Russell to the middle and the Caribbean went about his business slamming 24 runs in no time and the required-rate came down drastically. Having said that, it was not him that upped the ante. Gill suddenly shifted gears after Uthappa’s wicket and made it easy for his partner at the other end. Mohammed Shami got Russell’s wicket but by then, the damage was done.

Gill was adamant and played until the end as KKR stayed alive in the tournament by sealing the chase in the 18th over itself. They now will face Mumbai Indians (MI) in their last league game and will hope to make it to the playoffs. KXIP’s season has all but ended now and they need a miracle now to go through to the next round.

Sam Curran special propels KXIP

Earlier, the home side lost their openers KL Rahul and Chris Gayle within the powerplay overs itself. Both the wickets were picked by Sandeep Warrier. However, then Nicholas Pooran and Mayank Agarwal batted well to keep the team in the hunt. The former, rather, played the role of the aggressor smashing the bowlers, especially Piyush Chawla to all the parts of the ground.

Pooran deserved a half-century but he was sent back by the part-timer Nitish Rana on 48 off 27 balls. Dinesh Karthik’s punt to hand the ball to Rana worked wonders for KKR as things slowed down yet again. Even wickets fell in the process and the KXIP were in the need of a partnership. Sam Curran came out to bat at six and he slowly took control of the innings.

He got better of KKR’s best bowler of the day, Sunil Narine first and then went against Harry Gurney in the final over. As many as 22 runs were scored by Curran in the 20th over and in the process, he also completed his well-deserved half-century to follow it up with some animated celebrations. He remained unbeaten till the end to finish on 55 off just 24 balls. His knock propelled KXIP to 183 runs for the loss of six wickets and the momentum had suddenly changed.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

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