Kings XI Punjab endured a defeat in Mohali against the Kolkata Knight Riders to end their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs this season.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s trend to introduce changes into the lineup continued as he introduced Sam Curran and Andrew Tye. Dinesh Karthik opted to bowl first after winning the toss.
KKR were off to the perfect start courtesy of newbie Sandeep Warrier who dismissed the explosive opening pair of KL Rahul and Chris Gayle in quick succession. The fragile middle order made a notable contribution with Nicholas Pooran standing out of the pack.
Despite the dip in the middle overs, Sam Curran flourished his way to his first IPL half-century. The youngster’s explosive knock of 55 off 24 steered KXIP to a total of 183-6.
The run chase turned out to be smooth for the visitors with the Kings XI Punjab bowling attack lacking sting. Andrew Tye was taken to the cleaners by Chris Lynn who missed out on a fifty by four runs. Shubhman Gill, on the other hand, continued with his prolific run after being promoted to the top order The U-19 WC winner scored his third half-century in the four innings he has operated as an opener.
Dinesh Karthik played a cameo towards the end to clinch the two crucial points for KKR which keeps them alive in the tournament.
Brief Scorecard
KXIP 183-6 (20 overs) (S.Curran 55*; S.Warrier 2-31)
KKR 185-3 (18 overs) (S.Gill 65*; M.Shami 1-15)
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