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Gayle sizzles as Knight Riders win scoreboard

Kings XI Punjab done in by rain yet again, loses under D/L method

— PHOTO: AFP

UNSTOPPABLE: Chris Gayle of Kolkata Knight Riders was in awesome form during his unbeaten innings against King’s XI Punjab in the IPL match in Durban on Tuesday.

Durban: Chris Gayle’s blitzkrieg fashioned Kolkata Knight Riders’ 11-run win over Kings XI Punjab by the Duckworth/Lewis method in a rained-marred DLF-Indian Premier League match here on Tuesday.

Chasing 159 for its first win of the tournament, Knight Riders was 79 for one after 9.2 overs when the heavens opened up and Kings XI Punjab found itself at the receiving end of the rain god’s whims for the second time on the trot. It had earlier lost to Delhi Daredevils, which chased down a meagre revised target in the rain-affected tie.

Dropped twice, Gayle (44 not out) butchered the Kings XI Punjab attack during his 26-ball stay, hitting four sixes and two fours in the process.

Put in to bat, Kings XI Punjab had earlier posted 158 for six in its allotted 20 overs, with captain Yuvraj Singh (38), Irfan Pathan (32) and Mahela Jayawardene (31 not out) scoring the bulk of the runs.

Flying start

In reply, Knight Riders got off to a flying start with Gayle and captain Brendon McCullum (21) imposing themselves on the bowlers.

To make matters worse, the Mohali side failed to latch on to chances that came its way. When on three, Gayle pulled Yusuf Abdulla, but Karan Goel grassed a sitter at mid-wicket.

Again on 32, Piyush Chawla’s googly kissed Gayle’s bat, but Kumar Sangakkara could not pouch the ball behind the stumps. Gayle made them pay heavily for those lapses and hit Pathan and Abdulla for two towering sixes.

Pathan’s ordeal was not over yet. Gayle hit him for back-to-back fours and followed it up with a six and his aggression proved contagious as McCullum followed suit, hitting Abdulla into the crowd.

McCullum greeted Vikramjeet Malik with a four and a six but nicked the next delivery to perish caught behind. But by then, he had added 57 quick runs with Gayle in 5.3 overs.

Earlier, Kings XI Punjab got off to a sluggish start before Irfan Pathan 32 (17 balls) came up with a brisk knock to revive the run-rate. After Pathan’s exit, things looked gloomy again, but Yuvraj’s breezy 38 and Mahela Jayawardene’s unbeaten 19-ball cameo of 31 helped Kings XI cross the 150-mark.

Kings XI found the going tough as Ishant Sharma drew first blood in his second over when Gayle rose to pouch Karan Goel’s (zero) slash in the slips.

Promoted to No. 3, Pathan did justice to his role and runs soon started pouring in.

The first ball he faced from Ishant scorched the point region grass before crossing the rope and Pathan later heaved the bowler over deep mid-wicket for a six. Moises Henriques was also greeted with two fours in his first over before Sourav Ganguly intervened.

Ganguly strikes

Stripped of the captaincy, Ganguly was in the thick of action with his military medium-pace and removed Pathan and Ravi Bopara (15) in the space of three balls to peg back the opposition. — PTI

scoreboard

Kings XI Punjab: R. Bopara c McCullum b Ganguly 15, K. Goel c Gayle b Ishant 0, I. Pathan c Kartik b Ganguly 32, K. Sangakkara (run out) 26, Yuvraj c Yashpal b Henriques 38, M. Jayawardene (not out) 31, T. Kohli c McCullum b Dinda 1, P. Chawla (not out) 3, Extras (b-1, w-11): 12; Total (For six wkts. in 20 overs): 158. Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-47, 3-48, 4-104, 5-122, 6-131.

Kolkata Knight Riders bowling: Ishant 4-0-24-1, Dinda 4-0-34-1, Henriques 4-0-32-1, Ganguly 4-0-24-2, Shukla 2-0-22-0, Gayle 1-0-14-0, Kartik 1-0-7-0.

Kolkata Knight Riders: (D/L target: 69 from 9.2 overs): B. McCullum c Sangakkara b Malik 21, C. Gayle (not out) 44, B. Hodge (not out) 10; Extras (w-4) 4; Total (for one wkt. in 9.2 overs) 79.

Fall of wicket: 1-57.

Kings XI Punjab bowling: Pathan 3-0-27-0, Abdulla 2-0-20-0, Malik 2-0- 23-1, Chawla 2-0-8-0, Bopara 0.2-0- 1-0.

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