bowlers led Mitchell Starc , IPLIt’s most expensive buy so far – first restricting Lucknow to 161 for 7 at the traditionally high-scoring Eden Gardens and then a strong performance from Salt as KKR chased down the total with 26 balls to spare have done.
This was Kolkata’s first win over Lucknow in the IPL.
The IPL record was bought by Starc, who faced criticism for taking just two wickets in four matches and conceding 11 runs per over, taking 3/28, while Sunil Narine bounced back from his poor spell with figures of 1/17. Of, because LSG scored low level. Total after KKR chose to bowl.
as it happened
The bowling performance of the duo ultimately did not allow LSG to score 20-30 runs, suffering their first defeat against KKR.
Salt hit three sixes and 14 fours in his unbeaten 89 off 47 balls, while captain Shreyas Iyer recovered from a poor start to remain unbeaten on 38 with one ball apiece as KKR chased down the target of 162 with 26 balls to spare. followed.
Both of them made an unbroken partnership of 120 runs in 76 balls, taking KKR to 162 runs in 15.4 overs.
The win, coinciding with Bangla Nabo Barsho (Bengali New Year), took KKR to second place in the IPL table with eight points from five matches.
West Indies’ Gabba Test hero Shamar Joseph against Australia made a forgettable debut for LSG as he conceded 22 runs in an eventful first over, bowling two wides and two no-balls.
Salt added insult to injury by spanking the 24-year-old fast bowler to midwicket, which laid the foundation for his half-century in 26 balls. He then completed his half-century by hitting consecutive fours off Arshad Khan, his second half-century of the season – both coming on his home ground.
The only bright spot for LSG was Mohsin Khan’s first two overs when he displayed good left-arm pace bowling and took the crucial wickets of Sunil Narine (6) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (7).
He also almost dismissed KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer with an incoming ball which went wide of the batsman’s defense before going away.
Furthermore, this was one-way traffic along the Salt, at its most destructive.
At the end of the power play, KKR were in a good position with Salt’s aggressive innings (strike rate above 189) taking them to 58/2.
Iyer did not look in touch early on and faced some worrying moments against left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan, whose balls troubled the KKR skipper.
With no pressure on the scoreboard, Salt’s fluent innings also rubbed off on Iyer who overcame a worrying start.
Earlier, Narine, playing his 14th consecutive season for KKR, once again showcased his mettle at the Eden Gardens when he put LSG to a halt in the middle overs with his boundary-less show, which ultimately proved decisive.
The match came right after the Trinidadian power play when captain KL Rahul and Badoni were looking to take advantage of 49/2 on the board.
With the wicket in hand, he varied his pace and deceived the batsmen with his clever variations and both decided to see out his overs.
Narine gave away just nine runs in his first two overs and completed his quota by dismissing Badoni (29) in the 15th over and Angrakrish Raghuvanshi took a good catch at deep square leg.
Under scorching heat and on a two-paced wicket, LSG struggled to maintain the pace after the power-play with accurate bowling from Narine and Rana.
Ayush Badoni, who arrived at number four after scoring an unbeaten 55 off 35 balls, struggled to rotate the strike as the KKR bowling duo did well to bring the run-rate to 7.2 at half-time.
Rahul, who was looking comfortable against the fast bowlers, also started to buckle under the pressure but he hit an upper-cut six off Andre Russell over deep backward point in the 11th over.
On the next ball, he attempted a swing shot but accidentally hit it straight to Ramandeep Singh at deep midwicket and was out for 39.
Starc, who was surrounded by criticism, had to bear the brunt of Quinton de Kock’s anger in the beginning when the South African player hit him for four consecutive fours.
Arora was wrong at the other end and Rahul hit the inexperienced fast bowler over extra cover.
Contrary to the run of play, Arora drew first blood in the second over, dismissing De Kock for 10 in a poor performance from the South African legend, who took a thick outside edge to dismiss Narine at short third man.
Hooda’s promotion to No. 3 also failed to yield the desired results as he conceded too many balls, leaving Rahul stranded at the other end.
Hooda was out for eight runs in the fifth over thanks to a flying catch by Ramandeep at deep backward point as KKR’s fielding looked to have improved significantly.
After being 111/5 in 14.4 overs, LSG made a comeback at the back end with a counter-attacking innings from Nicholas Pooran.
Pooran hit four sixes and two fours as LSG looked for a total of around 190 on a difficult pitch.
Starc (3/28) had the last laugh in the final over as he approached his half-century.
(With inputs from PTI)
