Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) registered a thrilling victory in the 24th match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. KKR pulled off a miracle, defeating KXIP by 2 runs in a contest which went to the last over.
Chasing 165, KXIP started tremendously well after their opening pair of KL Rahul, and Mayank Agarwal put together 115-run for the first wicket. It was the fourth 100-run stand in IPL 2020 and second for Rahul and Mayank.
100+ opening stands this IPL:
- 183 – Mayank and Rahul vs RR
- 181* – Watson and Du Plessis vs KXIP
- 160 – Warner and Bairstow vs KXIP
- 115 – Mayank and Rahul vs KKR
During the 13th over of KXIP’s chase bowled by Pat Cummins, Rahul and Mayank reached their consecutive half-centuries. Mayank scored 56 off 39 balls before Prasidh Krishna sent him back to the dugout in the 15th over.
Rahul, on the other hand, held his end and kept on scoring runs. It appeared that KXIP will win the game easily, however, in the last few overs, KKR completely turned around the things and came back in the game.
In the 18th over, Sunil Narine cleaned up Nicholas Pooran (16) and conceded only two runs in the over.
Prasidh Krishna, who was playing his first match in IPL 2020, turned the tables when he came to bowl the penultimate over. He gave only 6 runs and bagged two wickets in the form of Simran Singh (4) and Rahul (74).
KXIP needed 14 from the last over with dangerous Glenn Maxwell at the crease. KKR Dinesh Karthik made a match-winning move by giving the white leather to Narine. The Caribbean superstar held his nerves and conceded only 11 runs, taking his team over the line.
Dinesh Karthik’s 22-ball fifty guided KKR to 164/6
Earlier, KKR posted 164/6 in their allotted 20 overs, thanks to skipper Karthik, who after a string of low scores rose to the occasion and played a sensational knock. The 35-year-old came to bat at number five in the 11th over and was expected to not only stabilize the innings but also score runs at a high pace.
Karthik lived up to the expectations and smashed KXIP bowlers all over the park to complete his half-century off just 22 balls. It was his joint-fastest fifty in IPL. Back in 2018, Karthik had scored half-ton from 22 balls against the same opposition.
Apart from the Tamil Nadu cricketer, youngster Shubman Gill also shined in the game as he smashed his second fifty in the ongoing thirteenth season. Gill scored 57 off 47 deliveries before meeting a run-out. Interestingly, Karthik also got dismissed through a run-out on 58 from 29 balls.
For KXIP, Mujeeb Ur Rahman was their most expensive bowler. He bowled 4 overs and conceded 44 runs at a terrible economy of 11. Arshdeep Singh and Ravi Bishnoi were the most successful bowlers for Punjab. The duo gave 25 runs in their respective 4 overs with one wicket each.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Wow! I don't have words for what I have just witnessed. Brilliant captaincy from @DineshKarthik and what a comeback by @KKRiders ! "Never say die" should be the theme of this IPL! @lionsdenkxip need some serious strategy rejig! #KKRvsKXIP #IPLinUAE
— Kris Srikkanth (@KrisSrikkanth) October 10, 2020
That was a unbelievable result for @KKRiders ! U cannot take the game so deep if your openers are set ! Puts too much pressure on the middle order with no time to settle ! Bad luck @lionsdenkxip #ipl2020 well played @RealShubmanGill @mayankcricket !@DineshKarthik game changer!
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) October 10, 2020
Great victory for @KKRiders !! Unbelievable 19th over from @prasidh43 and 20th over from #SunilNarine. Nail-biting 2 runs victory. Wow what a match!! 👏👏 #KKRvsKXIP #IPL2020
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) October 10, 2020
A game of inches, wow. 👀👀👀great match winning knock by skipper @DineshKarthik and how good was @SunilPNarine74 to get them back in.. Abu Dhabi see's it's 1st close one 🔥🔥🔥 congrats @KKRiders
— JP Duminy (@jpduminy21) October 10, 2020
Anyone care to explain what Prabhsimran was doing up the order? #KKRvsKXIP
— Gautam Bhimani (@gbhimani) October 10, 2020
Part of the post-mortem in the @lionsdenkxip camp will centre around Prabhsimran ahead of Maxwell in that situation…..
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 10, 2020
Superb knock from @klrahul11. Unfortunately, again ended up in a losing cause. Feel sorry for KL and @lionsdenkxip @IPL #KKRvsKXIP #IPL2020
— Vinay Kumar R (@Vinay_Kumar_R) October 10, 2020
Wow, how have #KXIP botched this up?! Oh I feel for them!! Without Russell to bowl #KKR find a way to win. @Bazmccullum & staff will be happy with how they are winning but still not playing their best cricket. #KXIPvKKR
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) October 10, 2020
অবিশ্বাস্য ম্যাচ! এভাবেও ফিরে আসা যায়!! As they say, it's not important how u start but how you finish & @KKRiders did exactly that on both bat & ball. #DK batted brilliantly & led well. @prasidh43 & @SunilPNarine74 showed excellent nerves to pull it back! Top victory!#IPL2020
— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) October 10, 2020
Our biggest lucky charm in attendance! 😍@iamsrk #KKR #Dream11IPL #KXIPvsKKR pic.twitter.com/WFtNUbtcD5
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) October 10, 2020
One more mm and we would have had a super over… But how good were #naraine and #prasidh and kudos to #kkr and the skipper to have hung in there #KKRvsKXIP
— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani) October 10, 2020
We all know fortune favours the brave but what about misfortune? #KXIPvsKKR #KXIPvKKR #KKRvsKXIP #KKRvKXIP #IPLinUAE
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) October 10, 2020
In the end it was a matter of inches. Oh god! What drama. A couple of more inches & we would’ve had 3rd Super Over of #IPL2020 #KXIPvKKR #KKRvsKXIP
— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) October 10, 2020
KXIP didn’t hit any boundary from 16.4 overs to 19.2 overs today, that is 17 balls and KL Rahul faced 5 balls in those overs. That is where KXIP lost the game. #KXIPvKKR
— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) October 10, 2020
https://twitter.com/Lshukla6/status/1314929165351743489
That’s the MVP of KKR winning them the game that they lost. Just 2 runs in the 18th over and then defended 14 in the last over against Maxwell. #KXIPvKKR
— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) October 10, 2020
Kings XI Punjab #KXIP today has become the first #IPL side to lose 100 matches. It was their 183rd game.
Note: These 100 defeats also include their one match loss in a superover.
Their neighbours DC has 99 IPL losses.#KKRvKXIP#KXIPvKKR #IPL2020 #Dream11IPL#IPLinUAE— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) October 10, 2020
When you don't back your overseas pick to get you 20 in 16 balls.
You are not doing your team good, not showing enough confidence in your pick and selection.
Deserved to lose, KL Rahul will realize that's why you want to get ahead of the game and not take it deep all the time.
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) October 10, 2020
KL Rahul should join SRH next year, so that he doesn't have to focus on getting Orange Cap on his head.
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) October 10, 2020
https://twitter.com/AdamDhoni1/status/1314931930027106304
IT'S A FOUR! AND WE WIN IT!!
WHAT. A. MATCH!#KXIPvKKR #KKRHaiTaiyaar #Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/fpiueHhPsa
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) October 10, 2020
