Sunil Narine channels his inner Chris Lynn as KKR cruise to eight-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab

Kolkata Knight Riders gave the home fans at the Eden Garden plenty to cheer about on their first home game in this season of the Indian Premier League, cruising to a eight-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab on Thursday. Chasing a hefty 171, Kolkata opened with Sunil Narine and Gautam Gambhir, a move which worked brilliantly for them as they raced to 76/1 in 6 overs, their highest score in the Powerplay. Gambhir continued the pressure and got his 33th IPL half-century as Kolkata cruised home by eigth wickets.

KKR’s nightmare of a start

Kolkata Knight Riders couldn’t have got to a worse start in front of their home fans. Their first overs saw them do everything wrong. Piyush Chawla lazily let a ball go through his legs for four, the pacers were hammered all over and Sunil Narine dropped a sitter. In desperation, Gautam Gambhir brought in Sunil Narine in the fifth over itself and Narine responded with bowling wide down the leg-side in his first two balls. Punjab had rocketed to 53/0 after 5 and much of it was down to KKR’s idiocy.

Umesh Yadav on a rampage

Umesh Yadav came back into the KKR team after his exploits in India’s Tests and proved why he’s become such a highly-rated commodity. Kings XI Punjab captain Glenn Maxwell had gotten off to a strong start but Yadav intelligently followed him, cramped him for room and got the edge. Then, later in the 18th over, just when David Miller and Wriddhiman Saha threatened to go on a rampage, Yadav managed to dismiss both of them and added even Axar Patel. Three wickets in four balls...and Umesh finished with 4/33.

Boult’s luck

If Umesh Yadav got a teensy bit luck, his pace partner at the other end must have been crying. Piyush Chawla and Sunil Narine misfield twice in his spell and both those misfields cost Boult four runs. Narine also dropped a sitter. Then if to add insult to injury, there was a comical game of direct hits with the ball ricocheting off and the batsmen running overthrows at the end. They ran four and Boult was left mouthing expletives as he walked off, conceding 36 off his four overs.

Narine stars...with the bat!

Sunil Narine as opener? Yes, that’s exactly what happened. Everyone expected Gambhir to reunite with Robin Uthappa now that Chris Lynn is injured. But it was the spinner who walked out with the KKR captain. But it turns out there is some history there...

And Narine’s batting was...wait for it...legendary! He swung wildly at the beginning but then got into his groove and put on a display of clean, uncomplicated hitting. Kings XI Punjab’s bowlers kept feeding him and Narine obliged! Gambhir and he put on 76 in 34 balls for the first wicket and Narine departed after doing exactly what was asked of him: a 18-ball 37, studded with four fours and three sixes. KKR put on 76/1 in 6 overs, their highest score in the Powerplay.

Add that to the fact that he gave away only 19 runs with a wicket in his four overs and it was the perfect day in the office for Narine.

Gambhir rolls on

Gambhir has been one of the most consistent players in IPL history but this season, he seems to have added an ultra-aggressive intent to his game. Combined with his open-ended stance which allows him to play pace much better, Gambhir has looked incredibly accomplished so far in the three innings he plays. He continued on his merry run to pick up his 33rd fifty in IPL history, joint-top with David Warner on top of the list.

Brief scores:

Kings XI Punjab 170/9 in 20 overs (David Miller 28, Manan Vohra 28; Umesh Yadav 4/33, Chris Woakes 2/30) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 171/2 in 16.3 overs (Gautam Gambhir 72 not out, Sunil Narine 37; Axar Patel 1/36, Varun Aaron 1/23) by eight wickets.