Kings XI Punjab stun KKR by 4 runs to win their 2nd game

Mohali, April 16: Kings XI Punjab inflicted a shock defeat on defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders by four runs in a thrilling Pepsi Indian Premier League encounter in Mohali on Tuesday.

Chasing a decent target of 158, KKR managed 153 for nine in the end despite a 105-run second wicket partnership between Gambhir (60, 39 balls, 8x4) and Eoin Morgan (47, 38 balls, 6x4).

This was after Sunil Narine took the first hat-trick of the season for KKR.

This is Kings XI's second win from four matches while KKR's woeful away record continued as they have now lost their third game on the road.

From a comfortable 106 for two in 13 overs, KKR batsmen required only 52 off 42 balls but once the two set batsmen were out in quick succession, things changed rapidly.

Manoj Tiwary (1, 7 balls) and 'Million Dollar' man Yusuf Pathan (13, 16 balls) wasted 14 deliveries in between them as Manpreet Gony (1/18 in 4 overs) and Azhar Mahmood (3/21 in 4 overs) bowled brilliantly to get the home team back in the match.

Needing 11 runs off the final over, Adam Gilchrist saved what would have been 5 wides of the first delivery from Praveen Kumar.

Praveen (2/26) kept his cool as he first removed Yusuf out of the equation and gave away only six runs to bring cheer for the home team.

Only KKR players could blame themselves for this shock defeat as they committed harakiri towards the end.

Rajat Bhatia (16) tried his best with a couple of sixes but that certainly wasn't enough in the end.

Gony, playing his first game of the cash-rich league certainly made a big impact in the final outcome of the encounter.

First his long-handle came to good effect as his 42 off 18 balls took Kings XI past 150-run mark which had looked improbable when they were tottering at 99 for six.

Later, he removed a set Gambhir to bring KKR back in the match and also bowled consistently during his four-over spell.

Teams:


Kolkata Knight Riders:

Gautam Gambhir, Manvinder Bisla, Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwary, Eoin Morgan, Rajat Bhatia, Debabrata Das, Sachitra Senanayake, Sunil Narine, Lakshmipathy Balaji.


Kings XI Punjab:

Adam Gilchrist, Mandeep Singh, David Hussey, David Miller, Azhar Mahmood, Manan Vohra, Gurkeerat Singh, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Manpreet Gony, Parvinder Awana.