KKR beat KXIP by 31 runs to regain 4th spot

Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India], May 12 (ANI): Indore's Holkar Stadium witnessed a run fest on Saturday as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) leapfrogged above Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table to fourth place by registering a 31-run win over third-placed Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).
Having lost back-to-back matches against MI, with the last one being a nightmarish 102-run loss, and conceding the fourth and final playoff spot to the Mumbai outfit as a result, the win would have been put all their recent blues in the past, as their batters amassed the fourth highest total in IPL history.
Winning the toss, KXIP captain, Ravichandran Ashwin, elected to bowl first. However, the depth of the KKR batting line-up proved too much for KXIP bowlers to deal with.
The match started on a slow tempo, with just 20 runs coming off the first 20 deliveries, and opener Sunil Narine managing a meager 7 runs from 8 balls. However, he would soon start firing on all cylinders as he ended up smashing a 36-ball 75.
Captain Dinesh Karthik also contributed an invaluable 50 off 23 balls and with timely contributions coming from Chris Lynn (27), Robin Uthappa (24) and Andre Russell (31) propelled the Kolkata outfit to a mammoth 245 run total.
In response, KXIP started their innings on a high, with opener K. L. Rahul giving the home side a glimmer of hope, scoring a quick-fire 66 off 29 balls. However, with his wicket being claimed by Narine in the ninth over, and no 'Gayle storm' to be seen, valiant efforts by Ashwin (45) and Aaron Finch (34) went in vain as 245 was always too big a total to chase down.
Punjab can, however, take more than a few positives from the loss, as they did give KKR a scare and managed to cross the 200 run mark themselves. They also remain in a better position to feature in the playoffs as they stay in the third spot, one above KKR having played a game fewer. (ANI)