Kings XI Punjab traveled to the Eden Gardens to face Kolkata Knight Riders for the 6th game of IPL 2019. It turned out to be a high scoring game with KKR notching up the highest total at the venue. Despite the fight by KXIP, the hosts emerged as comprehensive winners.
The hosts batted first after Dinesh Karthik lost the toss. Sunil Narine, who didn’t bat in the last game due to a finger injury, was back to open this time. He took to the debutant Varun Chakravarthy by collecting 25 runs in the 2nd over of the innings. On the other hand, Chris Lynn fell to Mohammed Shami. Narine too got out soon for 24 to Hardus Viljoen.
Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana then built a solid foundation for a big score. Their stand of 110 runs put KKR firmly in the driver’s seat. Rana was the aggressor of the two as he scored 63 from just 34 balls. When he got out in the 15th over, the hosts had already accumulated 146 runs. Uthappa also reached his half-century and played a great hand.
Andre Russell survived a scare when he got out off a no-ball. He took full advantage of the second opportunity and went after the bowlers in the last few overs. The right-hander scored 48 from just 17 balls that propelled KKR to a mammoth 218/4 in 20 overs.
KXIP got off to a poor start when they lost KL Rahul early. Chris Gayle too failed to impress as Andre Russell dismissed him for 20. Soon, the visitors lost the 3rd wicket in the form of Sarfaraz Khan as Russell claimed his 2nd of the night.
When the visitors found themselves in deep trouble, Mayank Agarwal and David Miller joined hands to put up a fight. But Agarwal, after scoring 58 from 34 balls, became a victim of Piyush Chawla’s googly.
From that point onwards, KKR dominated. Miller and Mandeep battled at the death but they had a mountain to climb. Despite their decent efforts, the big score wasn’t chasable. KXIP fell short by 28 as the hosts claimed their consecutive win.
KKR vs KXIP Match Summary
Kings XI Punjab won the toss and opted to bowl first
Kolkata Knight Riders: 218/4 in 20 overs
Robin Uthappa 67* (50), Nitish Rana 63 (34)
Varun Chakravarthy 35/1 (3), Hardus Viljoen 36/1 (4)
Kings XI Punjab: 190/4 in 20 overs
David Miller 59* (40), Mayank Agarwal 58 (34)
Andre Russell 21/2 (3), Piyush Chawla 26/1 (3)
Kolkata Knight Riders won by 28 runs
Player of the Match: Andre Russell
Twitter was all praises for the hosts
Match 6. It's all over! Kolkata Knight Riders won by 28 runs https://t.co/xuMescCuS1 #KKRvKXIP #VIVOIPL
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 27, 2019
Back to back Man of the Match awards for DRE RUSS 🤙🤙🕺#VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/qS8qxwhhLc
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 27, 2019
Nitish Rana. Wow. Take a bow 🙇♂️ Some shots are simply stunning…. #KKRvKXIP #IPL
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 27, 2019
Narine has unravelled the mystery in debutant Chakraborty’s bowling in brutal fashion
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) March 27, 2019
keen to see if a non striker dares leave his crease when ashwin is bowling tonight #KKRvKXIP
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) March 27, 2019
Nitish Rana now has MOST RUNS (819 runs) as an uncapped player since IPL 2016! 👏
More insights 👉 https://t.co/R4bGMDqcgk#KKRvKXIP #VIVOIPL #KKRHaiTaiyaar
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 27, 2019
Varun Chakravarthy was bought for 8.4 crores in this year's auction.
He gets hit for 25 runs in his first over, by Sunil Narine! #KKRvKXIP
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) March 27, 2019
Standing ovation for Andre Russell after he falls for 48 (17 balls) #IPL2019 #KKRvKXIP #KKR pic.twitter.com/h6LtkGUqIZ
— Sreshth Shah (@sreshthx) March 27, 2019
Highest totals at Kolkata in IPL:
218/4 – KKR v KXIP, 2019*
210/6 – MI v KKR, 2018
204/2 – KXIP v KKR, 2010Highest totals for KKR in IPL:
245/6 v KXIP, Indore, 2018
222/3 v RCB, Bangalore, 2008
218/4 v KXIP, Kolkata, 2019*#KKRvKXIP— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) March 27, 2019
Ashwin looking so frustrated after russel getting saved because of law of cricket. Karma is a bitch #KKRvKXIP
— Sumit Kadel (@SumitkadeI) March 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/fwildecricket/status/1110937716458508289?s=19
Every time russell comes for bat#KKRvKXIP pic.twitter.com/I2dHgMPAI3
— nish (@nishant_vadhia) March 27, 2019
Look what you’ve done – One fielder outside the circle has turned 60,000 in the stands into fielders… It’s an Undertaker kinda comeback for Dre Russ ! Monstrous #KKRvKXIP
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) March 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/fwildecricket/status/1110967014082953216?s=19
Kings XI probably too smart for their own good today. Surely should’ve played Mujeeb, and possibly even Ankit Rajpoot. They got 190 without Rahul & Gayle doing much. Had they counted their fielders right vs Russel, they shouldn’t have needed more than that. #KXIPvKKR #IPL
— Raunak Kapoor (@RaunakRK) March 27, 2019
That no-ball turns out to be quite costly. #KXIP would have had a fair chance at 190-200.
— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) March 27, 2019
.@iamsrk: "Knights ko harana mushkil hi nahi, na mumkin hai!" 😎
Catch all the LIVE action from the #VIVOIPL tomorrow, 7 PM onwards only on Star Sports!#KKRvKXIP #GameBanayegaName #VIVOIPL #KKRHaiTaiyaar pic.twitter.com/kOaE1YrOte
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) March 27, 2019
