Quick half-centuries from Chris Gayle and KL Rahul propelled Kings XI Punjab to a commanding nine-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL on Saturday to give them their fourth win in five games and a top-of-the-table spot.
After Kolkata scored 191/7 courtesy Chris Lynn’s 41-ball 74, Punjab had reached 96-0 in 8.2 overs when rain hit the game. The target was revised to 125 from 13 overs, and they got to 126/1 in 11.1.
Rahul, who scored a 27-ball 60 with nine fours and two sixes, was declared the Player of the Match and said after the game that his approach was to be aggressive and take the opposition down.
“The bowling is coming along. It was going to be pretty easy for Kings XI after the rain break. Gayle and Rahul showed how good they are,” Narine said.
Dinesh Karthik, the Kolkata captain, however, rued the side’s failure to go for the final push with the bat in the last few overs – they scored 45 runs off the last five.
“I think they took us on in the Powerplay and played really good shots,” said Karthik, who scored a 28-ball 43 on the day. “There seems to be a trend where we tend to miss out on the last couple of overs with the bat. It’s important that we finish the innings well.
“We didn’t execute plans and a player like Gayle will always hit you if you miss your lengths.”
