Tewatia, Mohit keep Kings XI alive
Rahul Tewatia and Mohit Sharma applied the choke in the last five overs as Kolkata Knight Riders fell 14 short of their 168-run target.
Rahul Tewatia and Mohit Sharma applied the choke in the last five overs as Kolkata Knight Riders fell 14 short of their 168-run target.
Commentator: Karthik Krishnaswamy
11.45pm Phew. Kings XI stay alive in the tournament, giving our preview writers something to write about for their next game. Not too much riding on tomorrow's game, between Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils, but so many excellent players on display, so make sure you join us for that. Until then, good night!
Mohit Sharma is the Player of the Match. "Our previous match didn't go so well, we deviated from our plan. We decided we stick to Plan A, and if it doesn't work, go to Plan B. The plan was to mix up our pace, and they tend to stay deep in the crease, so if we cut down the pace, we could be effective, but the margin for error is very small. Sometimes, you need to bowl your slower ball a bit shorter, and maybe a bit wider. We thought 160 was the par score, and when Lynn and Narine were batting it was a little difficult, but as we'd decided, we stuck to our plans."
Glenn Maxwell: "I asked for an improved performance on the field and certainly got that tonight. Axar Patel led by example on the field. I suppose the spinners came into the game, Rahul Tewatia bowled really well. As soon as that first ball spun, we realised we could get in a lot of overs from the spinners. We were able to get a couple of wickets in the middle, and kept them quiet till the end. We probably left ourselves maybe 10-15 short, but the way we scrapped on the field and the way we bowled, outstanding. They [bowlers] were probably at their calmest, they knew what they wanted to do and executed it well. Still hanging in there by the skin of our teeth, but we're giving our fans something to cheer for."
Gautam Gambhir: "I thought we started off really well. I thought me and Robin getting out was the turning point. Credit to Kings XI, they hung in there and never gave us easy runs. I thought the dot balls made a lot of difference. Obviously you want to be smart, you could say I could have opened and Robin could have come in at 3. But we thought Sunil has been hitting the ball well. Maybe we could think of that combination in the coming games. At one stage, we needed 7.5 or 8 an over, taking it to 10 or 11 was the turning point."
Kings XI have ended a streak of eight successive losses against Knight Riders. Their first win against them since 2014.
Jasir: "Yet another legspinner turning the game this season, legspinners have been a revelation." Aniket: "Hard to digest, in chase of 167 Lynn and Narine scored total 102 runs in 62 balls and yet KKR managed to be on losing side"
Suhas: "Two interesting games yesterday and today. SRH and KXIP have shown a lot of intent and if there's something that has won the matches for both the teams, it's their bowling. Exceptional from KXIP today, that too after having gone for 61 in the PP."
11.29pm There haven't been too many better bowling performances in the IPL to defend a total. After nine overs, Knight Riders were 76 for 1. In the next 11 overs, Kings XI only gave away 77 while taking five wickets, against some of the best hitters in the business. They showed there's a way to keep Chris Lynn relatively quiet, and made excellent use of the long boundaries with spin and slower balls.
A bit of grip, and long boundaries, and the bowlers came into the game while the batsmen were still able to put away the bad balls. This makes for so much better T20 than short boundaries and ultra-flat pitches.
18 off four now.
Knight Riders need 20 off the last over. Kings XI's bowlers have been sensational. They still have to deal with some sizeable hitting power, though. Sandeep to finish.
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Rahul Tewatia and Mohit Sharma applied the choke in the last five overs as Kolkata Knight Riders fell 14 short of their 168-run target.