IPL: Kings beat KKR to move into fifth

DUBAI (CMC):

Punjab Kings defied the departure of veteran West Indies batsman Chris Gayle and held their nerve in the final over to edge out Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by five wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) yesterday.

Gayle withdrew on Thursday from the Kings for the remainder of the IPL because of biosecure bubble fatigue, but their captain KL Rahul and fellow opener Mayank Agarwal led a successful chase of 166 in 19.3 overs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Rahul made 67 from 55 balls and fellow opener Mayank Agarwal scored 40 after an early reprieve paved the way for victory that earned them two points and moved them into fifth on 10 to keep their play-off chances alive.

The result ensured that KKR did not break away from the mid-table pack that includes the Kings, Mumbai Indians, and Rajasthan Royals, with only two points separating the four teams between fourth and seventh.

It also confirmed a spot for Delhi Capitals in the play-offs as they can no longer finish below fourth.

The three West Indies players in the match did nothing special – the worrying form of T20 vice-captain Nicholas Pooran continued, Fabian Allen was wicket-less in four overs with his left-arm spin that cost 38 and did not get a real chance to bat, and Sunil Narine made three not out for KKR and had figures of 1-34 in his four overs.

opponents

KKR captain Eoin Morgan dropped Agarwal at cover off New Zealand pacer Tim Southee and the batsman made his opponents pay for that reprieve.

He creamed three fours and two sixes to guide the Kings to 46 without loss with Rahul at the close of the power play.

With 21 balls to go, the Kings still needed 34 but Shahrukh Khan survived an early chance when Venkatesh Iyer could not toss up the ball sufficiently to complete a catch at deep midwicket as the batsman earned a second-ball six.

Shahrukh then hit a four in the next over and Rahul struck two fours in the penultimate over before he was caught at long-off in the final over, leaving Shahrukh to seal the win for the Kings with three balls to spare.

Earlier, Iyer hit 67 too, from 49 balls and KKR posted a competitive 165 for seven after they were sent into bat.

Iyer and Shubman Gill gave KKR a brisk start, scoring 17 runs in the first two overs.

But Arshdeep Singh bowled Gill in the third over before Iyer and Rahul Tripathi (34) stitched together a 72-run stand, the best partnership of the innings.