Kings overpower Knights

The Kings XI Punjab defeated the Kolkata Knight Riders by 9 runs in Match 22 of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium at Mohali yesterday.

Playing on their home turf, the Mohali side led by Yuvraj Singh decided to bat first after winning the toss.

Every Mohali batsman made small but noteworthy contributions with the bat that came at a brisk rate and ensured the scoreboard was always ticking. However, Shaun Marsh seemed to continue his good form from the previous game scoring 40 runs from 32 balls.

A late but welcome surge of runs came from the willows of bowlers, Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla. Chawla scored a rapid 21 off just 7 deliveries to boost the Mohali total to 178/6 in their 20 overs.

Umar Gul was the pick of the Kolkata bowlers picking up 2 wickets for 27 runs from his quota of 4 overs.

Kolkata started off purposefully scoring at a heavy rate but their moment of truth came when they lost 4 wickets for just 7 runs. The scoreboard which at one point read 22-0 in 2.5 overs, next read 29-4 in 5 overs. From there on, they had to make sure every risk was a calculated one.

A valiant effort of 71 by David Hussey and 59 by Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha meant they came close, but fell short of the Mohali total by 9 runs.

This was the Kolkata team’s fourth consecutive loss in the series. Leading the points table after two matches in the tournament, Ganguly and his boys now find themselves in the lower half of the table at fifth place.

S. Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan were the pick of the Kings XI Punjab bowlers registering figures of 2-25 and 2-18 respectively.

The next match of the IPL is between the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Daredevils. It will take place at the DY Patil Sports Stadium at Mumbai.