Kolkata Knight Riders clinched a comfortable eight wicket win over the Lucknow Super Giants at the iconic Eden Gardens on Sunday, April 14, 2024.
The top knocks of the KKR-LSG IPL match in Kolkata on Sunday:
K L Rahul
LSG's skipper once again got off to a fine start, but failed to convert it into a big score.
Opening alongside de Kock, Rahul hammered Vaibhav Arora for a cracking six over extra cover.
He kept LSG's board ticking as he found his next one off Mitchell Starc, as he pulled one away with disdain past square. Rahul showed the intent of a big knock, but with wickets tumbling at the other end, the pressure was telling on him.
After a positive start, bringing up 23 off 13 in the Powerplay, Rahul's strike rate dropped.
After a couple of quiet overs in the middle courtesy the KKR spinners, Rahul welcomed Andre Russell into the attack with a classy six over the deep point fence.
Needing to up the ante of LSG's innings, Rahul attempted to hammer Russell out of the park once again, but instead holed out to Ramandeep Singh at deep midwicket.
The skipper who departed for a 27-ball 39, had a couple of lusty shots, hitting three boundaries and a six.
Nicholas Pooran
Lucknow found themselves in a precarious position at 111/5 after 15 overs. Pooran's quickfire knock threatened to turn the tide.
He unleashed his power, smashing four sixes and two fours in a solid 45 off 32 balls.
Pooran's aggressive batting raised hopes of LSG reaching a competitive total, possibly around 170. His dismissal in the final over dashed those hopes.
While Pooran provided a much needed spark to the LSG innings, Rahul and Ayush Badoni failed to capitalise on their starts. Both fell prey to the lure of the big shot, leaving the middle order with a lot of work to do.
Phil Salt
KKR's match against LSG was only their second home game of the season and the 'keeper-batter has struck half-centuries in both encounters in Kolkata.
The KKR openers -- Salt and Sunil Narine -- are known to get going from the onset. And on Sunday, Salt and Narine both got off the mark with boundaries as Shamar Joseph bowled a forgettable opening over on his IPL debut.
Salt got his innings underway with a smashing six over mid-off to show his intent in the very first over.
Though Mohsin Khan removed Narine and Angkrish Raghuvanshi in quick succession, it didn't affect KKR's chase in any way as Salt took charge.
Rahul brought Krunal Pandya into the attack as early as the third over. Salt welcomed the spinner with three boundaries on the trot.
Salt then took the attack to Yash Thakur, who had stolen the show in LSG's previous game, hammering him for consecutive boundaries. Salt brought up his half-century, his second of the season, off 26 deliveries.
In his explosive knock, Salt showed no mercy to the LSG bowlers, including Mohsin, who was the only bowler who tasted some success against the KKR batters.
Looking for an early finish, Salt hammered Mohsin for a boundary and a maximum on the trot in the 15th over to take KKR to the brink of victory.
Hammering Ravi Bishnoi for a boundary in the 16th over, Salt took the Knights home with an unbeaten 89 off 47.
Scoring at a stellar rate of 189.36, Salt hammered 14 boundaries and three maximums!
Shreyas Iyer
The KKR skipper is slowly getting into the groove, though his rhythm maybe still off. Scoring at a run-a-ball Iyer remained unbeaten on 38 off 38.
Though not a very impressive T20 score, Iyer's innings was a crucial one as he played second fiddle to Salt.
The skipper too found the boundary ropes, hammering the Lucknow bowlers with six fours.
The skipper survived a few nervy moments as he alongside Salt scored an unbeaten 120 off 76 for the third wicket, KKR's highest partnership this season.
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