KXIP vs KKR: Punjab enter playoff spot after thrashing KKR in IPL 2020

This match didn’t go into the Super Over, nor did it provide any of the frenzy, thrills and last-minute twists that Kings XI Punjab’s fans have been used to in this IPL. What they witnessed instead was a clinical performance from their team to a thumping 8-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders – their fifth on the bounce.

As a result, they took over fourth spot in the points table at the expense of Eoin Morgan’s side. It seemed highly unlikely a fortnight ago, when KXIP had just a solitary win from their first seven games. After an efficient bowling performance to restrict KKR for 149/9, their batting started slowly before Mandeep Singh’s unbeaten 66 and Chris Gayle 29-ball 51 settled matters.

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The lone bright spot for KKR

In the 12 matches so far, KKR openers have not managed a single 50-run partnership and the indifferent batting form of Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana and Dinesh Karthik has only compounded their woes. A similar sordid tale played out on Monday as Mohammed Shami’s brilliant exhibition of seam and swing bowling had KKR on the ropes at 10/3 before a counter-attacking partnership between Morgan and opener Shubman Gill gave them a semblance of hope.

Morgan was like a cat on a hot tin roof. He came out charging, all in an attempt to upset the lines and lengths of KXIP bowlers. With the smaller boundaries in Sharjah, the Irishman wanted to take the attack to the opposition. It didn’t matter to him that Shami was in the middle of a dream spell and had just exposed KKR’s brittle top order.

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The KKR captain counter-attacked with his trademark cuts, swivels and pick-up shots through the leg-side. From 10/3 in two overs, KKR raced to 80/3 in 8 overs, and looked to be heading for a score around 200. Suddenly, Punjab’s bowlers were scrambling for cover and altering their plans to counter this onslaught. Morgan’s aggression rubbed off on Gill. The youngster targeted the shorter straight boundaries, and kick-started with a brace of sixes – first-up against Shami over long-on and following it up by thumping Murugan Ashwin over the mid-wicket region.

The lack of firepower hurt KKR. From 91/4, they meandered to an underwhelming 149/9.

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